Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I was silent. I would like to be heard in silence if that is okay. The Leader of the Opposition has promised to take the $2.5 billion that sits there for the Parramatta to Epping railway link and use it for the Pacific Highway. I have sat in meetings with the Liberal Mayor of Parramatta and the Liberal state member for Parramatta and both of them have supported the Leader of the Opposition's plan to take the $2.5 billion out of the budget for the Parramatta to Epping rail link and use it for the North Coast. If the money is not there, then I think the Leader of the Opposition is telling a few porkies. Either the money to build the Parramatta to Epping rail link is there or it is not. You cannot take money that is not there and make a promise to build the Pacific Highway.

The member for Bennelong would also know that federal governments actually do not build railways; they provide money for them, but railways are built by state governments. It is the state Liberal government that has refused to build the Parramatta to Epping rail link. The money has sat there for that project until now. Every state Liberal member and federal Liberal member, including the member for Bennelong, campaigned at some point on support for this project and then withdrew their support when their leaders changed their mind or decided on something else—every single member. The state member for Parramatta, Geoff Lee, at one stage supported this project and now does not. The Liberal Mayor, John Chedid, supported this project and now does not. My opponent apparently stood for preselection on his support for building the Parramatta to Chatswood rail link, which is quite extraordinary since at that point his leader had already said he was going to take the $2.5 billion of the Parramatta rail link and put it into the Pacific Highway. So he actually campaigned against his own leader in his own preselection.

The hypocrisy of this member standing up here and trying to blame the Labor government, which has been committed to this project, for the fact that the state Liberal government will not build it is quite extraordinary. I am pleased to see though that he does still support it. Perhaps he should start saying so to Barry O'Farrell. He really should do that. Perhaps then we might get the thing. (Time expired)

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