Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

There is no doubt that the Pacific Highway is an important piece of infrastructure. This will in fact be my 22nd contribution to this House on the Pacific Highway. I am very fortunate that in my electorate now the roadwork from Raymond Terrace all the way through to Failford is now duplicated—all but the Bulahdelah bypass, which was commenced under the Howard government. Works there have been delayed because of the inordinate amount of wet weather that we have had. I have continued to push for the upgrading of the Pacific Highway.

The one thing that concerns me is the rant and rave by the minister—today and on previous occasions—who only now has found it in his breath to actually cast aspersions upon the former state Labor government. The former state Labor government entered into some correspondence, which the minister tabled, and in that correspondence there are some very interesting revelations. In particular is the agreement for an 80-20 funding split. The first is a letter from Minister Albanese to the former Minister for Roads and now NSW shadow treasurer, Michael Darby. I will quote from that letter. It says:

I am writing in relation to the Nation Building Program Memorandum of Understanding. I am pleased New South Wales has taken the decision to sign up to that agreement.

The minister was so pleased to sign with the New South Wales government that the federal government was delivering $2.451 billion and the New South Wales government was delivering $500 million. When you calculate that, it is actually 83 per cent federal funding and 17 per cent state funding for the Pacific Highway under that agreement—not fifty-fifty; it was 83-17.

The next letter that the minister tabled was from the former minister Campbell to Minister Albanese. There are a couple of points in that letter which show that the state Labor government wanted to lock in that 80-20, and I will quote from that letter: 'I will undertake to seek confirmation of the 20 per cent New South Wales government commitment to the additional funding required.' In another letter, in which there was an agreement to continue support, the minister said: 'I look forward to working with you on the delivery of the nation-building program over the coming years.' That letter to Michael Daley was dated 18 June. Sorry, that was the date it was tabled.

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