Treasurer Joe Hockey has disputed suggestions that Victoria has been dudded on federal investment in the state’s infrastructure.
On ABC radio this morning presenter Jon Faine asked Mr Hockey if federal infrastructure spending on Victoria had fallen “off a cliff”.
“I don’t accept it…,” Mr Hockey said.
Faine had cited figures that Victoria’s share of infrastructure funding was down to about 13 per cent.
But Mr Hockey insisted the federal government was prepared to invest $3 billion in the East West Link, even though the Andrews government has scrapped it.
“But the bottom line is they just tore up 7000 jobs when they cancelled East West,” Mr Hockey said.
“We actually gave them the money for those jobs and they tore up the project.”
Now the federal government is demanding the state government hands back $1.5 billion paid to Victoria to build the scrapped East West Link.
The state government is pushing ahead with the Melbourne Metro rail project that is planned to run between Kensington and South Yarra. But it has not secured any federal funding.
When asked what he “had against urban rail” Mr Hockey said it was not the Commonwealth’s core business.
Mr Hockey said Victoria would receive a bonus payment after selling the Port of Melbourne.
“And if the Victorian government is saying they’re selling the Port of Melbourne and they’re redirecting proceeds into metro rail, terrific,” he said.
“We’ll give them a bonus payment provided the numbers stack up for metro rail.”
This story first appeared in The Age
