$100m Avoca Road upgrade connects to PM’s Copacabana hideaway

Taxpayers will fork out $100 million to improve Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s commute to and from his new $4.3 million beach house, with a major upgrade slated for the area’s main road.

Taxpayers will fork out $100 million to improve Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s commute to and from his new $4.3 million beach house, with a major upgrade slated for the area’s main road.

Sky News reports Mr Albanese announced an upgrade planned for Avoca Drive on The Central Coast, a press conference in June, set to be funded with $100 million from federal government and $30 million from the NSW government.

The road is a main thoroughfare Mr Albanese would need to drive along to reach his new oceanfront hideaway in Copacabana, which he is said to have exchanged contracts for last month.

During the 2022 federal election campaign, Mr Albanese first committed $30 million to the Avoca Rd project before adding another $70 million to the upgrade’s funding in February 2023.

When earlier asked about the project at the presser with Infrastructure Minister Catherine King, Mr Albanese said: “The Minister might want to respond there, but Avoca Drive, one of the times I was here I know that the surveying work has all been done.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“I know that this is a real choke point, so it’s very important, and that’s why we’ve provided funding to make sure that it happens.”

Ms King said $130 million had been allocated to the project, with planning underway in collaboration with the state government.

The Central Coast’s Avoca Drive.

At the time, construction was set to begin in mid-2025.

From Sydney, the prime minister’s route to his new mansion north on the Pacific Highway would include using Avoca Drive for a 10 kilometre stretch before using three other suburban roads to arrive at his Copacabana front door.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has bought a new house.

The Daily Telegraph has approached Mr Albanese for comment.

Under fire over the purchase on Tuesday, Mr Albanese said the move to The Central Coast suburb was down to fiancee Jodie Haydon’s roots as “a proud Coastie”.

“There are three generations of Haydons on the coast there and when your relationship changes, your life changes, and you make decisions,” he said at a press conference in Brisbane.

Originally published as $100m Avoca Road upgrade connects to PM’s Copacabana hideaway