The NSW government has lashed its federal counterpart after being "short-changed" in an infrastructure cash splash.
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The federal Labor government is pledging $9.6 billion in the October budget for the construction of road and rail projects across the country.
"It's about making journeys quicker but also making sure people can get home to their families safely," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday.
"Sound and planned infrastructure investment in Australia creates jobs, builds opportunity and unlocks economic growth and productivity for our cities and our regions."
But while Victoria is a big winner, with $2.2 billion to help fund the state's Suburban Rail Loop, NSW received only $1 billion in funding including $300 million for western Sydney roads and another $500 million for the High Speed Rail Authority.
The NSW coalition said federal Labor had "short-changed every single person in NSW".
"The NSW government is doing the heavy lifting when it comes to infrastructure in Australia, spending more than all other states and territories and a lot more than the federal government," NSW Infrastructure Minister Rob Stokes said.
"NSW Labor has an appalling record on infrastructure. Labor conference is on this weekend and Chris Minns' silence on this issue is deafening. If he was fair dinkum, he'd be fighting the federal government for our share."
Mr Stokes said NSW had received $122 per citizen, compared with $10,729 for each Northern Territorian.
Federal infrastructure Minister Catherine King admitted the discrepancy between NSW and other states was due to a contentious relationship with NSW's coalition government.
"We had a slightly different relationship in opposition with the Victorians as we did with NSW, so we didn't really have a lot of projects on the table from opposition with them," she told the ABC's Insiders on Sunday.
"But we'll talk to the NSW government in the lead-up to the May budget as to where their priorities are."
At least one of the those potential projects would be raising the Warragamba Dam, which will cost $1.6 billion.
Ms King said that would be discussed before next year's budget.
Freight highways in the heart of South Australia will get a $1.5 billion upgrade and maintenance package.
Brisbane and Tasmanian roads will see between $500 million to $600 million each to upgrade road corridors, while Perth will get $125 million in funding for an electric bus network.
It also means the end of cash for so-called "zombie projects" that had been sitting flagged but never realised in budgets under the previous coalition government, including the East West link in Victoria and the Perth Freight Link.
The Northern Territory will receive a $2.5 billion boost, including $332 million towards the NT Strategic Roads Package.
The $9.6 billion pledge follows a promise unveiled on Saturday by Mr Albanese to add another six weeks to the government-funded parental leave package by 2026.
It would mean Australians could access six months of parental leave, which the prime minister hoped would inspire the private sector to set the new limit as a "baseline".
Australian Associated Press
