Infrastructure projects to be rolled out earlier

Alan Tudge has flagged a deal with the states to fast-track several infrastructure projects.

Infrastructure Minister Alan Tudge. Picture: Aaron Francis

Infrastructure Minister Alan Tudge has flagged a deal with the states to fast-track several infrastructure projects as the Morrison government faces calls to do more to help stimulate the economy.

While the country is already in an “infrastructure boom” the government is willing to bring ­forward some projects, he says.

In a speech in Brisbane on Tuesday, Mr Tudge will defend the existing infrastructure rollout, saying 85,000 jobs have been ­created under 130 infrastructure projects already approved and under construction.

He says the government is ­already rolling out the “equivalent of multiple Snowy schemes at once”.

“The federal government is willing to bring forward funding if projects can be done more ­quickly,” Mr Tudge, who is also Minister for Cities and Population, will say.

“We are in discussions with other jurisdictions, including in Queensland, and will be making further announcements imminently.

“The amount of activity being undertaken right now is sometimes lost on the commentariat, perhaps in part because we have been announcing so many new projects over the last six to 12 months.

“It is true that of the 900 major projects that we have committed to since coming to office, 300 have been announced in the last six months.

“But the activity supported right now by the federal government is unprecedented.

“Our ­expenditure on average is $10bn per year over the next 10 years, more than double the expenditure in the year before we came to office.

“Across the country, construction of transport infrastructure is expected to reach around $42bn in 2022-23. This is an infrastructure boom unprecedented in Australia’s history.”

With the unemployment rate rising last month, Mr Tudge says the capital works programs under the government’s $100bn infrastructure plan would also lead to a jobs boom.

“The 130 major projects funded by our government and under construction today are supporting 85,000 jobs over the projects’ lifetimes,’’ he says.

“A significant part of this figure is the Western Sydney Airport, which alone is 28,000 jobs — jobs that would not eventuate had we not made the decision to get going on the project and allocate the funding.”

Mr Tudge’s defence of the government’s infrastructure plan to provide the stimulus called for by the Reserve Bank follows the announcement last week of tax concessions for foreign investment to help underwrite projects worth more than $500m.

Labor rubbished the announcement, claiming it was contained in the 2017-18 budget and was only re-announced as a response to ­repeated calls for the government to intervene and use fiscal policy to address a softening economy.

“As the 300 other projects ­announced, but not yet started, move to the construction phase, the jobs figure will escalate further,” Mr Tudge will say.