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

I thank the member for Moreton for his timely question. The government is investing $26.4 billion—Commonwealth funds on the table—for our nation-building program. There will be record investment in road and rail projects right around the nation. In Queensland alone, that investment is worth some $6.5 billion.

It is on the table through a memorandum of understanding with each of the state and territory governments. Every state and territory government has signed up to the nation-building program. Because Queensland is in election mode, it is unable to at the moment, but the Bligh government has indicated that it would sign up and therefore get Labor’s record $6.5 billion of funds for road and rail in Queensland.

The Leader of the Opposition in Queensland, Mr Springborg, said last week that he would honour the offer that was there and sign up and be part of the plan. But, of course, this lasted two days, and then he made a demand: ‘We don’t want $6.5 billion—we want half of that amount for Queensland.’ He said he would sign up if he got the same offer that Queensland got under AusLink under the Howard government—half of what the Rudd government is offering Queensland. We offer twice the capital injection, and the Leader of the Liberal National Party in Queensland says no. We have got on the table $1.14 billion for the Dinmore to Goodna section of the Ipswich Motorway—up to 1,000 construction jobs—and the Leader of the Liberal National Party says no. We have got on the table $455 million for the upgrade of the Pacific Motorway—up to 500 construction jobs—and the Leader of the Liberal National Party says—

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