The Albanese government accuses Coalition of leaving hundreds of projects as “fiscal timebombs” in the budget and demands that their worth and relevance be evaluated. These projects are part of Australia’s $120 billion infrastructure investment package.
The infrastructure minister, Catherine King, claimed that a backlog of “press release projects” that had been declared but were “unable to be delivered” had choked the infrastructure pipeline.
According to King, “This review will restore investor confidence, benefiting the states and territories and the communities we all serve.”
Using longer-term sustainable expenditure based on the national interest, Australian government money will be used by Australian government values.
Reece Waldock, Clare Gardiner-Barnes, and Mike Mrdak, three former public employees and experts in infrastructure, will lead the 90-day study, which will begin soon and end in August. Labour election commitments won’t be one of the 735 projects in infrastructure investment program that will be scrutinized.
The minister’s office said that “projects were left without adequate funding or resources, as well as projects without actual benefits to public were approved, also the clogged pipeline has caused delays and overruns in important, nation-building projects.”
“Many projects under the Liberals and Nationals never even got started.”
In opposition, Labor charged that the Coalition was using money from infrastructure projects as “pork barrel” money to pay for election bribes. 160 initiatives totalling less than $5 million, according to King, are not the “nationally significant and nation-building” developments that the fund was intended to produce.
“A properly managed $120 billion infrastructure investment pipeline should result in projects that are feasible to build, that have long-term benefits for Australia, and that increase our economic and social productivity and prosperity,” she added.
The fund has increased from 146 projects under the previous federal Labor government in 2013 to 738 projects. Four hundred of them have a government contribution of under $25 million.
King pledged the government’s “following through” on initiatives already being built.
The assessment will also consider supply chain challenges affecting the construction industry, such as workforce shortages and rising material costs for bitumen and gravel.
King stated that “easing the pressure on the construction sector” would also be considered in the study.
King did not say whether the assessment would try to reduce spending on any specific kinds of projects, but government officials pointed out that the big infrastructure fund had been used to pay for more modest projects like traffic lights and culverts.
The government also noted that, prior to the last election, only 19% of smaller projects with a federal investment of less than $50 million were situated in Labor-held districts.
It was [the Coalition’s] deliberate budget policy, covering up their incompetence a s well as hoping Australians wouldn’t find out, that resulted in these budgetary timebombs being left in place. The government should take action to address this; failing to do so would be irresponsible, King said.
When the national cabinet met on Friday, the state and territorial governments approved the review. These governments will be consulted at various points during the evaluation and will have the opportunity to advocate for projects they want to keep or provide feedback on ones they don’t think should be prioritized.
Anthony Albanese declared during national cabinet that his administration was “adopting a refreshed approach to infrastructure investment”.
