As Deadline Looms, Tony Abbott Doesn’t Know His East From West
The Greens have questioned the prime minister’s illogical addiction to roads, as this afternoon’s deadline for Infrastructure Australia to provide a business case for the East West toll road to the Senate draws near.
“Tony Abbott arrived in Melbourne to spruik the East West toll road but showed he had no understanding of Melbourne or the impact of this monstrous project,” said Mr Bandt.
“Tony Abbott said the East West toll road would relieve traffic on Flemington Road and Hoddle Street, a nonsense that defies reality.
“The East West toll road won’t create a magical new route into the city. People will still need to get to the city via Flemington Road or Hoddle Street. Those roads won’t get less congested.
“Tony Abbott doesn’t understand Melbourne or its congestion problems, which can only be fixed by new trains, trams, bikes and bus lines.
Last week, the Senate passed a Greens motion ordering Infrastructure Australia produce a cost-benefit analysis of the East West toll road by 4pm today.
“Victorians deserve to know how much of their money is being wasted on this project,” said the Greens federal spokesperson for Transport & Infrastructure Senator Janet Rice.
“Previous attempts by the Greens and Labor to make the business case publicly available have been dismissed with tenuous excuses.
“Now that the contracts have been hastily signed by the Napthine government, any excuse of ‘commercial in confidence’ is surely redundant.
“The deadline is fast approaching, and we are waiting with bated breath to see whether Napthine and Abbott come good with the business case or use another lame excuse to hide the economic disaster of the East West toll road.”
Contacts:
For Adam: Tom Allen – 0439 338 302
For Janet: Sam Drummond – 0400 352 935