Bill F
The only solution capitalism can devise to overcome Melbourne’s chronic traffic congestion and sprawling outer suburbs is to impose more costs on the people by privatising public infrastructure.
Infrastructure Australia, headed by Sir Rod Eddington, has recommended selling off major freeways such as the Eastern Freeway, the West Gate Freeway and the Western Ring Road to private operators who could then levy tolls. In addition, all new major roads would also be built as privatised tollways, with dedicated tollways linking the ports, reserved just for trucks and commercial vehicles.
The plan envisages that proceeds of the sell-offs could be used by the state government to fund other infrastructure such as the Avalon Airport rail link and the east-west tunnel under inner Melbourne.
This prospect has caused a flurry of interest among financiers and construction companies. About 100 of these ‘entrepreneurs’ met with Department of Transport officials in July, focusing on the Baillieu government’s preference to kick-start the east-west tunnel project.
Baillieu himself, is coy about tollways, but has said, “We can swap assets around, we can trade assets to fund, we can use debt, we can use surpluses, we can use the private sector – there will be balance of those in any infrastructure project”. In other words, the privatisation agenda that characterised the Kennett government is to be rolled out again.
As for the east-west tunnel, will it really solve the congestion problems or will it just funnel cars into the city a bit quicker than before? The Western Ring Road was also supposed to provide a by-pass around the city, but has ended up clogged with trucks and cars and a nightmare in peak times.
More suburban sprawl means more freeways, more tollways, more cars, and more profits for developers, construction companies, banks, car makers, insurance companies and lawyers. For exhausted workers, it means long and stressful hours stuck in traffic, chewing up petrol dollars and wondering why cars built for 200 km/h have to only do 40km/h.
As for a real alterative, such as a massive expansion of fixed rail public transport, forget it say the big business bosses. Even with government subsidies, the rate of profit isn’t good enough for them. Necessary projects that would make life easier for the people of Melbourne, such as the long-delayed Doncaster rail link or the rail service to Tullamarine Airport are still in limbo. Capitalism only ever does things for profit, regardless of need, and hardly ever to serve the people.
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