Treasurer threatens Melbourne Airport after rail line delayed again
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The state government has escalated its quarrel with Melbourne Airport, a day after announcing the rail link to the aviation hub will be delayed by four more years.
Treasurer Tim Pallas today suggested if an agreement with the Tullamarine airport’s operators was not reached, the government could explore options to build a rail link to Avalon Airport near Geelong instead.
“I’m not playing games with people around this. I’m not seeing the taxpayer held to ransom,” Pallas said today.
Negotiations with Melbourne Airport have added to the woes surrounding the proposed rail link to the precinct.
“They (Melbourne Airport) want it gold-plated, they want it undergrounded,” he said.
Pallas said he was unsure if the government had even received engineering advice that that was possible.
The decision to delay the line for at least four years was an effort to reign in state spending.
“This is a budget that’s made sensible and disciplined decisions,” Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said.
Today Pallas said the government was considering “putting an each way bet around Avalon, and starting to think about what they can do, in provisioning for our transport needs going forward”.
With 15,000 hectares of room around it and a train line already nearby, Avalon Airport’s operators said they were open to the idea.
“Bring it on,” Avalon chief financial officer Adrian Harvey said.
A mediator has been appointed by the federal government to resolve the dispute between state government and Melbourne Airport.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be in Melbourne tomorrow and will likely be asked about infrastructure projects there.