The Making and Unmaking of East-West Link

For some years, Melbourne's aborted East-West Link created intense picketing and protests, multiple court challenges, breathless media coverage, and bitter politicking. The Link brought the downfall of the single-term Baillieu-Napthine Liberal government; its cancellation cost the state half a billion dollars; and it lives on in infamy, a byword in the Australian lexicon for political brinkmanship, waste, and politicisation of infrastructure. In The Making and Unmaking of East-West Link, James C Murphy explores the saga from competing vantage points, detailing the layers of politics and intrigue that saturate infrastructure policymaking in Australia.

James C Murphy lectures in politics and public policy at the University of Melbourne. His writing on Australian politics and history has appeared in The Canberra Times, The Conversation, and regularly in Inside Story.