Labor costings: Only one Leichhardt, Kennedy project mentioned in election plan
Labor’s highly anticipated election costings only make explicit mention of one major infrastructure project in the Far North.
Cairns
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LABOR’S highly anticipated election costings only make explicit mention of one major infrastructure project in the Far North.
Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers has handed down a national plan that flags $231.9bn in budget deficits over the next four years – $8.4bn higher than the Coalition’s latest forecast.
He insisted the spending was measured and tailored to stimulate economic activity.
“After a decade of the Coalition’s failings, the economy is crying out for these responsible investments, to grow the economy the right way and get productivity moving again, and to get real wages growing again,” Mr Chalmers said.
“Our investments will generate an economic dividend – every dollar of difference between us and the government is carefully calibrated to deliver a bigger economic return.”
The 16-page document is an overarching economic plan, and not expected to itemise every pledge for each electorate.
Only one major Far North project gets its own mention.
The $107.5m Cairns Water Security Project is there, funded in full across the four-year forward estimates.
In the costings there is $367.2m nationwide on infrastructure projects under Catherine King’s portfolio over four years which is said to come on top of the billions of dollars worth of spending already promised by the LNP government which Labor said it would stick with.
Ms King was in Cairns recently to announce $150m in funds for a new Cairns marine precinct common-user facility.
She also announced Labor’s $210m plan for safety upgrades on the Kuranda Range Rd.
Those projects alone equate to $360m in spending – and Labor has plenty more on the table for Leichhardt.
The source of that money is unclear in the costings.
The navy’s first new Cape-class patrol vessel to be home-ported in Cairns arrives in mid-2022 – to be joined by another Cape-class boat and four Arafura vessels by the end of 2028.
Cairns needs its promised common-user facility and 5000-tonne shiplift to lock down lucrative maintenance contracts.
The Kuranda Range Rd is a traffic nightmare, and will only worsen if it takes longer than four years to fund its upgrade.
Speaking in Cairns on Thursday, Opposition education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek assured voters Labor’s costings would provide the answers they sought.
“In these costings you’ll see a full accounting of the spending that Labor’s committed to, and the savings that Labor will make,” she said.
Labor candidate for Leichhardt Elida Faith has been contacted for comment.
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Originally published as Labor costings: Only one Leichhardt, Kennedy project mentioned in election plan
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