Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Hansard source

in the party room of the coalition, in Macquarie Street in Sydney. You can see it there on this picture, Mr Deputy Speaker, with former premiers Nick Greiner and John Fahey in the background. There were TV cameras there that day; there was a media conference. But the member for Berowra and other members of the Abbott government like to pretend—a bit like after the French Revolution, when 1792 was designated year 1—that history began in September last year.

It is as if it were the beginning of year 1 in September last year, because we met with Transurban. I met with the Transurban board. Indeed, I also met with the member for Berowra, and I am surprised by how political he has been with this motion that he is moving, pretending that history began in September last year. I met with him, and I acknowledge the fact that he has been a supporter of this project for a long time. The problem is that he could never actually deliver it despite being a senior cabinet minister in the Howard government during those 12 long years.

Indeed, the funding commenced as a result of the signing of the intergovernmental agreement on 21 June. The funding commenced in the 2012-13 financial year, so this is the second year of funding that we are seeing right now. Why is that the case? Because this is a great project. It is a great project that will eliminate 21 sets of traffic lights between the Central Coast and the city of Sydney. It is great news for road freight operators and for commuters. It is nation building in the grand Labor tradition, and I am very pleased that that agreement was delivered on the watch of the federal Labor government, in the fine tradition which the federal Labor Party has.

Of course, they have changed the name to NorthConnex, but it is exactly the same project that was signed off last March, involving the same amount of money, the same deal with the state government: $405 million from each level of government. And yet the original motion that was before the House laughingly purported to suggest that this was fulfilling the promise that the now government took to the people at the last federal election. I say to the member for Berowra: it was deal done, game over, delivered, on 21 June 2013. Indeed, in the second year of funding flowing from the Commonwealth government for this project, it is quite remarkable to suggest that this was the beginning of the project. But of course—

A government member interjecting—

Well, the clown opposite does not understand that—

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