3AW: East West Link ‘must’ go ahead. 18 November, 2014 –
Aborting the controversial East West Link project would prove a disastrous blow for Melbourne, according to an influential city group.
The Committee for Melbourne, made up of several of the city’s powerbrokers, has thrown its support behind the project that will reduce congestion on the roads.
The group’s CEO, Kate Roffey, told Tom Elliott the project was vital to Melbourne’s future.
“Our organization looks 20 to 30 years into the future, not two or three,” she said.
“The difference between us being a city of four million and a city of eight million are projects like East West Link and the urban rail network.
“If we don’t start working on these now, we’re heading very quickly towards a congestion problem that will make it almost impossible to move around the city.
“These are really important city-shaping issues for us.”
Victorian Labor leader Daniel Andrews has pledged to tear up the East West Link contract, should his party win the upcoming election.
But Ms Roffey said that would be easier said than done.
“It’s not a matter of just saying we’re not going to honour these contracts,” she explained.
“There are significant penalties and things that will have to be worked through.
“There’s a long way to go before the contracts are actually taken off the table.
“There is the capacity to do it but it’s going to cost us in time and dollars, most certainly, to tear them up.
“It’s a big call.”
