Infrastructure is a big-ticket item in the 2019 Election Campaign. Following recent cuts over the last four years, the Liberals proposed record levels of infrastructure funding in the 2019 budget.[1] In response, both Labor and the Greens have doubled-down on proposed plans, with major funding reserved for public transport improvements.
Coalition
The Coalition have announced a 10-year infrastructure plan which will increase from $75 billion to $100 billion to “reduce congestion, keep our roads safe, connect people to jobs and get our produce to market”.[2] This will include:
These policies have drawn criticism due to the breakdown of funding across 10-years which is largely back-ended, with only $42 billion to be spent in the next four years.[3] Further state-level analyses reveal that Victoria will receive only 17.7% of the national funds, despite having 26% of the population.[4] The government has also been accused of ‘double-counting’ funding with budgetary inclusions for projects that have already been abandoned, including the East-West Link in Melbourne.[5] Promoting infrastructure has been a major objective for the Coalition, which has allocated $1.75 million per week in department advertising for the six weeks leading up to the Federal election.[6]
Labor
Bill Shorten used the Budget Reply Speech to deliver infrastructure policy commitments, including a public transport overhaul. This will comprise funding to Cross River Rail in Brisbane as well as the Western Sydney Metro.[7]
In Victoria, Labor proposes to commit:
Labor also announced bipartisan support for future Infrastructure Australia board appointments as well other nation-wide policies, including:
With a large focus on Queensland as a key battleground for the Federal Election, $1.5 billion in upgrades to Brisbane’s Gateway Motorway and the next stage of the Bruce Highway has been announced. Similarly, $1.5 billion towards the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to fund the construction of gas pipelines across Queensland and the Northern Territory.[12] The Coalition claims that extensive spending will impede Labor from achieving a balanced budget.[13]
Greens
The Greens are focused on providing infrastructure that will address housing demand and expanding public transport networks. To create sufficient housing options, the Greens propose:
Addressing public transport, The Greens emphasise the need to deliver “fast, frequent… affordable and safe public transport”.[16] This will include:
[1] Chan, G. (2019), ‘Roads, rail and car parks get $100bn infrastructure spend in Australian budget – but over a decade’, retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/apr/02/australia-federal-budget-2019-infrastructure-frydenberg-treasurer-budget
[2] Liberal Party of Australia. (2019), ‘Keeping Australian’s safe on our roads’, retrieved from: https://www.liberal.org.au/our-plan-keeping-australians-safe-our-roads
[3] Chan, G. (2019), ‘Roads, rail and car parks get $100bn infrastructure spend in Australian budget – but over a decade’, retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/apr/02/australia-federal-budget-2019-infrastructure-frydenberg-treasurer-budget
[4] Reynolds, E. (2019), ‘Maps reveal Government’s record $100b plan’, retrieved from: https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/federal-budget/maps-reveal-governments-record-100bn-plan/news-story/4d27573315a3fbc2a688e5e38aa51eda
[5] Albanese, A. (2019), ‘Media Release – Labor Leads from Opposition on Infrastructure – Wednesday, 3 April, 2019’, retrieved from: https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/media-release-labor-leads-from-opposition-on-infrastructure-wednesday-3-april-2019
[6] Karp, P. (2019), ‘Infrastructure department has $250,000 a day for ads before election’, retrieved from:https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/30/infrastructure-department-has-250000-a-day-for-ads-before-election
[7]Shorten, B. (2019), ‘2019 budget-in-reply address’, retrieved from: https://www.billshorten.com.au/2019_budget_in_reply_address_canberra_thursday_4_april_2019
[8] Victoria’s Big Build, (2019), ‘Suburban rail loop’, retrieved from: https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/suburban-rail-loop
[9] Bagshaw, E. (2019), ‘No more pork-barrelling: Labor promises infrastructure shake-up’, retrieved from: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/no-more-pork-barrelling-labor-promises-infrastructure-shake-up-20190405-p51b6r.html
[10] Labor, (2019), ‘National bike paths strategy’, retrieved from: https://www.alp.org.au/policies/national-bike-paths-strategy
[11] Hunter, F. and Duke, J. (2019), ‘’Make the best of what we have’: Labor rules out sweeping NBN overhaul in new policy’, retrieved from:https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/make-the-best-of-what-we-have-labor-rules-out-sweeping-nbn-overhaul-in-new-policy-20190408-p51bzj.html
[12] Wright, S. (2019), ‘Abbott fund scrapped under labor plan to develop northern Australia’, retrieved from: https://www.smh.com.au/federal-election-2019/abbott-fund-scrapped-under-labor-plan-to-develop-northern-australia-20190422-p51g7u.html
[13] Remeikis, A. (2019), ‘Scott Morrison again links Labor with recession after previously ruling it out’, retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/05/scott-morrison-revives-claims-of-recession-under-labor-government
[14] Greens. (2019), ‘Policy initiative – a home for all,’ retrieved from: https://greens.org.au/sites/default/files/2019-02/Greens%202019%20Policy%20-%20A%20Home%20For%20All_0.pdf
[15] Ibid.
[16] Greens. (2019), ‘Planning and transport’, retrieved from: https://greens.org.au/policies/planning-and-transport
[17] Greens. (2019). ‘World class public transport,’ retrieved from: https://greens.org.au/sites/default/files/2019-03/Greens%202019%20Policy%20Platform%20-%20Public%20Transport%20%28Mar%202019%29.pdf
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