Where are Labor and Coalition pork-barrelling this election?

This nation famously loves big things. The Sunshine Coast’s pineapple, Ballina’s prawn, that banana, the sheep (sorry, merino)… you get the drift. But at this time of the electoral cycle, it’s the Big Pork Barrell that really comes into its own.

So what are you up for? Need $16 million for a new pool? $10 million for a community hub? $225,000 for a museum? If you’re lucky enough to live in a competitive electorate, the Big Pork Barrell could be coming to you. 

As Labor and Coalition frontbenchers criss-cross the country, Crikey is tracking some of the local announcements they’ve made along the way — the ones that don’t always grab headlines beyond the local papers, but which can really buy votes.

The spend this time around may not come close to the colour-coded spreadsheets of Bridget McKenzie’s 2019 sport rorts spendathon, but you can use the interactive map below to see where money is being promised this election. (And if you have seen more local announcements, don’t hesitate to get in touch.)

Note: these are only the announcements made after the election was called.

The pigs are flying

In the NSW seat of Eden-Monaro, which Labor won at a 2020 byelection and then retained at a post-2022 election margin of 8.2% against the Liberals, the prime minister himself made a visit to promise millions for a swimming pool.

“A reelected Albanese Labor government will provide $16 million to upgrade the Bega Valley War Memorial Swimming Pool”, read the announcement carried by local MP Kristy McBain’s website on Saturday. 

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Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, local Solomon MP Luke Gosling, and NT Senator Malarndirri McCarthy got together on Saturday in a suburb of Palmerston to announce $10 million federal dollars for a new library and community hall.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was in Brisbane on Saturday to pledge $225,000 towards a physical building for the Chinese Museum of Queensland. 

“I am pleased to confirm that a Dutton Coalition government will provide the museum with the support it needs to scale up its virtual museum and move towards its long-term vision for a permanent physical museum,” Dutton said.

At the Al-Madinah Masjid mosque in Leppington in Western Sydney, Dutton on Sunday promised $25,000 for new CCTV cameras. Western Sydney is seen by the Liberals as an area where they could gain crucial seats at the election, and the Coalition’s campaign headquarters have been placed in Parramatta.

On Sunday, Albanese was in Perthm where he, other than hugging another baby, announced Labor would spend $200 million to upgrade the St John of God Midland Public Hospital, located in the seat of Hasluck, which Labor won from the Liberals in 2022.

Dutton was in flood-struck outback western Queensland on Monday — more specifically in Thargomindah, located in LNP MP David Littleproud’s non-marginal seat of Maranoa — where he pledged $10 million for a new weather radar.

In a pledge that had been accounted for in the latest budget, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said his government would deliver a new medical school at the Queensland University of Technology. 

“We’re delivering this new medical school at QUT in addition to the $617 million we’re investing to train more doctors and nurses,” Chalmers said in a statement on Monday. Queensland is seen as a battleground state where Labor hopes to pick seats off both the Coalition and the Greens.

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Marles was in Melbourne’s north-west on Monday to promote a $300 million plan to fix the Calder Freeway and build a new interchange. Transport Minister Catherine King was in the area as well, seeking to remind voters of a previous $1.1 billion promise to upgrade Victoria’s Western Freeway.

Dutton said on Tuesday he’ll put $1.5 billion towards the Melbourne Airport Link, although that money will come from a cut to the planned $2.2 billion in federal funding of the state’s Suburban Rail Loop.

Labor’s Corangamite MP Libby Coker appeared with Albanese on Tuesday to announce $5.45 million in funding for the Drysdale Football Netball Club.

Dutton said on Tuesday the Coalition would tip $3 million into a charity run by former St Kilda player Nick Riewoldt that benefits research into bone marrow failure syndromes.

Albanese was in Adelaide on Tuesday to announce a $150 million pledge to build a health centre in south Adelaide. The hospital would be located at Flinders University in the suburb of Bedford Park, located in the electorate of Boothby, which Labor wrested from the Liberals at the last election at a post-election margin of 3.3%.

Know of pork promises in your electorate? Write to us at letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication in Crikey’s Your Say. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.