West Gate Tunnel

So we've got to make sure if we do this, we do it right.

I mean, look at what's happened with the Westgate Tunnel Jar.

I mean, we spent a fortune on that and people still aren't really using it that much, are they?

Yeah, but I look at it from a point of view of if we reduce tunnelling, and we all know tunnelling is extremely expensive, if we reduce tunnelling and we use what facilities we have, i.e. the Albion to Cannell Line, then it's going to be a lot cheaper than tunnelling.

And then, of course, we'd see them coming back to government.

Well, it may cost the government a little bit.

And as we saw with the Westgate Tunnel project, you know, initially that was going to be a half a billion dollar project that was part of the government's election platform.

Transurban sweep talked them into a $5 billion project.

On the line now is William McDougall, who's an independent transport planner.

He's worked on big build, including Westgate Tunnel, North East Link, Suburban Rail and the Melbourne Airport Rail Link.

Hi, William.

Hello, Jackie.

Now, what was your reaction when you first read this report and was asked to comment today?

Well, sadly, I was not at all surprised.

I've experienced this kind of situation working with the government back in 2015 on the Westgate Tunnel.

So it's a very similar story that, you know, the process of getting these projects up is horrifically skewed and politically favoured, basically.

We have created half a trillion dollars in assets.

The Metro Tunnel, the Westgate Tunnel, 121 new schools, 12 new hospitals.

You can't look at the debt in isolation without looking at the assets Labor has built and the services behind them.

How does that help me? When you have, when you want 24 million a day in interest is costing you? Is that right? Neil? How does that help me when you're using, you're paying 24 million a day in interest and can't provide the services that that could pay for? You can't improve services.

Welcome to Husey, we have a problem.

Dan Andrews and Transurban got together years ago and decided to build the West Gate Tunnel, which is not being used.

All right.

Studio audience, everyone did so well clapping.

And you do wonder where did all the money go? Because if we are the highest taxed state in the nation, it went to major projects.

It went to sweetheart deals like the Westgate Tunnel, like the Suburban Rail Loop.

Because I know we talk about the Suburban Rail Loop and how, oh, we can wind it back.

If you live in that area between Shelton and Box Hill, especially around Deakin Uni there, and then I think it's near Heatherton, the Dingley Bypass there, you can – No one's putting that genie back in the bottle.

Yes, mate.

I was just talking to one of our other truck drivers who was coming in down the M80 ring road, but he got diverted through the Westgate Tunnel onto the Tullamore Freeway because the M80 ring road's been closed because of an oversized truck.

An oversized truck, what, just driving there or turned over? Or what does that mean, because of an oversized

truck? Well, I think it's, you know, those big concrete beams that they have, They think that one of them has come off the actual trailer.

No, no.

He didn't say anything.

He just said he got diverted to come through the Westgate Tunnel onto the Tullamarine Freeway, then back onto the...

Didn't he come back onto Pasco Boa Road virtually?

He might as well be in Fiji.

You know they've got the West Gate Tunnel.

Well, it started when I was in Western Australia and he was in Victoria, so I moved over here and, yeah.

But you've talked about, are you

So the disgrace of this is that Transurban has an ironclad contract, a contract that is based on toll increases.

And in return, they built the new Westgate tunnel that no one's using.

So...

They get a 10-year increase for CityLink tolls, and they will collect tolls on the Westgate Tunnel until 2045.

So CityLink, and this is the one, tolls are fixed at 4.25% increases until 2029.

And even after that, CPI increases.

But the issue here is the government signed a deal.

It is a sweetheart deal that pushed CityLink tolls, which were about to expire.

But the worst bit was it was too far off the turnoff.

So you could go to the Westgate Tunnel, but they'd missed that.

So people sitting in traffic for an hour watching, well, four cars whiz past to go into the tunnel.

This might be the tunnel's time to shine.