00:01Toll reform was a central pillar of Labor's election platform.
00:05After nearly three and a half years in office, it's finally reached a deal with private toll road operators.
00:11This is the first government to ever have actually brought toll prices down.
00:16From July next year, the Lane Cove Tunnel will be 10 per cent cheaper.
00:20There'll be similar savings on the M2 for longer trips.
00:23A year later, cross-city tunnel users will get a 20 per cent discount.
00:27But between now and then, prices will still rise.
00:30The government cautious of overstating the impact of the savings.
00:34Look, this is a modest reform.
00:35These are modest changes.
00:37Changes that come at a significant cost to the taxpayer.
00:40Estimated at $143 million over the next five years.
00:44In 2028, Transurban will reduce the M7 distance cap by 10 per cent, meaning more drivers will benefit.
00:50But in return, the state government will need to tip in more than $800 million to widen the M7 and
00:56M2.
00:56There will be no special savings for North Connex drivers, and West Connex users will also be left behind.
01:03That toll agreement was simply too long, too big, too complex.
01:06They've spent three and a half years promising to fix toll reform.
01:10There's been a lot of talk, and this is a half-done job, which frankly is disappointing.
01:14Motorcycles will get a 50 per cent price reduction that will be rolled out progressively, and the eastern distributor will
01:20be tolled in both directions from 2028, but the new price will be set at 53 per cent of the
01:26northbound toll.
01:27Two-way tolling on the existing harbour crossings and the future Western Harbour Tunnel will help pay for the permanent
01:33weekly toll cap.
01:34Toll road companies will also chip in $75 million.
01:38The government wanted wide-ranging, comprehensive pricing reform.
01:42It's not been able to deliver that, but it is hoping people who use toll roads day in, day out,
01:47will focus on the bottom line.
01:49What this will mean is that you'll be paying less for tolls than you were otherwise.
01:52A small bright spot in a cost of living crisis.
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