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Out-Law Analysis 5 min. read
Australian political parties make promises of mega infrastructure projects ahead of election
20 May 2022, 9:02 am
On the eve of the Australian federal election, we have reviewed the two major political parties’ promises and monetary announcements in relation to infrastructure spending across the country.
The coalition government released its 2022-23 budget in March, which included an additional A$17.9 billion (US$13.5bn) for infrastructure projects bringing the proposed 10-year spend to a record A$120bn. The coalition government has made A$200bn investment with over 35,000 projects delivered since 2013, according to an official press release.
While the Labor Party has admitted to under-promising with the hopes of over-delivering for voters, it too has made a bevy of promises of significant investment in infrastructure projects.
In general, both sides have made promises on megaprojects: the coalition focussing on roads; the Labor Party focussing on rail. Either way, the government will continue to build its way out of the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the bushfires, drought, floods and cyber-attacks which have had a marked impact on the Australian economy in recent times.
The likely pipeline of projects will also provide the high levels of investment which have been called for by Infrastructure Australia to meet Australia’s infrastructure needs (642-page / 55.8MB PDF).
Infrastructure Australia is an independent infrastructure advisory body which is responsible for driving projects which are in the national interest. In 2021, it released the 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan (29-page / 6.42MB PDF), providing a 15-year roadmap for infrastructure reform in Australia.
It seems certain that there will be plenty of government work for contractors in the near future. The real questions are whether mega projects are the right way to achieve the stated aims which are, broadly, about improving quality of life by improving safety and easing congestion, and whether the risk allocations put forward by the various state and federal governments will allow for the market to build all of these projects on a reasonable timescale and for a reasonable price.
There may also be concerns about the transparency of these projects and the information provided by the government, and it would be valuable to have more detailed information about budgetary impacts, which departments will be responsible for project delivery and actual dates of start and expected completion of these projects.
The table below summarises some of the most significant promises made by the Liberal-National Coalition and the Labor Party in the lead up to the election. They include major promises and monetary announcements.
| Liberal-National Coalition | Labor Party |
|---|---|
|
Major highway and local road upgrades to ease congestion and improve safety for all road users and freight productivity for businesses:
|
|
|
Better public transport in our cities including:
|
Melbourne Suburban Rail Loop project (A$2.2bn) |
|
Faster rail projects from:
|
High-speed rail between Newcastle and Sydney ($500m) |
| Building Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport ($77.5m). | Hobart airport upgrade (A$60m) |
| Inland Rail, which will provide enormous benefits for farmers and regions by changing the way freight is moved between Melbourne and Brisbane | Supports the Inland Rail line but will launch an inquiry into the route selection process and financing arrangements |
| Helping connect remote communities through the Regional Airports and Remote Airstrip Upgrades programmes | Hobart airport upgrade (A$60m) |
Co-written by Uma Radhakrishnan of Pinsent Masons.
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