A Shorten Labor Government will transform the way infrastructure is funded in Australia, beefing up Infrastructure Australia with a $10 billion financing facility to unlock tens of billions in capital investment for new projects.
The Hon Mark Dreyfus QC MP
Shadow Attorney General
Shadow Minister for the Arts
Member for Isaacs
MEDIA RELEASE
LABOR TO DELIVER INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING FOR MELBOURNE METRO
A Shorten Labor Government will transform the way infrastructure is funded in Australia, beefing up Infrastructure Australia with a $10 billion financing facility to unlock tens of billions in capital investment for new projects.
Labor will develop a long term pipeline of projects and ensure the steady movement of projects through the assessment, development and financing phases and leverage private sector investment, Member for Isaacs Mark Dreyfus said.
That means more public transport and better roads todays announcement will mean more projects will be financed and delivered.
As the mining boom eases, quality infrastructure is central to driving Australias economic growth and creating jobs, Mr Dreyfus said.
The old way of doing business, the traditional Commonwealth grant funding approach, simply cannot fund the infrastructure Australia needs on its own.
With the Australian Bureau of Statistics last week confirming that public sector infrastructure investment has fallen by 20 per cent since the Coalition took office, Australia needs a robust infrastructure investment program to generate economic activity and secure the productivity gains that will drive jobs growth in coming years.
Labor will turbocharge Infrastructure Australia, working with the private sector to overcome market failures and get good projects up and going, Mr Dreyfus said.
A Shorten Labor Government will look at new ways of securing private sector finance by backing Infrastructure Australia with a $10 billion financing facility to secure capital for infrastructure.
It will operate like the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, which jumpstarts projects and delivers a return to the Budget, Mr Dreyfus said.
Today Labor is also announcing an initial short-list of projects that Labor supports and will fund as well as providing a commitment to work with State Government to encourage the development of an ongoing infrastructure project pipeline.
This list includes the essential Melbourne Metro Rail Project, which will increase capacity on Melbournes train network and relieve congestion on the Dandenong and Frankston train lines.
I am very pleased to say that this essential infrastructure funding will directly benefit Isaacs residents by reducing congestion on our local train lines, which in turn reduces congestion on our local roads, Mr Dreyfus said.
More details on Labors plan are available at: www.alp.org.au/infrastructureplan
THURSDAY 8 OCTOBER 2015
