Scott Morrison’s re-announcement of planned investment for the Rockhampton Ring Road is further evidence the Prime Minister is prepared to delay actual investment in infrastructure to suit his political needs.
The project, which the Prime Minister “announced’’ on today, was actually funded in the 2018 Budget in May when Malcolm Turnbull was Prime Minister. The news was leaked to the Herald Sun newspaper.
But Mr Morrison deliberately chose to delay releasing the funding as he awaited a political campaigning opportunity like his farcical “bus tour’’ of Queensland, in which he is actually shadowing the journey of a bus aboard a taxpayer-funded jet.
Instead of delaying projects to suit his political campaigning plans, Mr Morrison should just get on with the job.
Federal Labor has already committed funding for the Rockhampton Ring Road.
While the Coalition has been consumed by its internal brawling, we’ve been leading from Opposition by developing a plan to tackle traffic congestion right across the country.
By contrast, Mr Morrison has been cutting infrastructure investment.
The independent Parliamentary Budget Office has warned that over the next four years, Federal infrastructure grants to the states as a percentage of GDP will halve to 0.2 per cent.
On Monday, Mr Morrison re-announced funding for Gold Coast Light Rail Stage III, which was also included in the May Budget but needlessly delayed.
If he stays true to form, Australians should expect he will soon re-announce funding for the Mackay Ring Road (Stage II), which was also funded in May and is already the subject of a Labor funding commitment.


WEDNESDAY, 7 NOVEMBER, 2018