Victoria secretly hiked public transport fares to fund Suburban Rail Loop

Victoria's Labor government has secretly levied a surcharge on all public transport fares in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria since January 2025 to help fund the Suburban Rail Loop and other Big Build projects, the state's auditor-general revealed. The auditor-general's report, tabled in parliament on Wednesday, also raised doubts about whether the first stage of the project — a 26km twin tunnel from Cheltenham to Box Hill — can be delivered on time or within budget. The government had not publicly disclosed the fare increase.

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