Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

will also appreciate this good news, as will his constituents.

This is a three-lanes-each-way road tunnel which will finally join up this important part of our national road system. It is a $3 billion project. There will be $405 million contributed by the Commonwealth, with the same amount from the state government. I want to say to the member for Grayndler that, yes, the money was committed under the former government. They talked about it; we are delivering it. They talked about it; we are building it. That is exactly what is happening.

This new tunnel will cut out 21 sets of traffic lights. It will save the average motorist 15 minutes in travel, and it will take 5,000 trucks a day off Pennant Hills Road. It is good for families because less time spent in traffic jams means more time at home; it is good for business because less time spent in traffic jams means more time at work; it is good for the environment because less time spent in traffic jams means less pollution; and it is good for communities because no longer will these communities of northern Sydney be divided by the Pennant Hills Road traffic canyon. Traffic in a tunnel is not traffic which is choking local roads and local communities. But, above all else, it is good for our economy. We will unclog our economic arteries. That is what the roads of the 21st century are—they are clear arteries for a strong national economy. That is what we are doing—we are building a strong and prosperous economy for a safe and secure Australia.

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