$500m vow for WA highways
The Abbott Government is promising to find $500 million extra for WA roads after committing yesterday to upgrades to the North West Coastal Highway and the Great Northern Highway.
Both projects were under threat from the coalition's election promise to abolish Labor's regional infrastructure fund.
But Assistant Infrastructure Minister Jamie Briggs said the Abbott Government was committed to the projects even though the coalition was axing their funding source.
"They weren't in our costings, because they were in the forward estimates," Mr Briggs told 6PR.
His comments were inconsistent with those of deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop the day before the election.
"We don't have any hole in our costings because these (projects) are not in the forward estimates," Ms Bishop said on September 6.
"Once we're in government, we will sit down with the Barnett Government and talk about their preferred timetable, how to bring the projects to fruition as soon as possible."
The coalition's $1.3 billion election infrastructure promises for WA focused on the Swan Valley Bypass ($615 million) and Perth Gateway ($622 million) and made no mention of either highway.
The Australian Automobile Association said in its pre- election review the coalition had not funded the $174 million North West Coastal Highway, the $307.8 million Great Northern Highway upgrade and failed to match Labor's $500 million for Perth light rail.
But it is understood the highways now feature in the Government's infrastructure program that runs until 2017-18 and Cabinet is expected to tick it off soon.
Mr Briggs said he recognised the North West road in particular was "crucial". He said when he was in Perth recently, Treasurer Troy Buswell and Premier Colin Barnett's chief of staff impressed on him the importance of that project. "I agreed and the Prime Minister agrees," he said.
He was committed to the projects and said they would have a big impact on WA's powerhouse economic performance.
WA Labor MP Gary Gray said the highway upgrades were critical and such infrastructure increased productivity and created jobs.
