LABOR WASTES MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON CANCELLED ROAD PROJECTS

The people of South Australia should judge Labor on their actions, not words.

The Budget papers show that the Albanese Labor Government now expects to spend $143.4 million less on South Australian roads in the 2023-24 financial year than they budgeted for in the May 2023 Budget.

For the new 2024-25 year, South Australia will receive $70.4 million less for roads from the Federal Government than was budgeted just six months ago in MYEFO.

This comes as the Auditor General reports that 2,500km of South Australia roads are in need of repair and the $2 billion maintenance backlog is posing significant safety concerns.

Furthermore, Labor is failing to deliver on election promises with the Marion Road – Anzac Highway to Cross Road project still ‘in planning’ despite two years of state and federal Labor Governments, according to documents released at Senate Estimates.

The Albanese Labor Government’s “90-day” strategic infrastructure review was used to delay, cut and redirect infrastructure funding including cancelling 50 infrastructure projects worth $7.4 billion across the country.

In South Australia, Federal funding for five projects totalling more than $400 million was scrapped under Labor’s review including $200 million for the Hahndorf Township Improvements and Access Upgrade and $161 million for the Truro Freight Route – both vitally important projects to improve road safety and improve freight efficiency.

While the Federal Labor Government has reinstated funding for the Mount Barker and Verdun Interchange Upgrades, a solution to heavy vehicles using the main street of Hahndorf remains unfunded as does the Truro Freight Route.

The glossy brochure released on Budget night boasting about Federal infrastructure spending in South Australia lists “Hahndorf Township Improvements and Access Upgrade” and “Truro Bypass” under a heading “additional funding”. Budget Estimates has confirmed that this relates to the Commonwealth paying the South Australian State Government $28.8 million on planning and land acquisition for Hahndorf Township Improvements and $14.4 million on the Truro Bypass.

That’s $44 million in funding for projects that the Albanese Labor Government has cancelled. This $44 million represents the ghosts of projects past, Labor waste and some very disappointed South Australian communities.