A Shorten Labor Government will create more jobs and get Perth moving again by investing in the city’s most important public transport project: METRONET.
We will end the shambles that the Liberals have made of transport planning by providing an initial $1 billion to build new lines and extend the passenger rail network across the city.
Perth is a fast growing city and it needs a clear transport plan.
Between 2001 and 2007 under the previous Labor State Government, 82 kilometres of rail was built. But since 2008 just eight kilometres of track has been laid.
Infrastructure Australia says that without additional funding for transport projects in Perth, the cost of delays in urban transport will blow out from $2 billion in 2011 to $16 billion by 2031.
While the best Malcolm Turnbull will do is take selfies on public transport, Labor will actually build it.
We will work with the Western Australian Government to get the planning underway for METRONET, and submit a full business case to Infrastructure Australia.
Labor will contribute $760 million to the project out to 2020, with a further $240 million available in the following two years.
Priorities for planning and assessment will include:
- Building a Morley-Ellenbrook Line.
- Extending the Northern Suburbs line to Yanchep.
- Extending the Armadale Line to Byford.
- Commencing a Circle Line, linking the Mandurah Line to the Thornlie Line.
- Remove unsafe level crossings that slow traffic on the Midland, Armadale and Fremantle Lines and help provide an incentive for urban renewal
- Building a new station at Karnup on the Mandurah Line.
Labor’s funding commitment to METRONET will depend on a positive assessment from Infrastructure Australia. This is consistent with our position that all major infrastructure projects must be subject to a thorough and detailed assessment prior to securing funds.
The current federal Liberal Government cut over $4 billion in funding to public transport projects when it was elected. Instead, it has funded a road that goes part-way to a port that will be at full capacity within ten years.
A Shorten Labor Government will not proceed with funding the Perth Freight Link project. Instead, we will undertake proper planning for Perth’s container capacity as Infrastructure Australia has proposed.
We will also retain the current $59 million commitment to the Leach Highway upgrade. This comes on top of the significant local road projects that Labor has already announced, like the North Lake Bridge.
Like those projects, our funding injection for METRONET is a direct investment in jobs that will make Perth a more liveable city.
Only Labor has a plan to get Perth moving because we understand this growing city out west needs the same quality infrastructure and services as other Australians enjoy.
For more information on Labor’s plan to build METRONET please visit http://www.100positivepolicies.org.au/perth_metronet_fact_sheet
MONDAY, 23 MAY 2016
