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

Yesterday there were a number of media reports, all of them inaccurate and many of them internally inconsistent, that alleged details of discussions I had allegedly had with various people on the proposed M4 East motorway. Depending upon the report, these people included the former New South Wales ALP Branch General Secretary Karl Bitar, the former New South Wales Minister for Roads Eric Roozendaal and the former New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma. The reports alleged that, based upon opinion polling, I had not supported the extension of the M4 motorway and associated roads. None of these reports provided any evidence or sources to corroborate these allegations. These claims are not true. The government made a commitment of $300 million to progress the M4 East, a commitment that I was consulted on by the then shadow minister for transport and now Minister for Resources and Energy. This commitment has been fulfilled by the inclusion of this amount in the draft Memorandum of Understanding for the Nation-Building Program, which has been presented to the New South Wales government for agreement. Any further commitment from the Commonwealth will be subject to the independent advice of Infrastructure Australia.

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