Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Hansard source

The problem for this government is that it is all talk and rhetoric and no build when it comes to infrastructure, and this budget has just shown that. The background, of course, to the budget has been a 17.3 per cent fall in public infrastructure investment if you compare the December quarter 2014 with just 12 months earlier—an 11.2 per cent fall in the infrastructure and regional development portfolio spending over the budget. That is the media release from the Infrastructure Partnerships Australia organisation. That is what the sector is saying about this government's approach.

There has been over $2 billion has been cut out of federal infrastructure funding to the states and territories over this year and the next financial year compared with the government's own budget papers in 2014. There was $802 million less spent this year than was promised in the 2014 budget, and $1,199 million less next year than was promised in the 2014 budget. If anyone doubts it, they just need to refer to table 2.9 in Budget Paper No. 3 of the 2014 budget at page 60 and compare with the same table on page 51 of the 2015 budget. That includes $613 million cut from Queensland, including $93 million cut next year from the Bruce Highway: $812 million cut from Victoria; $318 million cut from South Australia; and $31 million cut from Tasmania. Victoria has received just eight per cent of infrastructure spending, despite having 25 per cent of the population.

Then you go to specific programs: the business renewal program was promised $60 million this year and now zero dollars will be spent on what is, I acknowledge, a coalition program, and no extra money for next year.

The Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program has a cut of $28 million over two years. Even the government's so-called new investments program has been cut by over $300 million for this year and next. Of course, there has been the absurd, stupid and dangerous $1 million cut to the regional bus seatbelts program. What sort of government does something like that? What sort of government does that? Infrastructure Australia funding is cut from $15 million this year to $8 million in future years. Transport security spending falls from $79 million next year to $74 million over the forward estimates.

This is a budget that, for the first time, has no major new projects in it. Every year on budget night you produce a glossy booklet. The problem, of course, for the government last year was that they did produce a booklet, and it was pretty easy to compare it with the previous year's booklet because a lot of it was just a cut-and-paste job on projects, such as projects on the Pacific Highway and projects on the Bruce Highway. They were just re-announcing projects. I must say that on their magical infrastructure re-announcement tour they are creative from time to time. The member for Bradfield thinks that NorthConnex is a different road from the F3 to the M2, which was funded by the former government, because it has a new name. A new name does not make it a new project. It was an agreement done between the Commonwealth and the state.

Of course, we have the failure to produce the 2014 State of Australian Cities report. It has been printed, it is there, but they will not distribute it. The 200 copies have been printed and are sitting, gathering dust, as the secretary of the department said.

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