Statement 1:
Budget Overview
(Continued)
Investing in infrastructure to build economic capacity
This Budget invests $1 billion in the nation's transport infrastructure, building on the significant investment of $36 billion that the Government has already committed to roads, rail and ports, and sets aside a further $5.6 billion for a new infrastructure fund.
In real terms, this Government is more than doubling expenditure on major transport infrastructure in the six years to 2013‑14, compared with the previous six years.
New infrastructure fund
The Government will invest more than $5.6 billion over the next decade from the Resource Super Profits Tax (RSPT) to establish a fund to invest in infrastructure. The Infrastructure Fund will start at $700 million in 2012‑13 and will grow over time. This will make infrastructure spending a permanent feature of Commonwealth and state budgets for the first time.
Australia's resources sector is expected to remain an important contributor to national income for many decades to come, but its success relies heavily on the availability of supporting export infrastructure, such as roads, rail and ports.
Resource‑rich states will receive relatively more funding, reflecting the greater call on their budgets for investment in infrastructure that supports the ongoing development of the resource industry.
Sharing the benefits of better resource taxation with the states is also a recommendation of the Australia's Future Tax System review.
Expanding our rail freight capacity
The Government will make a $996 million equity investment in the Australian Rail Track Corporation for upgrades to major rail freight networks to increase Australia's economic capacity.
These projects will significantly improve rail capacity along the Brisbane to Melbourne, Melbourne to Adelaide and Sydney to Perth rail corridors. These projects will help drive the Government's agenda to increase the movement of Australia's freight by rail, reduce travel times and improve productivity.
The rail lines that are being upgraded include:
- NSW North Coast (easing of curves to increase capacity and decrease journey times);
- Goulburn‑Moss Vale‑Glenlee and Gheringhap‑Maroona (the provision of passing loops to allow overtaking);
- Broken Hill‑Parkes (replacing timber sleepers with concrete sleepers); and
- Albury‑Melbourne‑Geelong and Whyalla‑Broken Hill and Parkes‑Cootamundra (re‑railing to allow heavier trains).
The productivity of Australia's export supply chain depends not only on the efficiency of the nation's rail freight and road infrastructure, but on their connection to our ports. The Government has committed to establishing an intermodal terminal precinct at Moorebank to address the critical shortage of intermodal terminal capacity in Sydney and complement the Government's other investments in rail connections to Port Botany and on the main interstate rail line between Melbourne‑Sydney‑Brisbane.
The terminal will provide a much needed integrated transport solution for the movement of freight to and within the Sydney basin which will boost national productivity, reduce business costs and relieve bottlenecks and urban congestion.
The Moorebank project will now move into the detailed planning and approval phase with $70.7 million allocated to progress this important measure.
National Broadband Network
Efficient and dynamic communications networks are the backbone of a competitive 21st century economy. The Government has announced that it will roll out a National Broadband Network (NBN) to deliver next generation fibre broadband to all Australians.
The rollout of the NBN will represent a significant leap in the communications capabilities currently available to most Australians. It offers the potential for substantial productivity improvement for businesses, and improved service, competition and choice for consumers and businesses alike.
The Implementation Study confirms NBN can be built for less than $43 billion and recommends there be no private equity in the project before privatisation to preserve policy flexibility.
The Government has made appropriate provision in this Budget for the roll‑out of NBN, subject to a final response to the Implementation Study. Importantly, the study indicates the Government can expect to generate a rate of return on its equity investment sufficient to fully cover its cost of funds.
Also, to ensure that Australia has sufficient radiofrequency spectrum to satisfy a growing demand for wireless services, the Government will release a large amount of radiofrequency spectrum. This spectrum is being made available by the conversion of television broadcasting services from analog to digital and is known as the 'digital dividend'. By reallocating this valuable and scarce spectrum to more productive uses, the release of the digital dividend represents a key microeconomic reform.
Efficient national markets
As part of the Government's actions to address critical infrastructure challenges, it has announced that Infrastructure Australia and the National Transport Commission will develop a National Ports Strategy for consideration by COAG.
The overarching vision of the strategy is to drive the development of efficient, sustainable ports and related freight logistics that balance the needs of a growing Australian community and economy with the quality of life aspirations of the Australian people.
This will complement Infrastructure Australia's National Freight Strategy, which will help coordinate Australia's supply chain to boost our productivity.
If www.budget.gov.au responds slowly or you are having trouble downloading a document, try one of the Budget Website Mirrors
Note: Where possible, Budget documents are available in HTML and for downloading in Portable Document Format(PDF). If you require further information on any of the tables or charts on this website, please contact The Treasury.
