Australia's strong performance compared with other major advanced economies is in large part the result of much greater public spending on the nation's infrastructure, most notably by the current Federal Labor Government.
So on top more jobs, higher wages, lower taxes, falling interest rates, and a triple-A credit rating, Federal Labor has also delivered an unprecedented investment in the nation's vital infrastructure.
In contrast, Tony Abbott was a senior minister in the Howard government which slashed road funding by $2 billion, starved rail of much-needed investment and refused to commit even one dollar to urban public transport. In fact under the former Howard Government, infrastructure spending hit a record low.
WHAT HAS FEDERAL LABOR DONE SINCE 2007?
A transparent, competitive and national infrastructure market
We have:
- Restored national leadership through the appointment of Australia's
first ever Federal Infrastructure Minister and the creation of a Federal Infrastructure Department.
- Established Infrastructure Australia to overhaul and drive lasting improvements to the way our nation plans, assesses, finances, builds and uses the infrastructure it needs to compete in the 21st century. Already
it has:
- Completed the first ever infrastructure audit;
- Put in place a National Priority List to guide investment into nationally-significant projects which offer the highest economic and social returns—and following this year's budget we've now committed funding to every ‘ready-to-proceed' project listed on the original 2009 List;
- Developed national Public Private Partnership (PPP) guidelines to make it easier and cheaper for private investors to partner with governments to build new infrastructure;
- Finalised long term blueprints for a truly national, integrated and multimodal transport system capable of moving goods around as well as into and out of Australia quickly, reliably and efficiently: the National Port Strategy and the National Freight Strategy.
- Created a national prequalification scheme under which the qualifications of a private contractor registered in one state or territory are automatically recognised nationwide, a reform that's cut red tape, promoted greater competition within the construction sector and created a seamless national economy.
- Launched the National Infrastructure Construction Schedule, an Australian-first web-based tool detailing all major economic and social projects ‘in-planning' or being delivered by governments around the country, creating
a more transparent and competitive infrastructure market.
Right now, the site lists 91 projects worth over $60 billion, from a new hospital for Palmerston in the Northern Territory to the Midlands Irrigation Scheme in Tasmania.
NATION BUILDING PROGRAM: Rebuilding the nation's road, rail and public transport infrastructure
Federal Labor's
$36 billion, six year Nation Building Program (2008/09 to 2013/14) is building the modern, well-planned transport infrastructure which makes working people's lives easier, our businesses more competitive and the Australian economy more productive.
All up, we have increased Federal spending on the nation's road, rail and public transport infrastructure
from $141 to $269 per Australian.
Almost two thirds of the funding is earmarked for projects in regional Australia.
Better, safer and less congested roads:
Federal Labor has
doubled the roads budget and initiated the biggest road construction program since the creation of the national network almost forty years ago.
One of the key aims of this $28 billion program is to
complete the full duplication of the Hume Highway by mid-2013 and continue the full duplication of the Pacific Highway.
Already we have:
- Commissioned 226 major roads projects, with 128 completed and a further 70 currently under construction.
- Committed to fixing 1,457 notorious black spots on local suburban streets and country roads, with 978 projects already completed.
- Installed 95 new and refurbished rest stops as well as 45 new and upgraded parking/decoupling bays, providing truck drivers with even more places along the nation's highway where they can pull over to take a break, catch up on sleep or check and re-configure their vehicles.
- Assisted councils around the country maintain and upgrade their local roads, with almost 14,670 projects funded.
Faster, more reliable freight rail:
Federal Labor is rolling out the largest investment in the Interstate Rail Freight Network since the Fisher Labor Government built the transcontinental railway almost a century ago:
$3.4 billion over the life of our current six year
Nation Building Program.
Compared to the former Howard government, we're investing more than twice as much as in about half the time.Right now, we're
rebuilding more than a third of the network—3,800 kilometres of existing track—and laying 235 kilometres of new track. Of the
47 major upgrades commissioned,
30 have been completed and
17 are currently underway.
More productive, sustainable and liveable cities:
Federal Labor has ended the Commonwealth's decade long, self-imposed exile from our major cities and is engaging with the states and territories as well as local councils to bring about a much needed urban renaissance.
We have already committed
$7.3 billion to modernise and extend the urban passenger rail infrastructure in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and on the Gold Coast.
That's more than all our predecessors since Federation combined.In addition, we have:
- Created the Major Cities Unit;
- Established the National Planning Taskforce;
- Required state and territory governments to have strategic plans
for their capital cities as a condition of future Federal infrastructure funding;
- Published three annual State of the Cities Report, providing a valuable source of comparative data about our 18 major cities
We want productive, sustainable and liveable cities where communities can grow and prosper. Indeed as one of the most urbanised nations on the planet, Australia's continuing prosperity in the globalised world of the 21st century will largely depend on how successful we are at making our cities work better.
Click on image for larger versionOECD Confirms Australia is a Big Investor in InfrastructureGross Fixed Capital Formation—Percentage of GDP (2011)