Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

The government's infrastructure investments are firmly within a budget framework that reflects two fundamental and closely linked elements. These are the needs of financial sustainability and for the productive investments in transport infrastructure that is essential to Australia's future prosperity. We need to shift from excessive recurrent expenditure towards productive investments in infrastructure and skills and other drivers of economic growth. The spending patterns we have inherited were skewed away from this productive investment.

So we have made some tough and necessary decisions in the budget. We will reduce the budget deficit from almost $50 billion in 2014 to $29 billion by next year and to just $2.8 billion in 2017-18. We are doing it in a sustainable way by reducing expenditure. While under-reported, the budget will actually reduce taxes by $5.7 billion in 2014-15. The most exciting part of the budget is the government's pro-active commitment to infrastructure that will help re-invigorate our nation.

Our $50 billion investment in transport infrastructure is the largest by an Australian government and it provides billions of dollars for regional road projects across the nation. The investment will drive and leverage more than $125 billion of construction activity. Our road building investments cover every state and territory. We are injecting record investments in road and rail projects to create real productivity improvements.

We have allocated $6.7 billion to fix the Bruce Highway by funding 45 new projects and continuing funding on 16 already underway. We are investing $5.6 billion to complete the duplication of the eastern states' artery, the Pacific Highway. There is $2.5 billion for the local roads under the Roads to Recovery program, including an extra $350 million to provide double funding in 2015-16. The budget includes $565 million for black spots—crucial for fixing dangerous and accident prone sections of local roads—plus $248 million for heavy-vehicle safety projects. There is $229 million for a new national highway upgrade program; $300 million for our new Bridges to Renewal program to help to repair and replace local bridges.

We have also allocated $480 million for the North-western and Great Northern Highways in Western Australia; $400 million for the Midland Highway in Tasmania; $77 million for the Northern Territory roads package; $1.285 billion towards the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing; $508 million for the Warrego Highway. We said we would build the roads of the 21st century, and that is what we are doing. These are projects that are in addition to some major capital city projects, like $1 billion for the Gateway Motorway North in Brisbane; $3.5 billion for the WestConnex in Sydney and another $2.9 billion for Western Sydney roads; $3 billion for the East-West project in Melbourne; $944 million for the North-South corridor, the Southern Expressway to Darlington and South Road from Torrens Road and River Torrens in Adelaide. We have committed to $1.6 billion for the Perth Freight Link, and $600 million for the Swan Valley Bypass. Importantly, we are funding those projects without a mining tax.

We have been criticised for a supposed lack of investment in rail. Firstly, there is $3.5 billion in the budget for rail projects, but since the coalition has been elected the states have committed $25 billion to major public transport projects. That includes the Melbourne Metro. Queensland is planning its cross-river bus and train tunnels. There is the North West Rail Link in New South Wales and the Forrestfield-Airport Link in Perth. In addition, the states can access the Australian government's $5 billion asset recycling initiative.

So the fact that the federal government is allocating such significant funding to roads frees up state money to do what they are able to best—projects such as public transport et cetera. Our freight rail investment includes $300 million to resuscitate the Melbourne to Brisbane inland rail route—a project left in limbo for six years under Labor. Another $2 billion has been invested in urban passenger rail over a six-year program, including the Moreton Bay Rail Link in Brisbane, completing the Regional Rail Link in Melbourne and the Gold Coast Rapid Transit Project. This is a major investment in infrastructure, the likes of which our country has never seen, and it will make a real different to our nation.

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