Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

There is a lot about this motion that is good; it is just that it would be even better if it were amended. That is why we are supporting the amendment. If I were totally free, I would make a further amendment. I would call this the 'West East Link' not the East West Link, because, as the member for Corio pointed out, the most pressing pressures are coming from the west, and even the member for Aston himself made that point. Yet without this going through Infrastructure Australia or any other processes, his party is also arguing that it should start at the eastern end rather than the western end, which means that the pressures that exist at the moment in the fastest-growing part of the country are not going to be met for quite some time.

I would like to make sure that Hansard recorded the member for Kooyong's commitments that this project, if the Liberals form government, will be completed in five to six years. I think there is absolutely no chance that this project would be completed in that time. A business case has not yet even been put to Infrastructure Australia, which is actually the key point that the government is trying to make. There is a lot of value in looking at the right infrastructure projects for cities across the country. The problem is, you actually have to get your mates in the state parliament, who are in government, to put together a proper business case so it can be assessed. So what you are interpreting wilfully as us not supporting the project is instead us saying: use the proper process to make sure that it stacks up to ensure that the proper work has been done.

I cannot believe that the Greens would have the cheek to come in here and say, 'It's not too bad that there is $3 billion in the budget for the MelbourneMetro, but now we also want the next thing.' At least, though, they did acknowledge the project, which is the No. 1 project supported by the Victorian state government and by Infrastructure Australia as the most important for Melbourne.

In a perfect world, as the member for Corio said, if you had an unlimited amount of money, this West East Link would also, hopefully, have gone through its proper business case and be on the table for expenditure. And as someone who represents the inner west of Melbourne where the tunnel would come up in my electorate—although that site is not yet determined, it would on any one of the options right in the middle of my electorate—this is of serious importance to the commuters in the area and to those who might be affected by the infrastructure and the build, and it needs to be assessed properly and it needs to be done properly.

Rather than it just being a bid for politicking in the eastern suburbs, we want it to be a proper assessment of what is needed for infrastructure across all of Melbourne. When we look at who is speaking on all of this, we have every ministerial hopeful in Victoria—and actually quite a lot of those who might be more deserving than some on the front bench—putting forward their bid and letting out their frustration. It seems to me that Mr Abbott, in refusing to put the member for Aston, the member for Casey, the member for Kooyong on his front bench, is throwing them this as a sort of political bone so they have got something to campaign on. Really, if the member for Aston was serious about what would happen in government if they were elected, he would be much more worried about getting some decent people on the front bench. I make an exception for the member for Flinders who does have some talent, so I am not criticising him. There are a few others that I think would be replaced.

But the point I am trying to make is: if this project has merit, the state government should put in the business case. They should look at where the pressures are greatest, which is in the west, and they should start to build at the western end not at the eastern end. We have heard nothing about that.

Also I think we have not had any acknowledgement about the massive amount of infrastructure that is already occurring. In fact the member for Aston suggested—and I think the member for Dunkley also—that the Labor Party had never been on the right side of any infrastructure project in Melbourne. That just shows how little they care about the more than a million people who live in the western suburbs, because it was Labor that delivered the Western Ring Road. It is Labor that has invested more and more each time, as we did again in this budget, for extensions and for other things. I have made quite clear, despite the complete distortions being made by the Liberal Party, that we are not saying this project is not a good project. We are saying that you need to get all your ducks in a row—get the business case done. Do not have Mr Abbott just pulling it out of his back pocket. Melburnians deserve better and the western suburbs should also be paid attention to whoever is in government.

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