One of Australia’s biggest infrastructure projects is “way over budget and way behind schedule” and has been treated like “a strange vanity project”, according to federal Transport Minister Catherine King.
The $14.5 billion Inland Rail project, designed to establish a rail link between Melbourne and Brisbane, is under construction through regional Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
The project will complete Australia’s national rail network and include 600 kilometres of new track.
But an unreleased independent review recently identified “significant concerns” with the project, and Ms King told the National Press Club on Wednesday the report made for “gripping reading”.
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Blaming the Morrison government for losing sight of the project’s goals, Ms King said the Inland Rail project served as a “damning indictment” of its former administrators.
“The previous government, I think, lost sight of (its goals). They didn’t see it as a project that had those goals,” she said.
“Under my predecessor, frankly, I think the project became something of a strange vanity project for him. And now Inland Rail, it is way over budget and it is way behind schedule.”
Ms King said the government was finalising a response to the Inland Rail’s independent review, prepared by former Sydney Water chief executive Dr Kerry Schott, and would respond to its findings “soon”.
The Inland Rail project, which began in 2018, was originally due to cost $4.7 billion but, experts have warned, could end up costing more than $20 billion by its due date in 2027.
But Opposition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie said the major rail investment had potential to “benefit all Australians” and Ms King should concentrate on delivering it rather than criticising it.
“Rather than talking down the Inland Rail and calling it a vanity project, the minister should be constructively working through the complex decisions for the next stages of the project,” Ms McKenzie said.
Ms King also used her National Press Club address to warn other transport links in Australia had been “neglected for too long” and could make Australians vulnerable to being cut off from vital freight.
Some Australian rail networks had been forced to close up to 20 per cent of the the time, she said, while others faced heightened risk from natural disasters.
“The transcontinental rail line, the Stuart Highway, the Carpentaria Highway, the South Coast Highway in WA, and the main west rail line out of Sydney – all are vital transport links and all are rated at high risk,” she said.
“These routes struggle to cope at the best of times. As the climate changes we will see more and more disruptions.”
But rather than commit to undertaking more transport projects to build capacity, Ms King warned some investments may need to be cut to rein in costs and prioritise limited resources.
She said an upcoming review of Infrastructure Australia would create a smaller, “targeted” list of project priorities with stricter planning and assessment criteria.
Australia did not have enough workers to complete ongoing infrastructure projects, Ms King warned, with a current shortfall of 94,000 workers that was expected to grow to 112,000 workers by September.
“This shortage is particularly felt in relation to engineers, surveyors, project managers and labourers amongst many others,” she said.
“Without getting too political, we have to work out which projects are actually deliverable, and which were just political window dressing.”
