ACT Liberal senator Zed Seselja is keeping the focus of his campaign local, taking a swipe at Chief Minister Andrew Barr's call for more infrastructure investment.
The senator said he had secured the highest amount of funding for the territory since self-government, while it was the ACT government that had lagged behind.
Senator Seselja, who is feeling the pressure in a potentially tight race for the ACT's second Senate seat, said he had secured $2.2 billion in Commonwealth investment for the ACT since 2018.
He said he was continuing to fight for infrastructure investment in Canberra by knocking on the doors of his colleagues in the federal government.
"Meanwhile, Andrew Barr sits back and neglects serious investment in the ACT, unless it is light rail. Under the Chief Minister's watch, the ACT government has failed to deliver the infrastructure investments important to Canberrans," he said.
Senator Seselja pointed to a $115 million Monaro Highway upgrade, a $26.5 million William Hovell Drive duplication project and the $500 million Australian War Memorial redevelopment as recent examples of Commonwealth funding for the territory.
"We are investing $137 million to upgrade Commonwealth Avenue Bridge, $88 million towards constructing the Molonglo Bridge, $25 million for upgrades to Gundaroo Drive, $47 million towards the Athllon Drive duplication," he said in a statement.
"We're building classrooms and upgrading facilities at schools across the ACT, fixing road blackspots to improve road safety for Canberrans, and delivered a $13.5 million expansion to Canberra Hospital's [intensive care unit]."
Mr Barr believes the ACT should receive a share of the Commonwealth infrastructure budget in proportion to the territory's population.
The Chief Minister criticised the federal government after the March 29 budget, which distributed 0.3 per cent of infrastructure funding to the territory, despite it being home to 1.68 per cent of the Australian population.
"This means the ACT government will, once again, do the heavy lifting on job-creating infrastructure investments," Mr Barr said at the time.
"It is clear that we need a change in federal government for the ACT to get a fair deal on national infrastructure spending."
Mr Barr on Tuesday said Senator Seselja was running a campaign against him, rather than federal Labor.
"Everything is always my fault in Senator Seselja's eyes. I'll put my record of my delivery for Canberra up against his any day of the week," Mr Barr said.
In a campaign video released last month which continues to be promoted on Facebook, Senator Seselja attacked the ACT's Labor-Greens government, which he said had "strangled" land supply in Canberra.
"I've been working hard to ensure more land is released for family homes in our city," Senator Seselja, a former territory opposition leader, said in the video.
"I will always fight for Canberra families to buy their own home."
Residential land supply has dominated debate in the Legislative Assembly this year, with the Canberra Liberals seeking to pin the majority of the blame for unaffordable houses on the ACT government, which has prioritised urban infill development.
Meanwhile, Senator Seselja on Thursday announced $5.7 million in government funding to improve stormwater infrastructure and mitigate flooding in Narrabundah, part of an ongoing national program of projects.
"Under round two of the program, we are investing $5.7 million toward significant upgrades of Narrabundah's stormwater system at Throsby Crescent, and the Narrabundah Playing Fields," he said.
Senator Seselja returned to Canberra late on Wednesday night after a trip to Solomon Islands, where he was given the task to "further strengthen Australia's relationship" with the Pacific nation, which appears close to signing a draft security agreement with China.
