Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I want to respond with a few points. Firstly, the legislation very specifically sets out that I can ask Infrastructure Australia to inquire, but I cannot ask it for a result. That is very explicitly ruled out in the legislation. Infrastructure Australia cannot be given direction as to what it will find. That is very clear in the legislation. That is the first point. The second point is that we have already announced that Infrastructure Australia will develop its infrastructure priority list. We have announced the timetable for that, and it will report to the March 2009 COAG meeting. I have already had two meetings of the COAG infrastructure working group, which has established the criteria for the audit and submissions from the state departments and the federal department, so that, when Infrastructure Australia does get going, it hits the ground running. We are absolutely committed to that happening.

The budget of Infrastructure Australia is modest. I do not want Infrastructure Australia to be potentially diverted in terms of its work and operation. The figure used by the member for Wide Bay was of course its four-year budget. The idea that it will be able to respond to individual constituents about specific infrastructure issues is simply beyond its capacity. It is important that Infrastructure Australia engages in nationally significant infrastructure. It is important that it not be diverted away from the important task that it has been set.

The final comment I would make is in relation to appointments. The appointment of Sir Rod Eddington as the chair of Infrastructure Australia has been welcomed by the business and financial communities. He is someone with extraordinary connections and experience with not only domestic infrastructure but also global infrastructure, and he has prepared a substantial report. To have someone from the National Party talk about the appointment of mates is quite unbelievable, when we have appointed someone like Sir Rod Eddington to the chair. That is our bona fides on this agenda. There will be a strong team put—

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