Sophie Conlon
MEMBER for Barker and shadow assistant minister for infrastructure and transport Tony Pasin said the Labor Government has left regional communities behind and threatened to squash regional road funding, but federal minister for infrastructure and transport Catherine King has labelled these claims as ‘scaremongering’.
Mr Pasin said the Regional Airport program, Stronger Communities Program, Building Better Regions Fund, and Local Road and Community Infrastructure Program were scrapped in the 2023-24 budget and more cutbacks were on the way, though Ms King said this was not the case.
Ms King said the government was reviewing its Infrastructure Investment Program to to see what improvements could be made to provide more flexibility to local councils and lessen any unnecessary administrative burden.
“The Albanese Government’s review of the Infrastructure Investment Program will consider how the Commonwealth can further support local councils through much needed road funding programs such as Roads to Recovery Program and Black Spot Program,” she said.
“We know how important these programs are to local communities, especially in our regions, and the government is committed to ensuring these programs continue to deliver for communities in the best way possible over the long term.”
Mr Pasin said the government was acting with a centralised attitude and did not understand how regional road networks operated.
“If the Albanese Government is looking for savings with their ‘independent’ review into road funding, they are looking in the wrong places and should categorically rule out terminating these programs that literally save lives,” he said.
Though Ms King ensured the Roads to Recovery Program, Black Spot Program, Bridges Renewal Program and Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program would all continue under the Labor Government with $760 million set aside in the 2023-24 Budget.
“Regional communities deserve better than being subject to a fear campaign by the Coalition about important road programs,” she said.
The local member said the government had ‘recklessly created uncertainty about the future of road safety investments’ but Ms King said she was surprised the Coalition was not in support ‘given the damage done to ageing road infrastructure during recent floods, especially in regional and remote areas.’
“After ten years of mismanagement of the infrastructure pipeline, and putting political priorities above deliverability, it is time for the Albanese Government to fix the mess we were left,” she said.
“We are undertaking a short and genuine review, as supported by the states and territories at National Cabinet in late April.
“The outcome will be a manageable pipeline where the shared priorities of the Commonwealth, States, Territories and local government can be delivered in a way that eases pressure on costs and leaves room to deal with new challenges.”
