Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

I have some questions on what we on this side call regionalisation, smart regionalisation, and in particular the Regional Partnerships program and a number of the other regional programs. But first I will go back to the infrastructure part of the portfolio. I was highlighting the project of Bolivia Hill and the announcements around the Bruce Highway. I could pick a number of other projects. It appears from the information that's been on the public record, certainly, in relation to those projects that some of the announcements that the government is claiming as part of its infrastructure spend are in fact because of delays and cost blowouts. I think it is very important that the government acknowledge that that is occurring in some of these projects. So I ask the minister: how many of the budget announcements for infrastructure are due to cost blowouts and delay, as opposed to new projects and expanding stages?

The previous budgets of this government are important to look at and to some extent are indicative of what we hope we don't get from this budget. I want to highlight some of that. In each of the previous budgets we've had pretty significant underspends. We've had an underspend of $1.2 billion per year on average. In fact last financial year the underspend was $1.7 billion. Taking across the previous budgets it is just under $7 billion of money that has not got out the door, which the government promised would get out the door. Whilst we accept that these are complex projects and they do take time, it does seem on a number of them that perhaps more effort could have been made to try and ensure that they were on budget and on time.

Just one program—the minister responsible for it is has to leave—is the Urban Congestion Fund, which was announced not this budget, not last budget, but in the 2018 budget. It was underspent by $572 million last year alone, with only $148 million of the promised $720 million actually getting out the door. Of $207 million promised under the Urban Congestion Fund for projects in New South Wales, the government spent only $4.5 million. Given that these projects are smaller projects and the government has quite rightly said that they are about getting people in work today, that is somewhat disappointing.

The minister, who has just left the chamber, in January told Channel Nine News that by January 2020 70 projects would be under construction and at least 28 would be completed. As at October, work had begun on only 28 projects. I ask: is the government on track to meet the promise that the minister made in January that 70 projects would be under construction and 28 completed?

In November last year the minister posted a Twitter video at the site of Portrush and Magill roads in Adelaide, appearing with men in hard hats and spruiking the work that was underway—despite the fact the video was actually filmed at the wrong intersection, unfortunately. I do want to know from the minister what work on that project is actually underway today. I note that last year's financial budget outcome revealed that no money had been spent through the Urban Congestion Fund in South Australia, and this was a project in South Australia. How could it have been possible that work was underway if no money was actually going out the door? At Senate estimates, the secretary of the department of infrastructure stated:

The other challenge we've had in the estimates this year is that there were optimistic expenditure forecasts in the current year for the [Urban Congestion Fund] program …

After seeing some of the delays in that, how can Australians have confidence that the announcements that are in this budget are going to be any different than in previous budgets?

I do briefly want to talk about some of the COVID stimulus spending. At CEDA, the Prime Minister committed $1.5 billion of additional spending to create jobs and to help Australia's recovery. Can the minister confirm that this $1.5 billion was in fact less than the $1.7 billion that the government had underspent on infrastructure projects delivered in the last financial year? And can the minister also confirm that of the 15 priority projects announced at CEDA, none were located north of Brisbane in Queensland? At CEDA, the Prime Minister said a billion would be allocated to priority projects which are shovel ready— (Time expired)

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