THE state opposition wants the Andrews government to make sure the sale of Rural Finance goes solely towards projects benefiting regional Victoria, particularly the Murray Basin Rail Project.
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The Coalition collected $400 million for the state with the sale of the state-owned bank, planning to put $41 million to get the rail project started and a further $180 million in the coming years.
In February, the Andrews Government committed $5 million for pre-works on the Mildura line and a further $25 million in the May budget.
The Murray Basin Rail Project includes modernising the capacity of the Mildura line, maintain access to intermodal terminals at Donald and Merbein and enable bulk transport of grain to Melbourne and Geelong from the state's north and northwest.
Initial work starting this year takes in a maintenance program on the line between Maryborough and Yelta, on the Murray River.
Speaking in Bendigo last week, opposition spokesperson for public transport David Hodgett said the project had been "fully funded" already and he expected it to proceed in full.
"We honoured our commitment that the money from the sale of Rural Finance would be re-spent on rural and regional infrastructure," he said.
"The question now remains whether the new government will fully fund the project as well."
At the February announcement, Premier Daniel Andrews said the government would wait on the final business case before committing to the next stage of the project.
However, Mr Hodgett said the business case was expected to be finalised by the end of last year.
"The Victorian Farmers Federation will be watching closely I'm sure and they are very passionate about seeing this project go ahead in full," he said.
VFF grains group president Brett Hosking welcomed the announcement, saying the out-of-date rail network in the Murray Basin had resulted in double handling, under investment and grain being forced onto the road.
He said failure to complete the entire project would risk isolating more than one million tonnes of grain on the Manangatang and Sea Lake lines.
Premier Daniel Andrews indicated to businesses at the announcement that the Labor government would follow through with the next stages of the project.
He said the business case would provide options of how best to progress the next stages of the project.
Mr Andrews said the previous government had left Victoria's regional freight network in "a state of utter disrepair".
"The Coalition let our regional freight network deteriorate and it’s costing producers time and money," he said.
