Photograph: Bianca De Marchi/AP
Just 15% of projects announced in the government’s multibillion dollar infrastructure budget splurge have been endorsed as priorities by Infrastructure Australia, with the Coalition instead funnelling billions into must-win marginal seats.
A Guardian Australia analysis of the 144 projects being funded by the government in Tuesday’s budget shows that just 21 are included on Infrastructure Australia’s current list of priority projects, accounting for $5.7bn of the approximate $16bn in new funding.
The IA list is maintained “to ensure that public funds are directed towards projects that will deliver the best outcomes for our growing communities”, with the list prepared after “rigorous and independent analysis”.
Almost $10bn in funding spread across 120 projects was not recommended by Infrastructure Australia with the bulk of this going to projects that span multiple electorates.
The analysis also shows that of the $6.4bn that is allocated to projects within a single electorate, more than half – $3.4bn – is directed to marginal seats.
This compares with fairly safe and safe seat groups, which received $650m and $2.3bn respectively.
The largest single project is a $1bn commitment to faster rail between Sydney and Newcastle with the federal contribution to upgrade stations and rail lines at Wyong and Tuggerah, along with new bridges over the Wyong River. The faster rail project is one of those included on Infrastructure Australia’s priority list.
The spend is in the central coast seat of Dobell, which is among Labor’s most marginal and one that the Coalition is targeting at the forthcoming election. Dobell will also benefit from $336m in new funding for Pacific highway upgrades through Wyong town centre, and a separate $51m highway upgrade in Wamberal.
Urban infrastructure minister, Paul Fletcher, said the rail upgrade would contribute towards “faster, more frequent and more reliable services” between Sydney and Newcastle which he said was the busiest regional passenger rail corridor in Australia.
In the NSW marginal seat of Gilmore, which the government is hoping it can claw back from Labor with former NSW transport minister Andrew Constance running as its candidate, the Coalition will tip in an extra $352m for the Milton-Ulladulla bypass, bringing the federal government’s total commitment to the project to $752m.
Almost $250m will be spent in the western Sydney seat of Lindsay, held by the Liberal party on a 5% margin.
Seats in regional Queensland are also huge beneficiaries of the infrastructure cash splash, with almost $140m going to road projects in Flynn, Capricornia, Longman and Leichhardt. Just one of these projects worth about $10m was recommended by Infrastructure Australia.
In Tasmania, $530m has been allocated to the three marginal seats of Bass, Braddon and Lyons, with the largest allocation being a $336m regional roads package for the north-east of the state.
The Liberal MP for the seat of Bass, Bridget Archer, was spruiking the roads funding on her Facebook page on Monday, saying it would lead to “safer roads, reduced congestion, improved freight transport and getting from A to B faster”.
She said a separate $56m had been secured for the seat after she had “heavily advocated for further funds to be committed” for the Sideling highway.
Western Australian marginal seats are also set to benefit, with Pearce and Hasluck to share in $240m for road and Metronet upgrades.
The commuter car park program, which was criticised by the auditor general for political bias – will also receive a slice of the funding, with an extra $47m allocated across five projects in the marginal seats of Robertson, Dunkley, Lindsay and Banks, and in Goldstein in Victoria, where Liberal MP Tim Wilson is facing a challenge from independent Zoe Daniel.
The package also shows the influence of the Nationals on the government’s funding decisions, with a massive $3.1bn going towards the Melbourne Intermodal Terminal project in Victoria which will service the inland rail project that has been vigorously pursued by deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce.
More regional development projects are expected to be unveiled in Tuesday’s budget.
On Monday, when asked whether the government could guarantee that the infrastructure spend would not be directed to marginal seats, the finance minister Simon Birmingham said the package was spread “across a range of different environments around the country”.
“This money comprises funding for major new intermodal terminals in Victoria, which are part of the inland rail that we’ve been building over a number of years – those major new terminals sit squarely in the heart of safe Labor electorates,” Birmingham told the ABC.
“It includes funding for faster rail services to the Sunshine Coast, which would usually be classified as safer Liberal electorates. It contains funding across a range of different environments around the country to deliver the infrastructure needs our country has.”
He said that the government had made the funding decisions “on the basis of where it’s going to deliver productivity gains for the country.”
Birmingham said the funds for the car park projects represented just 0.3% of the total spend.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, was also asked whether the infrastructure package was targeting marginal seats, to which he replied: “It’s targeting the strength of our economy because that’s what Australians need.”
A spokesman for Joyce said the government was investing in projects “that create jobs, keep commuters and freight safe and moving, and drive economic growth.”
“Inclusion on Infrastructure Australia’s priority list isn’t a precondition for federal funding,” he said.
