Confusion and contradiction have become the norm in our topsy-turvy political landscape, but the recent decisions by the ACT and NSW governments about how to fund infrastructure must take the cake.
Here in the ACT, the Labor-Greens government is set to embrace a ”public-private partnership” to build its promised light rail project. The Liberals in NSW, on the other hand, have recently announced that their government will bypass the private sector and will directly fund the $1.8 billion first stage of the WestConnex motorway.
Of course, the Liberals have not had a change of heart about wanting to give the private sector a leg up; on the contrary. The NSW government believes that the first stage of its new motorway will be too risky for the private bankers to be a part of, so it will go it alone to get the ball rolling and only invite the private sector in once the profits are assured.
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