Funding for major Canberra intersection in mid-year budget update (original) (raw)

The federal government will contribute $13 million to fund new infrastructure projects in the ACT and will increase its funding to support the Australian War Memorial's financial position.

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The updated deficit was lower than industry experts had expected however, the government has increased the forecast deficits over the forward years.

The ACT will receive $13 million over the four years from 2025-26 for two projects under the Infrastructure Investment Program.

Some of the funding will go towards developing the Molonglo East-West arterial road and improving the Hume Circle roundabout, a key intersection connecting Griffith, Narrabundah and Kingston.

The Hume Circle intersection and, inset, Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Pictures supplied, Keegan Carroll

Investigations are underway to identify improvements to reduce crashes and improve safety at the intersection.

The government clarified the funding had already been committed to in the May budget, but the projects were singled out in MYEFO for administrative purposes.

The mid-year economic and fiscal outlook, dubbed MYEFO, also included an additional $300,000 in funding for the Australian War Memorial in 2025-26 to support its financial stability.

Handing down the updated budget outlook on Wednesday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the overall budget position was $200 billion better off over the six years to 2027-28 than what the previous government projected in its 2022 pre-election budget.

In a joint statement, Dr Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said it was "not mission accomplished" but MYEFO showed progress in Australia's economic position.

Construction work at the War Memorial. Picture by Karleen Minney

"We've made good progress on budget repair, but we've got much more to do to make up for a decade of waste and mismanagement under a Coalition who couldn't deliver a single surplus in nine tries," they said.

The budget update also outlined Commonwealth funding of 71.5millionoverfouryearsfrom2024−25andanadditional71.5 million over four years from 2024-25 and an additional 71.5millionoverfouryearsfrom2024−25andanadditional201.2 million from 2028-29 to 2034-35 for ACT public schools.

This funding, part of the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement, was confirmed in November following negotiations between the ACT government and the Commonwealth.

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