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NEWS
The pros and cons of the federal budget
Two automotive lobby groups take opposing sides in the debate over Wayne Swan's (last?) budgetThe AAA and the VACC have very different clientele – and that's apparent in each respective body's response to the federal budget from earlier this week.
On the national stage, the AAA (the Australian Automobile Association) represents all the state motoring associations, and they in turn represent motorists. Through its 'Demand Better Roads' campaign, the AAA declared where it stood a few weeks out from the budget. That tactic seems to have achieved a result, with the Association welcoming additional funding for road and rail transport in line with its lobby. That said, there's no way of knowing whether the federal government's initiative was in any way influenced by the Association's campaign, or whether it was, rather, decided long beforehand.
"The support in this Budget for crucial transport infrastructure projects is well-targeted and will deliver long-term benefits for Australia," AAA Executive Director Andrew McKellar was quoted saying in a press release. "The commitment to key transport projects is essential if we are to address worsening congestion in our major cities and to improve safety and productivity on our national highways."
For its part, the VACC (Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce), which numbers small businesses among its members, was dismissive of the budget. The Chamber issued a press release today without any attributable quotes from forthright executive director, David Purchase.
In the opening paragraph of the VACC's press release is the observation that the deficit is "nothing to be proud of" and will "discourage many small business owners who know the deficit has to be repaid at some stage."
While the Chamber welcomes the additional spending on transport infrastructure and training/education, its press release castigates the government for taxation, noting that many small businesses are unincorporated, forced to pay personal tax rather than corporate tax, and penalised accordingly. The sting in the tail was the final sentence, which seems more like a pronouncement than a threat.
"With just five months to go to a Federal Election, the focus of small business is understandably not on this Budget, but on that defining event on 14 September 2013, which will decide the future Government."
The roads that are to be upgraded and receive federal government funding are as follows:
New South Wales
WestConnex - $1.8 billion
F3 extension to M2 - $400 million to commence of works
Victoria
Metro Rail Tunnel - $3 billion
M80 - $525 million
Queensland
Bruce Highway - $4.1 billion over 10 years
Gateway North Motorway - $718 million
Brisbane Inner Rail Solution (Cross River Rail) - $715 million
South Australia
South Road - $448 million
Western Australia
Swan Valley Bypass (Perth to Darwin Highway) - $418.3 million
Perth Public Transport Package - $500 million over ten years
North West Coastal Highway - $174 million
Tonkin Highway - $140.6 million
Tasmania
Midland Highway - $500 million over ten years
Brooker Highway - $25.6 million
Picture courtesy of stucompassw/Wikimedia Commons
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