There are fears the Federal Government’s proposed 90-day review of every infrastructure project that has yet to commence could spell an end to Shepparton’s latest push for a bypass.
Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said on Monday $120 billion worth of projects would be reviewed after she accused the former Coalition government of leaving “fiscal timebombs” in the budget.
The review will be conducted by experienced public servants and be finished by August, Ms King said.
Federal Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell said he feared it would mean the Shepparton bypass, to which the former Coalition government committed $208 million in 2019, would be scrapped.
The project has been limbo due to the Victorian Government repeatedly refusing to put money on the table for stage one, which would link Mooroopna to the Goulburn Valley Hwy via a crossing linking to Wanganui Rd.
On Monday morning, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said projects that had been announced without joint funding between federal and state governments — such as the Shepparton bypass — would be on the chopping block.
“The other thing that was occurring was that projects were being announced with no consultation with state governments, with no state government funding, that couldn’t possibly be delivered as well,” he said.
The Federal Government accused the Coalition of “pork-barrelling”, pointing to 160 projects that had funding promised and costed less than $5 million.
Ms King said “press release projects” had been announced across the country over the last term, but despite being costed for in the budget were “unable to be delivered”.
“This review will put confidence back into the investment pipeline, benefiting the states and territories and the communities we all serve,” Ms King said.
Mr Birrell said the October 2022 floods, which left the Peter Ross-Edwards Causeway shut, had shown how badly a second crossing was needed and blamed the Victorian government for its inaction.
“Inaction by Labor has put this project in jeopardy, and I’m extremely concerned that it won’t survive a review,” Mr Birrell said.
“The Victorian Labor Government has done nothing since completing the business case to prioritise the much-needed second river crossing between Shepparton and Mooroopna.”
Mr Birrell said the Federal Government’s wording on which projects would survive the review — which Ms King said would be “genuinely nation-building projects” — were concerning for regional funding more broadly across the country,
“This sounds the death knell for hundreds of regional infrastructure projects, projects that are critically important to communities but will never stack up economically against massive capital city projects,” Mr Birrell said.
“The Nationals will not be shamed for investing in regional projects, and we will not stay silent while Labor continues to defund, destroy and disregard important regional infrastructure projects.”