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Budget 2017: Tassie, Victoria miss out on infrastructure boosts

ScoMo's second budget looks Sydney centric.

ScoMo's second budget looks Sydney centric. Photo: The New Daily

New South Wales is set to attract more than $3 billion of infrastructure spending from the Turnbull government next year, making it the tearaway beneficiary among the states.

While federal cash will flow to all states, Victoria and Tasmania appear to have won disproportionately less funding than the country’s largest state in Tuesday’s federal budget.

The Turnbull government is investing heavily in the development of a second airport in Sydney and has pledged to sink $725 million into the project next year.

Duplication of the Pacific Highway will also attract $710 million of federal government support, and there is additional money for a string of other projects including the upgrade of the Port Botany Rail Line.

Infrastructure Minister Darren Chester said the strategy was worth $75 billion over the next decade, with development of $20 billion of national rail projects constituting the centrepiece.

“These investments will deliver an important economic boost, creating tens of thousands of new jobs during construction,” he said.

“On completion these projects will lift national productivity and drive economic growth.”

Here’s a rundown of federal infrastructure spending outside NSW next year:

Victoria

Around $1 billion will be spent by the Turnbull government in Victoria next year, with regional rail upgrade projects and road improvements accounting for most of the cash.

Among the biggest beneficiaries of federal money will be the Gippsland Rail Line Upgrade project, which will receive a $195 million injection.

The new federal grants are unlikely to pacify Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews who has accused the federal government of underfunding infrastructure projects in the state.

Queensland

Regional development projects across Queensland will also attract more than $1.5 billion next year, with the lion’s share – $552 million – earmarked for upgrades of the Bruce Highway.

The federal government is also stumping up close to $500 million for highway development in southern parts of the state.

Western Australia

The Labor Party’s stunning victory in the recent state election appears to have inspired a federal spending spree across the state, with more than $600 million earmarked for road projects.

The Swan Valley Bypass and Kwinana Freeway are among the biggest expenditure items.

South Australia

Around $700 million will be pumped into key projects, including $234 million for linking the Northern Expressway to the South Road Superway.

Most of the spending in the South Australia is for roads, although the federal government will sink $138.5 million in the Goodwood to Torrens rail project.

Tasmania

A cynic might think that Tasmanian voters are paying a penalty for swinging to Labor at the 2016 federal election.

Tasmania will get barely $150 million in federal support for key project, with the upgrade of the Midland Highway securing $96.5 million next year.

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