BY ANNIE LIU
The future of the Victorian government’s Suburban Rail Loop project is on the line in next month’s state election, with the major parties differing in their priorities when it comes to the health and infrastructure industries.
The incumbent Labor Party, led by Daniel Andrews, has emphasised the importance of building a Suburban Rail Loop to accommodate Melbourne’s population growth, both now and into the future.
The Coalition has argued the need to repair the hospital system is more urgent, and funding should be diverted from the Suburban Rail Loop into the healthcare sector.
Construction on the Eastern portion of the loop, which stretches from Cheltenham to Box Hill began in June 2022 with the government projecting trains be ready by 2035.
Matthew Guy, the leader of the opposition, announced that “a Liberals and Nationals Government will shelve the $35 billion Cheltenham to Box Hill rail line…to fixing the health crisis” on August 17.
A key marginal electorate, Box Hill is an important hub for both the healthcare and transport industries within Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.
Paul Hamer, the state Labor member for Box Hill, said the Suburban Rail Loop (SLR) is the project “our state needs for the future”.
“The Suburban Rail Loop will deliver more travel options for our local community and greater access to education, jobs and healthcare,” he said.
“Box Hill is already one of the busiest stations on the metropolitan train network, with many passengers interchanging on to connecting tram and bus services.”
Box Hill is Melbourne's fifth busiest train station, accommodating more than 11,000 travellers per day, according to the Whitehorse City Council.
Mr Hamer said the Suburban Rail Loop's establishment will deliver more travel options for the local community, including the convenience it provides to university students in the area.
“Being at the junction of the SRL and the Belgrave and Lilydale lines means that students from Monash University and Deakin University living along the entire rail corridor will have quicker and more convenient access to their place of study through Box Hill,” Mr Hamer said.
Mr Guy has been furious in his desire to ditch the loop in favour of fixing the healthcare crisis in Victoria.
“It’s a very clear choice at this election. A government that is committed to an ego-project of a premier who has gone mad with his self-aggrandizement, or to fixing the healthcare system once and for all with a large amount of money,” he said.
Mr Guy, who led the Liberals to a landslide loss at the 2018 election, has committed that the government he leads will “put every cent of that [Suburban Rail Loop funding] into fixing Victoria’s healthcare crisis”.
The opposition’s health pledges include $600 million for the first stage development of Wantirna Health City Precinct, $100 million for the Integrated cancer centre and a new clinical health school at Goulburn Valley Health and $108 million towards the construction of a new medical research facility in Box Hill.
Mr Guy argued the need to repair the hospital system was more urgent than a Suburban Rail Loop project and offered Victorian voters a choice between healthcare and infrastructure.
“When you’ve got a health crisis, the issue to fix it is clear: keep Victorians safe,” he said.
“Make sure women have got places to safely give birth, not the side of the road. When you call for an ambulance, one arrives, and it picks you up. When you get to the hospital, there is a bed waiting for you, and they don’t have to triage you and stick you in a tent.”
Mr Hamer believes that a re-elected Labor government can achieve both.
“Our $12 billion pandemic repair plan announced in the 2022-23 Budget is working side by side with our hardworking medical staff,” he said.
As for which approach is better received by voters, time will tell, with Victorians heading to the polls on November 26.
The Liberal Candidate for the seat of Box Hill, Nicole Ta-Ei Warner, did not respond to MOJO’s interview requests within the stated deadline.