Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

I am going to read the numbers, so you will not need them to be tabled. There was $48 million provided, 100 per cent from the Commonwealth and nought from the New South Wales Labor government. In May 2009, the Commonwealth provided another $618 million for the Kempsey bypass—nought coming from the New South Wales Labor government. By that stage the split had got to 86 per cent from the federal government and only 14 per cent from New South Wales—an 86-14 split. Then there was a new national partnership agreement which incorporated these new figures, and it was signed by Minister Albanese, Minister Campbell and Minister Daley—all Labor ministers. They signed up to an 86-14 split.

So every single project on the Pacific Highway when Labor was in government federally and when Labor was in government in New South Wales was on a split of at least 83-17, and in some cases 100-0. And yet the member for Lyne is in here defending this and trying to blame others. The numbers, 86 per cent, 87 per cent, clearly demonstrate that Labor had in fact changed the formula and was intending that there be an 80-20 split on this road.

If you want any further evidence of this, just look at the nation building document released in May 2009, where the government proudly announced the new N1, which for the first time included the Pacific Highway. Prior to then, the Pacific Highway was not a part of highway 1 network. So the funding had been fifty-fifty. Minister Albanese says that the previous government did not spend as much money on the Pacific Highway as the current Labor government. That is true, because the funding share was different at that time. But I could just as easily say that the Howard coalition government spent infinitely more on the Pacific Highway than did the Keating and Hawke governments. The reality is that time has moved on. We were the first to contribute significantly to the Pacific Highway. The current government, to its credit, has continued that, and the next coalition government will do even better. We will make sure that this project is completed.

So the reality is that Labor changed the rules. Every single piece of funding while there was a Labor government in New South Wales was based on at least an 83 per cent to 17 per cent split. It was not until the election of the O'Farrell government that that changed. In May and September 2001 the O'Farrell government committed $468 million extra to the Pacific Highway, and that brought it to an 80-20 split. So was it any wonder that the New South Wales coalition government, when it was seeking election, was making promises on commitments for funding on the basis of an 80-20 split? That had applied to other sections of highway 1 and it applies to other projects in New South Wales. And so this was the arrangement that was in place.

See this speech in context