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

I am pleased to get, finally, a matter of public importance on infrastructure. Today I had the first question I have been asked all year on infrastructure from the shadow minister for transport—quite extraordinary. Day after day we see infrastructure at the heart of the agenda of the response of the government to the global financial crisis and yet nothing has been said by those opposite.

They talk about what we have done during our first years in office. I will tell you what the previous government did when it came into office. They slashed $2 billion from the federal roads budget over their first eight years in office. They refused to invest in any ports. Indeed, Peter Costello, the former Treasurer, was on the record as saying that investment in ports was purely the responsibility of the states. They ruled out federal involvement in urban public transport despite the escalating cost of urban congestion. They left Australia ranked 27th out of 30 on average download speed for broadband. Under the previous government Australia ranked 20th out of 25 OECD countries when it came to investing in public infrastructure as a proportion of GDP. Over their period in office public investment as a share of national income fell by close to 20 per cent, and this occurred in spite of the record revenues coming in from the once-in-a-generation mining boom.

Those opposite say, ‘It’s all about debt.’ They are going back to their two-pronged strategy. On the one hand they want to argue that they would have invested more in infrastructure. On the other hand, of course, they are calling for cutbacks. Indeed the shadow minister said at the doors this morning—and repeated here again today—that Labor is spending $5 billion less on road and rail than the previous coalition government would have. The fact is that the press release issued by Mark Vaile and Jim Lloyd on 8 May 2007 indicated that their commitment for AusLink 2 from 2009-10 to 2013-14 was $22.3 billion.

The statement of the Leader of the National Party exposes the extraordinary inconsistency in the opposition’s economic argument. There is only one side of politics that is arguing to cut back spending on infrastructure. When asked by the Adelaide Advertiser on 20 May whether he would maintain the current levels of infrastructure spending, the Leader of the Opposition said:

… everything will have to be reviewed. There’s no question about that.

Helen Coonan, the shadow finance minister told the ABC on 7 October:

… the Government should start by looking at the $8.5 billion earmarked in this year’s Budget for a series of road, rail and ports projects.

She said:

It’s a very good opportunity for the Government to take a very good look at whether this final part of the stimulus package is really necessary

That was the statement. Let us have a look at what the 15 projects are. Construction of the Hunter Expressway in New South Wales is expected to commence in 2010 with a total federal investment of almost $1½ billion. There is the Bruce Highway Cooroy to Curra section B duplication—I have turned the first sod on that project—in the shadow minister’s electorate. They could not do anything about it for 12 years but we have got on with the job of doing something about it and are investing $488 million in the project. The Queensland government are contributing $125 million to the project. Perhaps that would not go ahead if the opposition were to win the next election.

There is the Kempsey bypass on the Pacific Highway in New South Wales. I have been up there and had an inspection with the state minister. It is expected to commence in 2010 and is scheduled for completion by 2014, with a total federal investment of $618 million. Here it is, in National Party heartland and ignored by those opposite for 12 years in spite of the fact that the National Party had the transport ministry for that the entire time. Construction of the Ipswich Motorway in Queensland and additional works commenced in 2009 and is scheduled for completion by 2012, with a federal investment of $884 million, bringing our overall commitment to the Ipswich Motorway to over $2½ billion. Perhaps they would stop work on that project.

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