Chris Hayes (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am all heart. I have feelings too! But look at what has occurred. Nothing has occurred that has not been for someone’s own personal, political interest. This is an opposition based on spin. It is not based on anything that is contributing to the national debate; it is about running a scare campaign. That is what this is opposition is about.

While I am on the topic of the opposition leader, he has one of those problems we would all love to have. I notice in reading the Australian newspaper this morning that he is in the BRW top 200 list. He is one of the top-200 richest people in the country. He has assets worth $178 million. (Quorum formed) I acknowledge the embarrassment I have caused the other side by what I have said. They are employing childish tactics to disrupt the parliament. They are feeling a bit precious about something. I invited William Carey Christian School to visit the parliament today, and I would hate to think that the extremely childish and precious tactics employed by the opposition would leave an indelible mark on these young people’s minds about how this opposition perform. I fear that the students will take away from this debate the view that the opposition do not care about the issues in this bill—that is, that the opposition do not care about the efficient delivery of road and rail infrastructure around the country but do care about playing piddling games in this parliament. I would hate to think that young minds would be corrupted like that. I would have hoped that the opposition could have played a more responsible role in the debate and have had a contest of ideas.

I would welcome the opportunity for debate. I have been sitting here eyeballing someone on the other side who wants to have an argument about the application of this bill and what it means for their electorate. I would like the member for Paterson to come in here, be honest and say that he would support the traffic lights for the New England Highway. The member for Cook should come in here and have the argument on whether he wants that money. I am dead sure when he talks to his local newspaper that he will have his photo on the front page and claim some responsibility for getting that $50,000 for guardrails on the Pacific Highway. None of the people who are net beneficiaries for these programs have even had the audacity to front up in this parliament and be honest about the approach.

People listening to this debate can at least take one thing away. The Labor government are committed to nation building. We are a Labor government who are going to roll these things out. We are generating jobs and stimulating employment and demand now, but we are also providing assets and infrastructure needed for the economic future of this country. As much as the opposition hate it, they know that it is true. They know that in their heart of hearts, and that is why they all go scurrying away. They do not want to participate in this debate because they know that what we have said is absolutely right on the money.

I would like to finish by mentioning some of the benefits that I have attained in the area of Campbelltown in my electorate of Werriwa. We have done reasonably well in black spot funding. We have been able to ensure that road safety in three specific projects—one in Blairmount, one in Glenfield and one in Minto—is being taken care of. We care for the safety of those people and their families and the victims affected by road accidents. We also care about the police and emergency service people who have to attend to those accidents. (Time expired)

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