Catherine King faces political ache one high-priced bridge at a time

The impartial evaluate commissioned by King to take a look at the federal authorities’s infrastructure pipeline got here to the identical conclusions.

It decided there was a greater probability of connecting Victoria to Tasmania with a bridge than there was of 800 separate federally supported initiatives price $120 billion being constructed, on time and on finances over the subsequent decade.

However that could be a bridge too far.

Too many initiatives have been too costly, had no actual rationale and didn’t deserve federal taxpayer help.

Whereas the finances papers confirmed the 50 axed initiatives have been price $11 billion, there was no method that was their true value. There isn’t a probability, as an illustration, of upgrading the street between Katoomba and Lithgow in NSW’s Blue Mountains for $2 billion or constructing a quick rail between Melbourne and Geelong for $4 billion.

However that’s the economics. The politics is way trickier.

Whereas comfortable to verify further spending for a number of initiatives, King was much less forthcoming concerning the timing of these initiatives.

She reckons the Commonwealth can spend between $10 billion and $12 billion a yr. This yr, the plan is to spend about $14.1 billion.

So the mid-year finances replace should affirm the timing of many initiatives will slip.

King can also be choosing an enormous combat with the states. Queensland, the place the Palaszczuk authorities is at long-odds to retain energy, confirmed what to anticipate when state Treasurer Cameron Dick used social media to inform King that she ought to “deal with Queensland extra like Qantas and fewer like Qatar”.

To be clear, Queensland bought an additional $2.1 billion in funding for 15 initiatives (together with $1.8 billion for a rail undertaking to the Gold Coast). It misplaced 9 initiatives price $400 million together with two railway station automotive parks and a $25 million roundabout.

Extra rigidity is prone to come. King has recognized various initiatives the place funding for planning functions has been confirmed because it tries to get a deal with on the true building prices. There must be query marks over the way forward for these works.

For much too lengthy, infrastructure has been utilized by governments of all persuasions to win over voters in marginal electorates. Political events have change into engaged in an electoral warfare the place roundabouts and automotive parks are the arms of alternative.

King has simply opened a brand new entrance within the infrastructure warfare.

Minimize by means of the noise of federal politics with information, views and skilled evaluation. Subscribers can signal as much as our weekly Inside Politics e-newsletter.