E&OE...
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One of the most important responsibilities of the Commonwealth Government is to provide infrastructure for the future growth and development of our nation.
Yesterday I opened the new Hume Highway Albury Wodonga bypass, which at a cost of $518 million, is the largest infrastructure investment of that kind in regional Australia for many years.
There is, of course, the $10 billion Commonwealth plan to mix the Murray-Darling Basin system and provide long term water security for our nation. We continue to invest increased sums in road construction around the nation, particularly in areas of high population growth.
Later this week there will be announcements made which will greatly enhance the access of Australians to broadband services. These are but some of the infrastructure investments that the Commonwealth is making. They are important to our economic growth and to our future. They are made possible, and they are affordable, because of the strong economic management of the Government over the last 11 years.
If we were still in debt, if we still owed $96 billion, if we were still running budget deficits rather than surpluses we would not be able to afford expenditure of this kind without putting our future economic viability of risk.
The fact that we can do these things is a constant reminder that if the economy is managed well, we can plan for the future with great hope and great optimism.
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Listen to this Speech (MP3 - 1.71Mb - 112secs)