High resolution version

Increased investment in land transport infrastructure

Investing in Australia’s infrastructure – AusLink

The Government will provide a further $1.1 billion over five years for our road and rail systems, in addition to the $2 billion announced in January 2004. This investment will boost productivity and position Australia for an expected doubling of the land freight task over the next 20 years.

AusLink

High quality physical infrastructure is crucial to increasing efficiency and productivity in the economy. In this Budget, the Government will introduce a new land transport infrastructure programme — AusLink. The national land transport plan The Government will allocate additional funding of $1.9 billion over five years to upgrade Australia’s road and rail systems under its AusLink initiative. Funding of $1.1 billion in this Budget is on top of the $810 million over three years from 2006-07 redirected from the Fuel Sales Grants Scheme to fund land transport improvements in regional and outer metropolitan areas which the Government announced in January 2004. This includes funding for the Australian Rail Track Corporation towards rail improvements. This additional national network funding will position Australia to cope with an expected doubling of the land freight task over the next 20 years.

Under AusLink, the Australian Government will take a strategic leadership role in national land transport infrastructure. It will do this through establishing a National Land Transport Plan and through funding processes that give competing land transport solutions and providers equitable access to Australian Government funding. Roads to Recovery In January, the Government announced the extension, for four years from 2005-06, of the Roads to Recovery programme. Roads to Recovery provides funding directly to local councils to maintain and upgrade local roads. Under the new arrangements the Government will provide $200 million a year, allocated by formula as under the existing arrangements, to local councils to upgrade local roads while $100 million a year will be available direct to councils to undertake local land transport infrastructure projects of strategic regional importance. The AusLink White Paper will be released later in 2004.