Viewed
Media release: Albanese chooses Grayndler over western Sydney with his backflip on WestConnex
Anthony Albanese is desperate to distance himself from WestConnex as he chases Greens votes in Grayndler – so desperate that today he told ABC Radio the opposite of what he said in 2014about whether Labor funded WestConnex when in Government.
On May 12, 2014 Albanese said Labor provided $1.8 billion for WestConnex when in Government:
FANNING: Nevertheless there are three enormous projects that Labor never funded when you were Infrastructure Minister, the East-West Railway, the WestConnex and the Toowoomba Range Crossing.
ALBANESE: Well that’s not right Ellen. Take WestConnex for example, we funded the work in terms of planning. $25 million was already spent from us and $1.8 billion was included in last year’s budget for the WestConnex project.
http://anthonyalbanese.com.au/transcript-of-radio-interview-abc-radio-national-withellen-fanning
This morning, when asked on radio whether he provided federal funds to WestConnex when he was Infrastructure Minister, Albanese told a different story:
KELLY: Did you provide that money?
ALBANESE: We provided $25 million for planning, Fran, that’s the whole point. They say they support planning, we provided $25 million, not for construction, not a dollar, did we provide for construction.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/anthony-albanese-onwestconnex/7427436
Mr Albanese is all over the airwaves today seeking to beat up the significance of a review of Commonwealth funding of WestConnex by the auditor general.
The job of the auditor general is to review spending on significant Commonwealth programs. It is a routine part of government and there were 49 performance audits conducted in 2014-15.
WestConnex has already been assessed by Infrastructure NSW and by Infrastructure Australia as delivering positive economic benefits (1.7 BCR).
The real story here is Mr Albanese’s backflip on WestConnex. As Minister for Infrastructure in the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd Government, Mr Albanese authorised $1.8 billion of funding for WestConnex.
Two years ago, Mr Albanese was claiming credit for the funding.
On May 15, 2014 Albanese said the Government hadn’t committed enough to WestConnex in the 2014-15 Budget saying:
"... It actually cuts funding by $300 million from the $1.8 billion set aside by the former Labor government in the 2013 budget."
But Albanese has changed his tune this year as he tries to fend off the Greens in his inner city seat. On 6 January this year Nine News reported that Albanese wished he had never made the decision to fund WestConnex:
This is a troubling pattern from the Labor Party – to stop their voters shifting to the Greens, we’re seeing Labor start to oppose critical infrastructure.
WestConnex will deliver real benefits to millions of people in western and southwestern Sydney and more than $20 billion in economic benefits to New South Wales, creating 10,000construction jobs and bypassing up to 52 sets of traffic lights.
The Turnbull Government is delivering the vital infrastructure that Sydney needs – so people can get to and from work as quickly as possible; freight can move efficiently around the city; and we all benefit from less time stuck in traffic and more time doing what we want to be doing.
The Greens and Labor left can squabble over who is more opposed to vitally needed infrastructure. Only the Coalition can be trusted to deliver the infrastructure needed to serve the whole of Sydney.
