But the expert agency, which cost taxpayers $9.94 million in 2016-17 according to its most recent financial report, was ignored while the government spent a year secretly developing its proposed suburban rail loop, a 90-kilometre orbital rail line through the suburbs. Running from Cheltenham to Werribee via Box Hill and Melbourne Airport, mostly underground, the line would cost an estimated $50 billion to build and would be completed by 2050, the government says. It developed the rail loop with Development Victoria, another agency focused on urban renewal and property development, before announcing the project on Tuesday and pledging to spend $300 million on planning it if re-elected on November 24. Premier Daniel Andrews defended the government’s decision not to seek the advice of Infrastructure Victoria before committing to the mega project.

“Infrastructure Victoria have lots of good ideas, they don’t have every good idea,” Mr Andrews told ABC Melbourne on Wednesday. “The last 30-year plan they put out was back in 2016 and I wasn’t particularly prepared to wait for the next one,” he said. “The key point here is we’ve done the hard work over 12 months with the experts to work out that central question: can you do this?” Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video But one transport policy expert said the government had consistently ignored Infrastructure Victoria’s advice, increasing the risk that Victorians would ultimately pay for projects that have poor returns.

Grattan Institute transport program director Marion Terrill said Labor’s decision to commit an estimated $50 billion to the loop without a business case or cost-benefit analysis was the latest in a long line of government promises to spend taxpayers’ money before doing due diligence. “This government set up Infrastructure Victoria specifically so that it would have independent guidance on what were the priorities for infrastructure", Ms Terrill said. Yet the body’s 30-year plan was notable for how few of its key recommendations the government had accepted, she said. Grattan Institute transport program director Marion Terrill. Credit:Eddie Jim Its recommendations included introducing road user pricing to manage congestion — an idea flatly rejected by the Andrews government — increasing housing density in established suburbs and investing in more social and affordable housing for vulnerable Victorians.

The 30-year strategy does not mention the suburban rail loop and Ms Terrill said the project’s huge price tag would inevitably see other worthy projects denied funding. “Infrastructure Victoria has done the job that this government gave it to do and I think that the better path would be for the government then to listen to that advice,” Ms Terrill said. Infrastructure Victoria chief executive Michel Masson said that although the suburban rail loop was a new proposal and was not assessed in the agency’s 30-year strategy, it would be assessed in an updated strategy, “in light of the long-term needs of and benefits for the state”. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video “In particular we are interested in the integration of transport planning and land use, a strong focus of our update,” Mr Masson said.