Labor's Treasury spokesman Tim Pallas has said Labor's support boils down to Victorians needing to understand that "when the state of Victoria says they are going to do something, they do''.

In these circumstances, where virtually no transport expert who has looked at the project believes it should proceed, and in the absence of any disclosed business case, one wonders why we have state elections if the major opposition party believes itself duty-bound to tag along behind the government with this prodigiously expensive and flawed project.

The influence of big business should not be ignored, either. Donations made to federally registered political parties will not be disclosed by the Australian Electoral Commission before the beginning of February 2016.