Suburban Rail Loop: Victorian government secretly increased public transport fares to help pay for controversial SRL

<p>Labor put ‘levy on all public transport fares in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria’ since January 2025, auditor-general says</p><p>The Victorian government secretly increased public transport fares to raise money to help pay for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/24/victorian-premier-ben-carroll-pushes-ahead-with-srl-spend-despite-hinting-at-pause">the Suburban Rail Loop</a> and other Big Build projects, the state’s auditor-general has revealed.</p><p>The auditor-general’s report, tabled in parliament on Wednesday, also questioned whether the first stage of the multibillion-dollar project – a 26km stretch of twin tunnels from Cheltenham to Box Hill dubbed SRL East – can be delivered on time or within budget.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/26/victoria-suburban-rail-loop-srl-public-transport-fare-levy-increase">Continue reading...</a>