Yet Labor leader Daniel Andrews has vowed to scrap East West Link, saying that if Labor were elected, the government would no longer defend a legal challenge to the toll road. This issue has become the crucial point of difference between the two parties.

Labor's policies on education outstrip those of the Coalition, in terms of its commitment to investing in schools and restoring some of the funding to TAFE colleges that was irresponsibly slashed by the Baillieu government. Labor also has a good plan to eliminate 50 level crossings.

On law and order, the Coalition's changes to sentencing guidelines to bring about longer prison terms will prove terribly costly and, in our view, will damage our community, not enhance it.

In this campaign, however, both the Coalition and Labor are offering voters small horizons, a hash of lacklustre and incomplete policies, and a welter of promises that underscore how little has been done to date. For example, neither has put forward a compelling policy on health, one that addresses the many critical issues in this sector, and we doubt the Coalition's claim that it added 800 hospital beds since 2010.

In the past 20 months, Premier Denis Napthine has brought some energy to the task of governing and has finally begun to push ahead with the projects and policies that the Coalition had promised voters in 2010. Through all this, the Coalition has been a steady hand in terms of fiscal management, achieving a credible budget surplus into the future.

Melbourne needs significant investment in both rail and road networks. It is vital because Melbourne is growing rapidly – more so than any other capital city – and if the next government does not grasp this fundamental challenge, then instead of being one of the world's most liveable cities, Melbourne will become Australia's most dysfunctional metropolis. East West Link is necessary to relieve traffic congestion in the east, north and west of inner Melbourne. Building the second stage, through to the Western Ring Road, is vital to get heavy haulage off local roads and ease delays for commuters.

The Coalition has proposed $27billion of new roads, port facilities and train routes. Many of these will not proceed until well into the next decade, and The Age questions some of these priorities and, indeed, the transparency of some of these projects. The government's high-handed refusal to release the financial justification for the first stage of the link demonstrates unacceptable arrogance.

Nevertheless, action is needed now. Four years ago, as the new Opposition Leader, Mr Andrews conceded that one of the main reasons Labor lost government was that, through its 11 years in office, it had failed to keep up with the many demands that a fast-growing population imposes on government services. It beggars belief that he is now going to voters with no coherent plan for infrastructure development. Worse, his threat to terminate the East West Link construction contracts is reckless and jeopardises the investment climate in this state.

The Age believes government is a chalice that must be won, not acquired by default. To that extent, a party in opposition must offer voters a credible and comprehensive vision of the years ahead. It must present policies of breadth and depth that demonstrate a competence of potential leadership and an appreciation of the challenges facing Victoria. Labor has not done so. The Age's assessment of the parties' policies, which is published today, shows that on balance we favour those of the Coalition.

Victorians deserve strong, visionary leadership. On the basis of the policies presented in this campaign, The Age believes Denis Napthine deserves to be elected to serve a full term in his own right.