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May 13th, 2013 
The federal budget will assign an extra $3 billion for key roads in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
Source: AAP
THE federal budget will include just over $3 billion in additional funding for three key road projects in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
Transport Minister Anthony Albanese says a record infrastructure spend in Tuesday’s budget – equating to about $269 for every Australian – will provide an extra $525 million for Melbourne’s M80 project, $718 million for Brisbane’s Gateway and $1.8 billion for Sydney motorways.
Mr Albanese says Labor has rectified a “deficit of infrastructure” since coming to office in 2007.
“We have more than doubled the roads budget, increased the rail budget by more than 10 times and we’ve already committed more to urban public transport than all governments combined previously,” he told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
“Infrastructure investment leads to higher economic growth when targeted towards the most productive areas.”
Funding for Sydney’s M4 and M5 upgrade completions would be subject to planning by the NSW government and no tolls on existing roads.
Asked whether Labor was trying to buy votes ahead of the September election, Mr Albanese said the budget would focus on “jobs and future growth”.
“They are not prioritised on the basis of marginal electorates,” he said.
“They are prioritised in terms of outcomes and doing what is right for the nation.”
He cited a 14.5km Pacific Highway project in the Nationals seat of Cowper which cost $613 million and included Australia’s longest bridge.
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