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Political stoush over Pacific Highway funding

NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay has been accused of misleading the public after a letter was leaked by Anthony Albanese over funding for the Pacific Highway.

In a letter to Albanese in late June, Gay said the Pacific Highway had "received an allocation of nearly $740 million more than requested" from the federal government.

Albanese disclosed the contents of the letter this week after a press release from Gay’s department urged voters to back Tony Abbott in the upcoming election because: "Kevin Rudd and Anthony Albanese have turned off the funding tap" for the duplication of the highway from Newcastle to the Queensland border.

"True to form the Liberal and National parties have been saying one thing publicly and something completely different in private," Albanese said.

Gay's letter to Albanese says the state government received more money than requested because some funding did not match with "advice on actual project milestones".

The letter said the NSW government would "accept this additional allocation as a prepayment for the program to be drawn on beyond 2013-14".

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