The mining boom is officially over. That is the subtext of this year's infrastructure budget which sees a headline figure of $75 billion in infrastructure spending forecast over the next 10 years. The government seems to have accepted the need for stimulus in the sector and to shore up jobs in the construction industry.
Drilling down into the detail, rail is very much at the forefront of this Government's thinking with the biggest ticket item being the proposed inland, rail freight system between Brisbane and Melbourne which is slated to start this financial year with a budgeted expenditure of $8.4 billion over 7 years.
Less concrete but of significant value is the proposed $10 billion National Rail Program. The details of this program are not complete, nor are the spending parameters, but it is expressed to be open to the States to put forward projects for funding consideration with $200 million to be available in 2019 and a second tranche of $400 million in 2020. Rail lines to Badgery's Creek Airport, Melbourne's proposed Tullamarine rail link, Cross River Rail in Brisbane, the Brisbane Metro and Adelaide's LINK proposal all likely contenders for financing through this program.
Seeking to spread the largesse across regional and country Australia, The Regional Growth Fund will invest $472 million in regional infrastructure projects aimed at ameliorating the effects of changes taking place in the economy. This will include $200 million for a further round of the successful Building Better Regions Fund.
After the Melbourne to Brisbane freight link, the next largest, concrete, item is the long discussed second airport for Sydney at Badgery's Creek. The projected cost is $5.3 billion with currently a 3 year project timeframe.
Western Australia must be considered a winner with a significant boost to its infrastructure funding of $1.6 billion plus a further $844 million for upgrades to the Bruce Highway.
The budgeted spending of $18.6 billion for schools over the next decade should also see significant capital works rolled out across all states and territories with much needed, regional facilities improvements.
Victoria gains almost $500 million for rail network upgrades particularly line upgrades in country and regional areas. However, Victoria's Premier is fuming, saying the State was entitled to around $1.5 billion for rail work upgrades under the asset recycling arrangements and many projects budgeted for in last week's Victorian State budget may now need to be scrapped.
The other big losers are South Australia and the ACT, with almost no significant funding initiatives.
Federal infrastructure Minister Darren Chester commented that "these investments will deliver an important economic boost, creating tens of thousands of new jobs during construction. On completion these projects will lift national productivity and drive economic growth".
Finally, of interest, and conspicuously missing from an actual budget allocation is the recently announced Snowy 2.0 expansion and upgrade scheme for the Snowy River Hydroelectric system. It appears that talks are underway with NSW and Victoria for a Commonwealth purchase of their respective shares however there is no funding earmarked for capital works on the project in this budget.
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