Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

The minister has interjected that the merit was that Labor won the seats. That was the only merit. He has admitted that this was a pork-barrelling exercise, that it was a rort designed solely to help Labor to win these seats. Let us look at some of the projects. Why was the Cairns multisports stadium to get $1.5 million when the Coffs Harbour sports centre got nothing? That was one of the ones to be left off the list. Why was the Port Sorell Surf Lifesaving Club to get money but the Bunbury rescue craft to be defunded? Why was the King Island recreation and food trail project to be funded but not the Cooroy Lower Mill Site project? Why was the Mackay aquatic centre to be funded but not the Derby Memorial Pool? Why was Territory AFL to get $2½ million but the Rugby Union School of Excellence to be defunded? What were the criteria that the government went through in choosing these particular projects? How many of these projects had gone through the scrutiny required by the Prime Minister? How many of them had been through the three-step process and, in particular, how many of them had actually been through and passed the federal departmental analysis? The reality is: not one of them. Some of them had been through the federal departmental process and actually been rejected.

See this speech in context