Victoria’s opposition leader, Matthew Guy, has pledged that if elected premier in November, he will scrap Daniel Andrews’ plan for a suburban rail loop, and instead prioritize spending on the state’s health system.

The first stage of the rail line from Cheltenham to Box Hill is expected to cost $34.5 billion, with Guy saying he will reprioritise every cent of that funding into fixing the Victorian health system.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese already committed up to $2.2 billion to the infrastructure project during the Federal election and the Victorian government is seeking a further $9.3 billion in federal funds, according to The Guardian.

Early-work contracts of $2.3 billion have already been signed by the Andrews government, with Guy telling Neil Mitchell on 3AW this morning that he won’t be tearing these contracts up.

“If you’ve done the early works, you can go back to it, but I can’t give you a date when I’m going to go back to it because we need to fix the health system first,” he said.

But the opposition leader said that his government won’t prioritise the rail loop and instead plan to deliver real solutions to fix the Victorian health crisis.

“We will rebuild our crumbling health system by constructing or upgrading hospitals across Victoria. We will attract, retain and reward the staff we need to run a health system that local communities can trust and rely on. We will support the mental health of young Victorians by placing a mental health professional in every Victorian school,” Guy said in a media release.

PHOTO: Metro Trains Melbourne Siemens at Sunshine by Thebusofdoom available HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. This photo has not been modified.