Funding for a commuter car park in Sydney and money for Melbourne road and rail projects will be scrapped in Tuesday's federal budget.
Key points:
- The cuts are part of $10 billion dollars in savings the government has calculated over forward estimates
- Up to $2 billion in grants promised by the former government will be cancelled
- Finance Minister Katy Gallagher accuses the Morrison government of "cynically buying votes before elections by politicising grants funds"
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher argued the projects promised by the Morrison government were an attempt to win votes and were not value for money.
"The former government used taxpayers' money to cynically buy votes before elections by politicising grants funds and used the budget to land political deals with the Nationals in the Coalition Party Room — that approach to spending ends in Labor's first budget," she said.
The cuts make up a small fraction of the $10 billion dollars in savings the government has found over the forward estimates.
Another $11 billion dollars will be re-prioritised, meaning money will be moved from one project to another.
Paying for 'new government priorities'
Senator Gallagher said the changes would be a better use of taxpayer money.
"We have responsibly gone through the budget line-by-line and identified savings or re-prioritisations where we can to begin the task of budget repair or pay for new government priorities," she said.
$3.6 billion will be saved through the government reducing its spending on external contractors, advertising, travel and legal expenses, while $2 billion in grants promised by the former government will be cancelled.
While all the details are yet to be released, the ABC knows of two projects under the urban congestion fund that have been cut, which Labor long argued was pork barrelling by the former government, and the Auditor General found decisions around commuter car parks were not merit-based.
They include $7.5 million promised for a commuter car park in Hurstville — in the Liberal-held seat of Banks — and $250 million to remove the Glenferrie Road level crossing in the seat of Kooyong, which was previously held by then-treasurer Josh Frydenberg.
Two road projects — the Napoleon Road upgrade and the Wellington Road duplication — that run through the Liberal-held Melbourne seat of Aston have been cut.
And nearly half a billion dollars announced by the Coalition in 2018 for Monash Rail, which is in the marginal Melbourne seat of Chisholm, has been scrapped.
However, funding for transport in that area will still occur because while in Opposition, Labor pledged to help pay for a trackless tram.
Funding delays for infrastructure
The government has also made changes to $6.5 billion worth of infrastructure projects over the next 10 years.
Described as "re-profiling", the measure means a number of projects have had their funding delayed.
Australian Local Government Association President Linda Scott said local communities couldn't afford to wait any longer for projects to be completed.
"There is an urgent need for any investment in local infrastructure whether that be roads, or community centres or libraries or childcare centres," she said.
"That funding should be brought forward and not delayed by the commonwealth government."
'Australia's worst roundabout' funding delayed
The changes mean that the New South Wales government will have to wait until the middle of 2025 to receive funding for the Homebush Bay Drive and Australia Avenue intersection upgrade in Sydney's west.
When $50 million dollars was promised by the Morrison government, then-local Liberal member Fiona Martin called it "Australia's worst roundabout".
And Queensland will have to wait longer for funding to complete the Rockhampton Ring Road.
$800 million earmarked by the Coalition for the project has been put off for a few years.
Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie said truck drivers and motorists can't wait any longer.
"Our roads need to be actually up for the task which is getting product to port," she said.
"Not to mention as a local getting kids to school or football or netball."
A shortage of workers, rising inflation and a lack of supplies are some of the government's reasons for pushing back the funding timelines.
However, the measure is also a way that governments can find extra cash in the short term to fix the budget books.