Economic infrastructure is essential to promoting Australia's future prosperity. The Government is investing $22 billion to support jobs and improve Australia's core infrastructure. This significant investment in the building blocks for the future will generate benefits that will improve the living standards of all Australians.
The investment Australia puts in place now will allow us to take advantage of the global recovery. The Government's commitment to nation building infrastructure will drive a more diverse, competitive and sustainable economy generating enduring and substantial economic, social and environmental benefits into the future.
Roads
The Government is investing $3.4 billion to improve the quality and efficiency of Australia's road networks.
Network 1 (N1) is Australia's busiest freight route stretching along the eastern seaboard from Melbourne to Cairns.
The Government is making a number of strategic investments in the N1 — including the Hunter Expressway, Kempsey Bypass and the Bruce Highway from Cooroy to Curra to complete duplications, bypasses, flood proofing and other safety measures by 2013.
This investment will deliver economic benefits to Australian businesses through faster transit times and lower transportation costs.
This will help Australian businesses remain globally competitive into the future.
Ports
Before the economic downturn, capacity constraints and infrastructure bottlenecks were evident in some of Australia's key export gateways.
Over the next four years, the Government will commit $389 million towards developing, constructing and
expanding critical port infrastructure in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
This investment in Australia's gateways will play an important role in driving economic growth into the future — improving access for Australia's mineral resources and commodities to global markets.
Together, these investments in Australia's roads, rail and ports build on the Government's investment of more than $26 billion under the Nation Building Program.
Road, rail and port infrastructure spending