LAND TRANSPORT STATEMENT 27 FEBRUARY 1990
Labor has given land transport-high priority throughout its
three terms.
The facts are:
Labor undertook and completed the first all-weather
National Highway link around Australia: 16,000
kilometres in all weathers, over all terrains.
This project alone has cost $ 3.7 billion; it is in cost
and scope a greater civil engineering achievement than
the Snowy Mountains Scheme, also a Labor initiative.
The National Highway System has been transformed in the
process with major spending on the Hume, the Newcastle
Expressway, Tasmania's Midland Highway, the
replacement of 90 narrow bridges along the length
of the Bruce Highway, the sealing of the Barkly
Highway and vital works on the range of other
highways which make up the system
Labor has put more than $ 9 billion towards roads in its
seven budgets.
This is 18 per cent higher in real terms than the
previous seven years under the Coalition, representing
an annual average of $ 235 million higher in real terms.
The proportion of total Federal Government revenue from
fuel which is devoted to roads is higher than in the
last year of the previous Government.
Rail, too, has received priority. Labor recognises
that rail is environmentally cleaner, safer and an
integral part of the transportation system of any
nation which relies on bulk handling for a large part
of its export effort.
Australian National, under Labor, has achieved a higher
cost recovery rate than any State railway, reducing its
call on the tax payer by 65 percent in real terms, and
without industrial disputes. Australian National now
makes a profit on its freight network without " taxing"
vital resource industries.
Labor has instituted a National Arterials program to
ensure that the highest priority is given to major
projects of national economic significance which an
individual State on its own would find too large to
handle. Labor has poured $ 730 million into the Hume Highway,
the nation's principal highway in terms of traffic
volumes and value.
Sixty-five per cent of the Hume is now 4-lane standard.
By the end of our fourth term, almost all of the
highway and most of the by-passes will be at this
standard. Victoria in particular is now due to benefit
substantially.
The next term
In our fourth term, Labor will:
Devote SlOO million a year to a new roads program,
financed from the additional 20 percent sales tax on
luxury vehicles recently announced by the Treasurer
The new program will concentrate on roads of major
economic significance outside the capital cities and
will be known as the Provincl1 Cities and Rural
Highways Program
roads projects funded under this new program will
qualify on the grounds of high benefit-cost ratios
Examples of roads or regions where the next Labor
Government may fund appropriate projects, with the
co-operation of relevant State Governents, include:
the Calder and Midland Highways in Victoria
the Lincoln Highway in South Australia,
North Queensland and West of the Divide
Tasmania other major regional roads with high benefit-cost
ratios
The new program will be used to complement the present
nationa arterialg/ roads of national economic
significance program which is aimed at funding major
projects with high benefit-cost ratios and of vital
importance to the national economy
at present, this program is in its early years and
is concentrated in areas such as ring roads in
Melbourne and Perth, the Glebe Island container
terminal bridge; the Liverpool to Hornsby
arterial; and the Gateway arterial in Brisbane.
The debate over the state of the Pacific Highway north
from Newcastle has focussed on suggestions for a
four-lane dual carriageway
such a project is, as I have said recently,
possible under existing funding levels within the
" ten to twenty year" time frame so cynically
stated by National Party spokesmen, provided only
that the State Government accords appropriate
priority using the funds supplied to it by the Commonwealth
and its own funds.
We are prepared to devote funds from this $ 300 million
over the next 3 years to accelerating the Pacific
Highway upgrading should the State Government now
choose to devote to it the highest priority, through
the use of their own funds and exis. Zina Commonwealth
funds. Labor recognises the benefits that rail offers and is
pursuing an integrated rail freight management system.
There is a vital need to upgrade both the north-south
and east-west rail fre-ight corridors to ensure timely
delivery of both exports and " just-in-time" inventories
to ports or distribution centres.
As a result, funds from the new program may also go
towards priority improvements to mainline rail systems
after taking account of State views.
Labor also pledges in its fourth term to continue
active negotiation and implementation of the initiative
to obtain nationally consistent road laws and eliminate
accident black-spots
the commonsense nature of this initiative should
be obvious
truck drivers should have one national licence and
a national demerit system
a drunk is a dangerous driver, no matter where the
State border starts, and
bicycle helmets for children are essential.
The Government renews its call to the States to accept
these proposals, to which the Government last year made
clear it is prepared to devote $ 120 million, over three
years.
The Bottom Line
Over the full term of the next Hawke Government an
additional amount of $ 300 million will be made
available for priority roads or rail projects in
regional areas.
This massive level of new funding will not impact on
the Budget surplus Labor has achieved.
It will be targeted to complement ( not to reduce) our
present emphasis on national arterial projects which
have by their nature more often than not been sited in
major urban centres, and the 16,000 kilometre National
Highway System.
Like all Labor's new commitments during the election
campaign, the new program is fully funded.
This bottom line does not include the benefits of
indexation of existing road funding
indexation will, by itself, add some further
hundreds of millions to Labor's roads funding
efforts over the next three years
these funds are alrpady included in the forward
estimates, as this was a Budget commitment dating
from 1988.