Jess Wilson knows the SRL can’t be stopped. Pretending otherwise is political shenanigans

October 30, 2026 — 7:00pm

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The Coalition’s explanation of what a “pause and review” of the Suburban Rail Loop would actually entail is now as murky as the subterranean mud that tunnel boring machines are digging through.

Both major parties are ensnared in an SRL conundrum wrapped in a political riddle – what to do with a major project that is too big to fail and increasingly expensive to build.

The first stage of the under-construction rail line, running underground from Cheltenham to Box Hill, is too far gone to cancel or drastically alter without significant costs.

This is not a comfortable reality for Opposition Leader Jess Wilson, who has made economic management her biggest virtue to voters. She has appointed herself shadow treasurer for this exact reason.

By repeating the mantra that they will pause and review the project with just a morsel of detail, the Coalition has, deliberately or not, allowed some wiggle room in the minds of voters.

Coalition says it will keep drilling Suburban Rail Loop tunnels as the massive cost of stopping is revealed

Like a political Rorschach test, different groups have found their own meaning.

Haters have clung to the hope that this process will find the underground line is too expensive and must be cancelled immediately.

Others have rationalised that an incoming government will get their feet under the desk and accept that it has to be completed.

In this sweet spot, Wilson’s pause and review policy has allowed her to appear as a hard-nosed budget manager without being tied........

© The Age