Breaking: Fares secretly hiked to fund Suburban Rail Loop, Auditor-General finds

The Victorian Auditor-General's Office has found the state government never revealed a new levy on public transport fares from the start of 2025.

Labor put ‘levy on all public transport fares in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria’ since January 2025, auditor-general says The Victorian government secretly increased public transport fares to raise money to help pay for the Suburban Rail Loop and other Big Build projects, the state’s auditor-general has r

The levy was exposed by the Victorian Auditor-General on Wednesday, which also warned the project was at risk of running late and over budget.

The levy was exposed by the Victorian Auditor-General on Wednesday, which also warned the project was at risk of running late and over budget.

One of the key legacies of the nearly 12-year-old Labor government in Victoria has been a massive investment in infrastructure. The Suburban Rail Loop has been a prominent project in this debate. So why is it so controversial? The rail loop is an example of a long-term problem in Victoria: prioritising ad-hoc infrast