Big ticket items in Federal Budget
FIRST ON 7: Wayne Swan says tomorrow's Budget will put jobs first, and 7News can exclusively reveal his big ticket announcement - it's a plan to fast-track major road and rail projects using private money.
Julia Gillard faces some glum faces as she gives Ministers the lowdown on tomorrow's Budget, and the Treasurer hopes it will not be his Swan song.
"It's been a difficult Budget to put together," the Prime Minister said.
7News has learnt the centrepiece will be a $100 billion nation building plan to unlock massive private investment and fund major road and rail upgrades, hinted at today by the Infrastructure Minister.
"There'll also be some major announcement as a result of the work that we're doing having a considered approach to infrastructure investment," Anthony Albanese said.
That announcement will offer big investors, such as super funds, guaranteed returns over 30 to 40 years.
Unlike previous Public Private Partnerships, the plan won't rely on tolls or increased ticket prices, but offer regular "availability payments" from Government to investors.
The first projects targeted include:
Pacific Highway upgrade
Monash Freeway upgrade
Melbourne Metro rail project
Brisbane's Cross River Rail project
7News can also reveal tomorrow's Budget will produce the first price tag for the Royal Commission into Child Sex Abuse, which will cost taxpayers $434 million over the next four years.
The Government also confirmed today that people on welfare will be able earn another $38 a fortnight before losing benefits, and a promise to increase foreign aid spending, broken last year, is broken again this year.
"You can't spend money you haven't got, you can't borrow money to sustain an aid budget," Foreign Minister Bob Carr said.
Releasing The Coalition's latest booklet today, the 'little book of big Labor waste', Tony Abbott agreed.
"This year's borrowings are next year's taxes," Mr Abbott said.
