The federal government is investing $22 billion in nation building infrastructure in order to help Australia survive the economic downturn and improve the nation's transport, communications, health and education facilities. The government believes that investing in these areas will boost the economy now and enhance the productivity of the economy in the long term.
Over eight years, $43 billion will be invested by a government-established company to build and operate the biggest single nation building infrastructure project in Australia's history, a National Broadband Network (NBN) in partnership with the private sector. The NBN will be a wholesale-only, open-access broadband network, the objective of which is to provide broadband services to 90 per cent of Australian homes, schools and workplaces. It will provide speeds of 100 megabits per second and next-generation wireless and satellite technologies will be able to deliver 12 megabits per second or more to people in remote parts of Australia.
This investment will support an average of 25,000 jobs every year over the life of the project, with a peak of 37,000 jobs.
The government is also investing in nine metropolitan rail projects across Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and the Gold Coast. $27.7 billion is being invested through the Nation Building Program and Building Australia Fund, including $3.4 billion to enhance the safety and efficiency of the national road network. This includes construction of a bypass at Kempsey on the Pacific Highway.
$339 million has been set aside for the development of Oakajee port and rail common use infrastructure, near Geraldton in Western Australia, to support growing demand for internationally competitive export infrastructure.
The N1 will also be upgraded through the Nation Building Program, with the government committing $8.6 billion. The N1 is Australia's busiest freight route stretching along the eastern seaboard between Melbourne and Cairns. In this Budget, the government is making a number of other strategic investments in the N1, bringing their total commitment in the road corridor to $120 billion. This involves the construction of bypasses, completing duplications, three-laning, flood proofing, gradient reductions and other safety measures.
Improving health and hospital infrastructure is also an important element of this year's Budget. The government is committing $250 million for the Townsville Hospital in Queensland, $200 million for a Health and Medical Research Institute at the new Royal Adelaide Hospital and $28 million for the Northern Territory Medical School. In Australia's west, the Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth will receive $256 million for their rehabilitation unit.
PLANNED ROAD, RAIL AND PORT WORKS ($m)NSW- Hunter Expressway 1451
- Pacific Highway, Kempsey bypass 618
- West Metro, preconstruction work 91
VIC- Regional rail express 3225
- East-West Rail Tunnel, preconstruction work 40
QLD- Ipswich Motorway, additional works 884
- Bruce Highway, Cooroy to Curra duplication 488
- Gold Coast light rail 365
- Brisbane inner-city rail feasibility study 20
SA- Gawler rail line modernisation 294
- Noarlunga to Seaford rail extension 291
- O-Bahn track extension 61
WA- Oakajee Port common user facilities 339
- Northbridge rail link 236
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