$2.57 billion infrastructure boost for Victoria

In the 2022-23 Federal Budget, the Australian Government is delivering on $2.57 billion of election commitments for vital infrastructure projects across Victoria.

We will fund $330 million of important road infrastructure upgrades including

  • Camerons Lane Interchange at Beveridge ($150 million)
  • Barwon Heads Road Upgrade – Stage 2 ($125 million)
  • Ison Road Overpass ($57 million)

The Camerons Lane Interchange at Beveridge will help create thousands of jobs and

unlock the potential of Melbourne’s north while allowing us to work with the Victorian Government to deliver a full diamond interchange with the Hume Highway.

Helping build stage 2 of the Barwon Heads Road duplication will help communities with quicker and safer travel to and from home, while the new four-lane Ison Road Overpass will give residents better access to surrounding areas and cut congestion in central Werribee.

The budget also includes $2.2 billion for the Suburban Rail Loop in Melbourne.

We are working in partnership with the Victorian Government on the investments that deliver the best value for taxpayers’ dollars and the best outcomes for the people of Victoria.

A BETTER WAY

The Albanese Government wants infrastructure that leaves a lasting legacy. Our first budget will honour the pledges we made to voters in urban and regional Australia while also managing the economy in an uncertain global environment.

The budget takes an important first step in ensuring the Commonwealth’s infrastructure spending is responsible, affordable and sustainable.

It also starts making up for nearly a decade of waste and missed opportunities.

The former Government made promises without ever thinking about how to deliver them, often not even talking to the state and territory government they would later rely on to partner with.

They promised car parks that could never be built, and also tripled the budget for Inland Rail and blew out the timetable.

They sidelined, ignored and then stacked the Infrastructure Australia Board with political appointments. 

And for years they pretended money was in the budget for zombie projects such as the East-West link in Melbourne and the Perth Freight Link.

We are putting sense back into infrastructure planning and delivery.

We are once again making Infrastructure Australia the premier body to advise Australian governments on our significant infrastructure gaps and opportunities.

And we are cleaning up the Coalition’s mess in the Inland Rail project, and bringing transparency and accountability back into this critical macroeconomic portfolio.

INFRASTRUCTURE IN AN UNCERTAIN GLOBAL ECONOMIC CLIMATE

Infrastructure is an important driver of economic growth, productivity and skills in the regions and cities, but the Government was left with an unsustainable pipeline of projects designed purely to look good on paper but never be built.

Our first budget takes an important step to make our infrastructure pipeline more sustainable and to ensure we don’t further strain a sector already facing labour constraints, inflationary pressures and cost increases due to supply chain challenges.

The decisions we have made will ensure the sector is in a strong position to help buffer any global headwinds, and create a sustainable pathway for building the skills needed into the future.

They will also contribute to repairing the budget after the Coalition left Australia with a trillion dollars of debt.

Infrastructure is critical to building the nation we all want.  Opportunity and connection come from good infrastructure. Making good decisions now is critical to making sure no one is held back and no one is left behind.

Comments attributable to Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese:

“Sound and planned infrastructure investment in Victoria creates jobs, builds opportunity and unlocks economic growth and productivity for our cities and our regions.

“It’s about making journeys quicker, but also making sure Victorians can get home to their families safely.

“Through our first Budget, my team is getting on with the job of delivering projects in consultation with Infrastructure Australia and all levels of Government to make a real difference to the lives of Australians.”

Comments attributable to Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King:

“Investing in the Suburban Rail Loop is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape the way Victoria grows.  

 

“Victoria is projected to grow to 11.2 million residents by 2056 and Greater Melbourne to reach around 9 million people – a similar size to London today.

“This visionary project is needed to keep Victoria moving in the face of this expected growth.”