An outspoken advocate of the Pacific Highway upgrade, Independent Lyne MP Rob Oakeshott had asked for $3.5 billion to cover half the $7.1 billion unfunded cost of the duplication project to ensure its completion by 2016.
The latest federal budget contained $3.56 billion.
The funding allocation, however, is dependent on the NSW Government meeting its obligations and agreeing to fund the remaining 50 per cent of the project.
“Tonight’s budget takes the federal government’s commitment to the highway duplication to $7.7 billion over nine years,” Mr Oakeshott said.
“It’s a massive injection of funds into a project that matters to every community along the New South Wales Mid-North and North coasts.
“Every one of those communities must now pressure the NSW Government to do what it promised in opposition — to work in partnership with the Commonwealth and to match every single federal dollar.”
However, Member for Port Macquarie, Leslie Williams, has criticised Mr Oakeshott for what she describes as his continuing to support the Gillard Government’s backflip on funding arrangements to upgrade the Pacific Highway.
Speaking in Parliament, Mrs Williams described the Federal Budget as all ‘smoke and mirrors’ and in particular the so-called ‘historic’ funding allocation of $3.56 billion for the Pacific Highway.
“If you read the Budget Paper, it says: ‘The Government will make provision in the Nation Building Program of an additional $3.6 billion over the period 2013-14 to 2016-17 as funding available to enable further major infrastructure projects.
‘This funding could be allocated towards the Pacific Highway duplication if the NSW Government was to request further additional funding on a 50/50 shared basis.’.
“The interesting words in the Budget paper are ‘could be’. Not will be, but could be. Well, the Pacific Highway could be completed by 2016 if the Federal Government honoured the funding commitment that they brokered with the former Labor State Government.
“Prior to the last state election, the Federal Labor Government was happy to fund 80 per cent and the State Government would fund 20 per cent, as the Premier and the Member for Myall Lakes said earlier, that memorandum was signed, sealed and was awaiting delivery.
“But now, the backflip.
“Further, cutting $2.3 billion from future Pacific Highway funding is a clear breach of that agreement by the Federal Labor Government,” Mrs Williams said.
“Mr Oakeshott should be joining the chorus of outrage and demanding that the Gillard Government honours its promise. I would have thought he should be doing all he could to urge the Federal Government to do what they promised they would, but unfortunately that is not the case.”
