Campaign against toll road targets corporate criminals

The campaign against the Victorian Liberal government’s East West Link toll road scam is continuing.

Several of the seven local councils now opposed to the toll road have held public meetings – some attended by hundreds – to discuss the likely impact of the road and the options for opposing it. Those that stand to benefit from this project are few but include businesses interested only in their own profits.

One of the consortia vying for the construction contract – Momentum Infrastructure Consortium – includes the construction giant Leighton Holdings. Leighton has publicly been linked to a series of scandals including corrupt business dealings and serious human rights violations against farming communities in India.

The history of Leighton and its parent firm is a case study in capitalist depravity. In 2001 Leighton Holdings became part of the construction giant Hochtief. Hochtief owes much of its current success to its historical collaboration with the German Nazi Party. It boasts openly on its website about constructing several building for Hitler, including his “Wolf’s Lair” command centre.

If Leighton secures the construction contract, it can expect to rake in a substantial profit from the deal, which could more accurately be described as a publicly funded rort for private investors.

Tender documents stipulate that the government will underwrite any losses sustained through either industrial disputes or a failure to reap sufficient income from the tolls paid by motorists.

[Rally against the East West Link: Sunday 15 December, 1pm, Smith Reserve on Alexandra Parade (next to Fitzroy Pool).]