$7 billion bombshell exposes Albanese’s Pacific Highway fraud
25th May, 2011
SECRETARY of the Infrastructure and Transport Department Mike Mrdak has dropped a $7 billion bombshell in the Gillard Government’s lap, exposing a massive black hole in the federal budget commitment to complete the duplication of the Pacific Highway by 2016.“The Pacific Highway project is now officially on the skids and out of financial juice,” Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Warren Truss said.
“Despite repeated assurances by Julia Gillard and the Minister and Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese that the government would meet its promised 2016 completion date, their deceit is now laid bare.
“This massive funding shortfall – between $6 to $7 billion – is on top of the money the federal government is demanding the new NSW Government cough up.
“Mr Mrdak told the Rural Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee Senate Estimates hearing today that:
‘We would need an additional $6 to $7 billion dollars to complete the duplication after the existing $750 million is committed and matched.’
“The completion of the highway was a key commitment by the Prime Minister to woo the support of federal Independent MP Rob Oakeshott last September, as the highway runs through his electorate of Lyne.
“This was reinforced when Mr Oakeshott sought further assurances during Question Time on 21 October 2010, to which the Prime Minister responded:
‘I can very much commit to him that the Government is committed to duplicating the Pacific Highway by 2016’.
“Labor’s chronic mismanagement and habitual deception has turned this major national infrastructure project into another broken promise.
“It is the latest ‘gotcha’ in the series of overblown Gillard government promises that have not been delivered. Given the sheer scale of the funding shortfall it was never even likely.”
[ENDS]
