So, having the federal government partner with the state government to pump money into roads and public transport is good news, and should pay handsome economic and social dividends – on the condition that projects are selected on merit and need, and managed with transparency and accountability.

At this stage, that appears to be the case – with the exception of the West Gate Tunnel, business details of which have been concealed despite the $5.5 billion project being initiated by a private company, Transurban, and not being put out to tender.

Aside from the airport connection, the money Mr Morrison is allocating will help build the North East Link, new tunnels and extra lanes on the Eastern Freeway and two new rail lines, including a link to Monash University’s main campus, a project even more overdue than the airport link.

Of course, much detail is yet to be wrangled, and there are significant disagreements to resolve: some between the competing state political forces, for example on whether the university line should be heavy or light rail, and some between the federal government and Victoria, including on where the airport link should be constructed.

Victoria’s almost $8 billion chunk represents a third of Mr Morrison’s updated infrastructure spend in the 2018 budget, and comes after a startlingly parsimonious allocation of less than 10 per cent (over five years) in 2017. Victoria is home to a quarter of the nation’s residents and accounts for a third of population growth.