But Mr Foley said Labor's plan was superior to the government's as it delivered key infrastructure while keeping the electricity distribution businesses in public hands, which would mean holding on to $1 billion each year in dividends. Infrastructure policy revealed: Luke Foley, Opposition Leader of NSW. Credit:Trish Marinozzi "I won't make the extravagant promises that Mr Baird's currently making that all rely on the blackmail of people having to agree to privatisation of their electricity network," Mr Foley said. "Labor's additional infrastructure priorities are based on stable and ongoing sources of revenue." However, NSW Treasurer Andrew Constance said the announcement was "lazy" and an "assault on families in western Sydney and the bush".

"Labor spent 16 years cancelling its own projects; it's no wonder they're now cancelling ours," he said. Mr Baird said Mr Foley's plan was "very clearly about condemning Sydney to congestion for a generation to come". Labor's $10 billion funding promise is over 10 years and is in addition to infrastructure spending already allocated in the state infrastructure plan, worth about $15 billion a year. MORE TOP STORIES

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Nature's strongest material from a snail Half of the money – $5.1 billion – will come from deferring for 10 years a decision by Mr Baird in last year's state budget to abolish a range of business taxes including duty on mortgages, intangible assets and unlisted securities. Their slated abolition was part of the agreement between the states and the Commonwealth in 1999 about the introduction of the GST. Another $4.9 billion will come from "uncommitted" money already in the government's infrastructure fund, Restart NSW. The money is allocated by the government for 20 different projects, including $400 million for Parramatta light rail, $389 million in road infrastructure to support a second Sydney airport, and $348 million for the Northern Beaches Hospital.

Labor will consider abolishing some or most of them but Mr Foley has all but committed to funding the Parramatta light rail project. Elsewhere, $3 billion will be allocated to health and education projects and $2 billion for urban and regional roads. There is $1.4 billion for western Sydney growth infrastructure, $1 billion for passenger rail upgrades, $1.5 billion for the regions, and $950 million for arts, culture, tourism, environment and sports projects. Details of most of these individual projects will be announced before the March 28 election. Mr Foley said Labor remained committed to funding another rail crossing of Sydney harbour but would not privatise electricity assets to accelerate the project. The government says it would start the rail line in about 2017; under Labor's timeframe, the project would begin in about 2022.

And Labor remains supportive of two major projects contained within the WestConnex scheme of motorway corridors. It says it would build another M5 East tunnel, but would end the tunnel closer to Port Botany than St Peters. It says it would build another M4 East tunnel, but that project would emerge closer to the city than the government's scheme, which would have tunnels emerge at Haberfield and Rozelle in the inner west. "The policy objective should be getting to the M4 to the city, and many, many people have questioned whether moving an inner west bottleneck to another inner west bottleneck is good roads policy," Mr Foley said. Find out about your state seat using our election interactive: