Monday 20 June 2016

Labor Candidate Janelle Saffin: public sector infrastructure investment declined by 50 per cent under Abbott-Turnbull Government and investment in the Pacific Highway upgrade was cut by $351 million


Shadow Minister For Infrastructure And Transport, Shadow Minister For Cities and MP Grayndler Anthony Albanese & Candidate For Page Janelle Saffin, joint media release 12 June 2016:

COALITION HAS LET DOWN PAGE

The Abbott-Turnbull Government has short-changed the people of Page with more than $11 million in cuts to financial assistance grants used by local councils to maintain roads.

The Government also cut investment in the Pacific Highway duplication by in the 2016 Budget, following on from a cut of $130 million in the 2015 Budget.

Only a Shorten Labor Government can be trusted to invest in the infrastructure needed in northern NSW to boost economic productivity and improve road safety, and to ensure councils have the resources they need to maintain local roads.

We stand on our record.

Between 2007 and 2013, the former Labor Federal Government invested $7.9 billion on the Pacific Highway duplication.

That investment dwarfed the $1.3 billion invested by the former Howard Coalition Government over 12 years.

Labor also promised, built and opened the Alstonville Bypass, which was completed in 2011.

The bypass has reduced the level of traffic moving through Alstonville by 50 per cent and eliminated a major bottleneck between Ballina and Lismore.

The Liberal-National Government has talked a lot about infrastructure investment but cut funding.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that between the September quarters of 2013 and 2015, public sector infrastructure investment declined by 50 per cent.

To conceal its failures, the Government has re-announced road projects developed and funded under budgets of the former Labor Government to pretend they were new. 

A Shorten Labor Government will get nation building back on track.

No comments: