Geelong Mayor Trent Sullivan has slammed the Federal Government, after Minister Catherine King announced funding for the Geelong fast rail project would be cut.
The former Coalition government pledged $2-billion for the project in November 2020, with funding to also come from the state government.
Although, the government has revealed an independent review found concerns around the project’s costs, with the fats rail among dozens of projects cut.
“The Federal Government’s decision to cancel the Geelong Fast Rail project is a bitter blow for the people of Geelong and the region,” Mr Sullivan said.
“Having promised our community a world-class rail system, the Federal Government has now abandoned those promises,” he said.
“As one of the fastest growing regions in Australia, Geelong desperately needs public transport investment.
“Our rail service is under extreme pressure and a high-speed rail is long overdue. Commuters are tired of disrupted timetables, long journeys and overcrowding.
“Geelong people have waited long enough and the need for this service is urgent.”
The Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Minister committed to the $120billion infrastructure pipeline in May, with Ms King saying there would be not cuts to the total pipeline budget.
“The City of Greater Geelong is working hard to successfully attract new businesses and investment to the region to grow employment,” Mayor Sullivan said.
“A high-speed rail project would create more jobs for the region during the construction of the line.
“It would create certainty for local businesses, attract even more people to live in our regional city and encourage development in surrounding areas by bringing places such as Winchelsea and Colac within easy reach of Melbourne.
“The City of Greater Geelong has been a leader in pushing for fast rail over many years and developed a Fast Rail strategy document that seeks to fast-track rail upgrades.
“We will now ramp up our fight for our transport funding from the State Government.”
