Article: $2000 a day for advice on train tunnel

[colinw]

The Age: $2000 a day for advice on train tunnel

TAXPAYERS are continuing to pick up the bill for a consultant who, over the past year, has charged around $2000 a day to work on a proposed rail tunnel under central Melbourne that may now never be built.

The incoming Baillieu government has promised to slash $185 million in government spending on consultants over the next five years.

Eric Keys is the project leader for the Melbourne Metro project, a $5 billion underground railway that would run from South Kensington to St Kilda Road.

The rail tunnel was first proposed while former minister Lynne Kosky was at the helm of the city's public transport network.

The project was championed by Department of Transport secretary Jim Betts, appointed to his position by Ms Kosky in 2008.

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