More evidence is mounting that Acting Prime Minister McCormack’s infrastructure program is a political document not an economic plan.
Response to the Senate Question on Notice 397 reveals the Acting Prime Minister spent $11.6 million earlier this year on a three month pre-election infrastructure advertising binge.
The Final Budget Outcome, released Thursday, shows no spending under the Urban Congestion Fund, despite the Government forecasting that they would spend $40 million for the 2018‑19 financial year in this year’s Budget.
The Acting Prime Minister must explain how he couldn’t spend a cent from the Urban Congestion Fund for a whole year but found a way to splurge $11.6 million of taxpayers’ money on pre-election advertising in just three months.
The Coalition Government used the Urban Congestion Fund as a key campaigning opportunity fully aware no work was underway, and nothing would start for months or years. Construction has not commenced on even one Urban Congestion Fund project, almost a year and a half after the Fund was announced.
The Building our Future campaign ran $11,626,128.83 worth of advertising across TV, Radio, Print, Cinema and Digital in all metropolitan, regional and rural markets for every state and territory between 13 January 2019 and 11 April 2019.
The Urban Congestion Fund did not fund a road, bridge, tunnel, car park, roundabout, footpath or bike lane in any city or region of any state or territory in all of 2018-19.
The Acting Prime Minister must end the spin and get to work on a real plan for infrastructure.