State and Federal Liberal Shadow Ministers are warning that the productivity and safety of South Australia’s regional road network has been sacrificed at the altar of Labor Party loyalty as the South Australian State Government appeases their Federal Labor mates and have agreed to a 50/50 funding split as part of the new National Partnership Agreement on Land Transport Infrastructure.
Under the former Federal Coalition Government, maintaining and upgrading South Australia’s regional road network received 80 per cent funding from the Commonwealth.
Under a new policy, initiated by the Federal Labor Government last year, states and territories will be forced to increase their funding share to 50 per cent, raising concerns that South Australia’s regional roads could be neglected under the new funding agreement.
Federal Assistant Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Tony Pasin MP said withdrawing Federal Government infrastructure funding would result in increased congestion, reduced productivity and more deaths on our roads.
“The Malinauskas Government has chosen to capitulate to their Labor mates instead of taking a long-term vision for our State,” Mr Pasin said.
“South Australia needs increased investment into our regional road network as part of a long term vision. We need the Truro Freight Route to be built dual lane, we need the full duplication of the Augusta, Dukes and Sturt Highways. We needed a commitment to see the Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass.
“These are the productivity enhancing and nation building projects that we need moving forward. We need a Team South Australiaapproach to road funding not a team Labor approach,” Mr Pasin said.
South Australian Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and Regional Roads the Hon. Ben Hood MLC reiterated these concerns and said it was yet another example of Labor capitulating to Canberra instead of standing up for SA.
“Regional road projects will now be even harder to fund and deferred even further into the future as a result of this decision which highlights Labor’s lack of understanding about the strategic importance of our regional road projects,” Mr Hood said.
“Peter Malinauskas and Tom Koutsantonis have sold out regional SA in waving the white flag and agreeing to this National Partnership instead of fighting to maintain the 80/20 funding split as the Northern Territory and Tasmania have done,” Mr Hood said.
“Smaller States and Territories with vast road networks will struggle to fund 50 per cent of regional road projects. We simply don’t have the same revenue base as the eastern states and WA. South Australia should be joining Tasmania and Northern Territory in this request. The difference is South Australian State Government leaders don’t have the backbone to fight for it.