In the lead-up to the Victorian state election in November 2014, the East West Link tunnel toll road continues to be a divisive and unpopular issue for the Premier Denis Napthine and his Liberal Government.<\/p>\n
The toll road is projected to cost $8 billion to connect the Eastern Freeway and Alexandra Parade to Citylink as phase one, with subsequent extension planned to the Western Ring Road.<\/p>\n
The issue was a factor in federal electorates in Melbourne in September, 2013, and probably contributed to The Green\u2019s Adam Bandt’s re-election as the Member for Melbourne, and helped Greens candidate Tim Read supplant the Liberals for second in the Wills electorate based upon the City of Moreland.<\/p>\n
Read my account from September 2013 on public transport versus East West Link toll road issue<\/a> on No Fibs<\/em>.<\/p>\n According to Josh Gordon’s February 2014 article<\/a> in The Sydney Morning Herald<\/em>, infrastructure estimates show that the project would recoup only about 80 cents for every dollar spent.<\/p>\n But the government fiddles the books by using agglomeration, saying that wider economic benefits need to be included. It has refused to release the detailed business case for the project.<\/p>\n Labor Opposition leader Daniel Andrews has opposed the East West Link tunnel, but has said the Labor Party, if elected this year, will honour the contracts if already signed to continue the project.<\/p>\n Inner city councils of Melbourne, Yarra and Moreland have all opposed the East West Link project with the City of Yarra establishing the Trains not Toll Roads<\/a> website.<\/p>\n Grassroots websites include Yarra Campaign for Action on Public Transport<\/a>.<\/p>\n A tunnel picket has now been active for six months to stop or delay drilling for soil samples. Ongoing protest and arrests have kept the issue public and in the media.<\/p>\n Many believe the Napthine Government is spooked by the traction in the public transport issue and announced an overhaul of the transport zones<\/a>, effectively making all of Melbourne’s suburban public transport system zone 1 and abolishing tram fares in the CBD, at a projected cost of $100million to the budget.<\/p>\n Abolishing zonal fares would remove inequalities in local fares<\/a> in areas such as Moreland’s northern suburbs which overlap zone 1 and zone 2.<\/p>\n But the move was criticised<\/a> by Tony Morton from the Public Transport Users Association, who argued that zone 2 residents, and ultimately many zone 1 public transport users, may find they are paying more for short journeys.<\/p>\n “When there\u2019s just one or two basic fares regardless of distance travelled, it rapidly becomes uncompetitive for short trips,\u201d said Dr Morton.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people likely to suffer in the longer term are those who want to use public transport to go to their local shops, to take the kids to school, or who work somewhere other than the inner city; in other words, the majority of people in Melbourne\u2019s suburbs.\u201d<\/p>\n Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews announced that Labor would continue the changes if it won office.<\/p>\n Moreland Community Against the Tunnel (MCAT) organised a rally and march in Brunswick last weekend with the support of City of Moreland Council.<\/p>\n Speakers included a welcome statement by City of Moreland Mayor Lambros Tapinos (Watch the video<\/a> 2:58) and a speech by Paul Sinclair (Watch the video<\/a> 1:17) on the impact of the East West Link tunnel on sports fields and clubs, already lacking in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.<\/p>\n Mel Gregson, from the tunnel picket, outlined why the project is a social disaster, an environmental disaster and financial disaster.<\/p>\n Gregson told the rally: “Because we have been so successful in our campaign, the government has, for the second time, halted the preliminary test drilling works they have been doing across the inner north, and we believe the reason they have altered this work \u2013 they still have a number of sites they need to get samples from \u2013 because they don’t want us on the news every day talking about the social ramifications, the environmental ramifications and the financial ramifications of this disastrous project.<\/p>\n \u201cIn order to take our platform away, they have actually stopped doing some of the work that they need to do in order to contract out this project.”<\/p>\n See her explain how the tunnel picket started with ordinary people coming together and taking action. Napthine Government spooked<\/h3>\n
Brunswick rally for trains not toll roads<\/h3>\n