Marginal seat of Boothby gets billions in federal budget road funding, writes Paul Starick

Tomorrow’s federal budget will plough billions into the Liberals’ most marginal SA federal seat. It’s no coincidence.

Almost all of the federal budget’s $3.2bn for South Australian roads, rail and other infrastructure will be spent in the state’s only marginal seat, Boothby.

With a federal election looming, that’s hardly an extraordinary coincidence.

Perhaps the only surprise is that SA gets more for infrastructure than any other state, according to Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s state-by-state breakdowns released today.

This is thanks to the $2.6bn allocation to the North-South Corridor’s Darlington to Anzac Hwy section.

This $2.6bn will pay for planning, design and construction of 6km of motorway, including 4km of tunnels.

Significant early construction works worth $350m are expected to start at the end of this year and continue into early next year, pumping money into civil contractors and other firms.

It’s debatable whether Boothby voters will be delighted by roadworks but they will see physical evidence of the massive project’s start.

Funnily enough, the Adelaide-Glenelg tram line is Boothby’s northern boundary – about 150m south of the revamped South Rd/Anzac Hwy intersection’s approach.

At Darlington, South Rd (the North-South corridor) is Boothby’s southern boundary.

Boothby, in Adelaide’s southwest, has been in Liberal hands since 1949 but has become the state’s most marginal federal seat, held by 1.3 per cent.

The Liberals’ task to hold Boothby is complicated by the retirement from political life at the next election of incumbent Nicolle Flint, who has declared she could no longer tolerate the pressures of political life as a female MP and campaigned for changes to parliament’s culture.

This means Mr Morrison, in an election campaign, will not be able to appear alongside the yet-to-be decided Liberal Boothby candidate and trumpet his or her hard work in securing the massive funding for roadworks in the electorate.

Boothby MP Nicolle Flint, Premier Steven Marshall, the-then Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Minister Alan Tudge and Prime Minister Scott Morrison at regional infrastructure announcement in November, 2019. Picture: AAP/David Mariuz

There will be some electoral benefit for Premier Steven Marshall. Taking pressure off commuters from the southern suburbs has obvious vote-changing appeal.

The Labor Opposition is acutely aware of this and is trying to dismiss the funding as old money that is taking too long to deliver.

When SA is plagued by the nation’s highest unemployment rate, Labor argues government-funded construction projects need to be happening sooner, not later.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham, SA’s senior federal Liberal, says the funding has been brought forward – $1.6bn will be spent in the next four years, rather than $875m. The remainder will be allocated by 2026/27, rather than 2027/28.

This should mean, of course, that commuters’ travel times will be cut sooner – even if the project is years away from completion.

Both the Prime Minister and Premier will be hoping they deliver early thank you votes at elections within months.