The Victorian Ombudsman has slammed Labor for its political management of the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL), the most expensive project in Victoria’s history.
The report found that the development of the project, led by a former Labor staffer, was shrouded in “excessive secrecy” and “directly tied to the ALP’s electoral prospects at the 2018 Victorian election”.
Furthermore, staff were gagged by confidentiality clauses under threat of legal action while key and impartial public service figures were completely shut out in favour of external consultants.
Infrastructure Victoria, a body designed to independently assess infrastructure projects, was completely “blindsided” and has still not been engaged to independently assess the project, even though it will consume infrastructure funding for years.
Shadow Minister for Transport Infrastructure, David Southwick, said: “With reports indicating the Government is set to sign multi-billion-dollar tunnel contracts before Christmas, the Ombudsman’s report has cast further doubt over the value of the project.
“While Victorians are doing it tough in a cost-of-living crisis, Labor is spending up to $200 billion on a project that a number of independent experts believe doesn’t stack up.
“The Premier should not sign a single contract and lock Victorians in for a decade’s worth of infrastructure funding until the SRL is independently assessed by Infrastructure Victoria.”
