Article: Doubts on Abbott's tunnel promise

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Doubts on Abbott's tunnel promise

Doubts on Abbott's tunnel promise
October 17, 2012 Richard Willingham

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott never spoke to the co-ordinator at Infrastructure Australia — or his office — about the controversial east-west tunnel in Melbourne, which a Coalition government would  fund to the tune of $1.5 billion.

Mr Abbott had claimed  he had consulted the authority before announcing his plan.

The revelations have raised questions about how the Coalition would plan and pay for  the project. Public transport user groups said the comments highlight the fact Mr Abbott was a ''road lobbyist''.

On June 30, Mr Abbott said that a future Coalition government would contribute $4 billion towards major road projects in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, saying he had held discussions with state governments and Infrastructure Australia.

In Melbourne, the Coalition promised $1.5 billion for the East-West link with Mr Abbott saying: ''Infrastructure Australia have given me a categoric [sic] assurance that this project stacks up.''

And, ''I explicitly discussed this specific project with Infrastructure Australia before making the announcement.''

But during a Senate budget hearing in Canberra yesterday, the co-ordinator of Infrastructure Australia, Michael Deegan, said neither he nor his office had ever spoken to Mr Abbott or his office about the project.

''My office has not had discussions with Mr Abbott, it's possible that he may have had discussions with individual council members,'' he said.

Infrastructure Australia is a statutory authority that receives submissions from state governments, which it then analyses before making recommendations to the 12-member board, chaired by Sir Rod Eddington.

Mr Abbott's spokesman said: ''Tony spoke to senior members of Infrastructure Australia prior to the Coalition's policy announcement in July.''

In the most recent submission, the Baillieu government asked for $30 million for  further development of the project, while Infrastructure Australia's priority  list states the project has ''real potential'' and should be given money for development.

But it is not a high priority, especially compared to the Melbourne Metro Rail project, which is listed as ''ready to proceed''.

On September 4, Mr Abbott said: ''We spoke to Infrastructure Australia. We've spoken to the Victorian government. This is the number-one major project that Victoria needs right now.''

Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese said Mr Abbott had to come clean about assurances from the agency.

''It appears the 'discussions' Mr Abbott refers to never happened and the 'categorical assurance' he claims to have received was never given,'' Mr Albanese said.

''If he can't be straight with people on one of the few policies he's released as Opposition Leader, how can anyone trust Mr Abbott to be honest about the big issues he would inevitably confront were he to become prime minister?

''Not only hasn't Mr Abbott said where the money would come from, he's now been caught out misleading about where the policy itself came from.''

Victorian Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said he would take Infrastructure Australia's view over Mr Abbott's.

''I am not surprised Mr Abbott is pretty sketchy on some of  this stuff. Mr Abbott has made a $1.5 billion commitment. He's not in any position to make that commitment. Costed? Funded, is it?'' he said.

Mr Abbott's spokesman said that Mr Albanese should spend ''less time playing politics and more time governing''.

The Public Transport Users Association also lashed the project and process, with president Tony Morton calling Mr Abbott ''a road lobbyist'' with very little care for public transport, saying he was fixated with a political rather than practical project.

''Tony Abbott needs to grow up and get into the 21st century and stop thinking the solution to traffic congestion is to build more roads,'' Mr Morton said.

Senator Kim Carr, representing Mr Albanese in the hearing, said it was ''a serious breach of protocol'' from the normal procedure the opposition uses to contact departmental offices, which is to seek a briefing from the minister's office.

Comment was sought from the state government last night.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/doubts-on-abbotts-tunnel-promise-20121016-27oo3.html

[Stillwater]

The ABC electoral pollster, Antony Green, says the next federal election will be fought in the southern states, where electoral margins are slim, and not in the growth states of Western Australia and Queensland, where the need for new infrastructure is acute.  When politicians make promises for 'big ticket' items, the temptation is to have one eye on electoral prospects in the geographic area that would benefit from the investment.  Green says federal Labor could lose 30 seats at the election to be held in 2013.

So, what are Labor's most marginal seats in Queensland?  They are Moreton (south of the Brisbane River), Petrie, Lilley (north of the river) and Blair, near Ipswich.  Of course, Lilley is held by the Treasurer, Wayne Swan, who controls the purse strings.

Petrie is the beneficiary of the MBRL.  CRR Lite connects Moreton and Lilley.  Would Mr Swan be swayed by a campaign for federal funding for Doomben Line upgrade, or is he driven by obtaining a surplus at any cost?  Hmmmm ... Blair.  What funding could the feds direct there?