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

I thank the member for Page for her question and her ongoing commitment to infrastructure on the Pacific Highway. Like the member for Richmond and the member for Lyne, she has campaigned long and hard to make sure that we deal with this most vital of roads that has been identified by Infrastructure Australia as an absolute priority.

Last night's budget provided additional funding of $1.02 billion for the Pacific Highway, bringing the federal government contribution to $4.1 billion over seven years. That compares with our predecessors who contributed $1.3 billion over 12 years of neglect. Indeed, if the former government had contributed at the same rate as this Labor government, the Pacific Highway would now be fully duplicated, finished, done and dusted. You would expect, as the member for Lyne and the member for Richmond and the member for Page and others have welcomed this announcement, that across the board this would get support. But, of course, we have an opposition that cannot read the budget papers and simply does not understand infrastructure. The member for Cowper has actually been out there saying that this is just a reallocation of funds, that there is nothing new there. The budget papers make it clear that of the $1.02 billion $270 million is a reallocation agreed between the government and the O'Farrell government and $750 million of that is absolutely new money. It is adding up to an additional 1.02 billion, and the clown over there, the shadow minister, just says, 'Oh, it's not. Forget about what the budget papers say.'

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