The Morrison Government stands condemned for failing to invest in the Glendale Interchange, the most significant infrastructure project in the Hunter Region, which would boost economic development and create 10,000 jobs.
That the Glendale Interchange was once again left out of the Budget is testament to the disregard of the Coalition for the people of this region.
Independent economic analysis has found that every dollar invested in Stage 1 of the Glendale Interchange would leverage $94 of private sector investment, leading to the creation of more than 10,000 jobs.
The project would unlock the economic potential of the Cardiff Industrial Estate and Glendale shopping precinct, clearing the way for major new development and job creation that would benefit the whole region.
In Government, Labor provided $12.5 million to the Glendale Interchange, but on coming to office the Coalition cut $1 million of that funding.
That is the sort of Government we are dealing with.
It is well passed the time for the Coalition government to commit to this project.
We need to diversify the Hunter economy and there is a clear role for government to support infrastructure projects that will lift productivity and set the stage for job creation.
The Glendale Interchange is such a project.
But the Coalition has cut investment in infrastructure, and continued to ignore Glendale.
All while Scott Morrison is spending $20 million of taxpayer money to buy TV ads falsely claiming his government is investing in rail and roads.
For more than five years the Coalition has cut infrastructure investment across the nation.
After last year’s Budget, the independent Parliamentary Budget Office calculated that, over the following four years, Federal investment in infrastructure, expressed as a proportion of GDP, would halve from 0.4% to 0.2%.
Regional areas have been particularly hard hit, with the Government failing to work with the states to deliver projects needed to boost productivity and economic growth.
It is time for the Government to stop talking about investing in infrastructure and actually invest.