Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Minister for Transport and Regional Services) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hinkler. This budget makes an enormous boost to Australia’s infrastructure. It is a fantastic additional investment in roads and rail in Australia and will help us to achieve some of those important national objectives to improve communications around our country. Perhaps at the head of that list is the $800 million extra being provided to the Hume Highway. So now we are within sight of achieving one of those great national dreams of having a four-lane highway between our two biggest cities. Surely after all these years that is an important objective and one that only a government with the proper levels of fiscal responsibility has been able to achieve.

But it is not just the Hume Highway that has benefited from this infusion of additional funds. There is $160 million more for the Pacific Highway. That brings to $1.3 billion the commitment by this government and the New South Wales government to upgrading the Pacific Highway. I commend the members from the Northern Rivers areas of New South Wales and northern New South Wales for their continuing efforts to ensure that this very significant piece of New South Wales state road infrastructure is appropriately funded. It is still a significant task to complete that upgrade, but it is wonderful that there is an additional contribution now to speed up that activity.

There is another $268 million to improve the road between Townsville and Cairns—a really significant investment in flood immunity in that region. I notice that the member for Kennedy, like the opposition, when asking a question the day after the budget could not even bring himself to ask about that most important piece of infrastructure development, most of which is in his electorate and will certainly benefit everyone travelling on the Bruce Highway in Northern Queensland. There is $323 million to upgrade roads in Western Australia, $100 million for the road between Gawler and Nuriootpa in South Australia, $30 million for flood upgrading in the Northern Territory and $270 million for the Australian Rail Track Corporation to improve the rail track network around Australia. All of those projects are very significant investments. It is all new money available immediately. It is on top of the $12.7 billion in AusLink network investments and will certainly make significant improvements in a whole range of our key regional road areas.

See this speech in context