Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Wannon is interjecting again. It was a pre-election stunt that could never be delivered. Perth infrastructure needs funding now, not in 10 years time, and the people of Perth will be pleased that there is finally a government that is delivering and funding the infrastructure required today and has plans for the future.

That brings me to another point, and that is that this imaginary $500 million commitment that the member for Grayndler talks about demonstrates once again the former minister's lack of vision and strategic thinking that characterised his tenure as infrastructure minister. He did not consider the bigger strategic picture in Perth. He did not take the time to assess the overall strategic transport needs of the city, to take a step back and work out how taxpayers' money could be spent wisely. He simply, without any consultation with the Western Australian government, thought $500 million in 10 years time would 'do the job' politically for him before the election. It really was lazy work. The funding was vague and untargeted; it was effectively to be a lump sum—another cash transaction like the $900 cheques in the mail.

Contrast this with the first Abbott government budget and, in particular, the strategic plan to link the Perth Airport and Kewdale rail and freight terminal in my electorate of Swan with the Fremantle port: the $1.6 billion Perth Freight Link project. It is estimated that the Roe Highway part of the extension will deliver benefits of $5.20 for every dollar invested. To afford the project, the Commonwealth and Western Australian governments will be seeking opportunities for private sector co-contributions. This is the right way to run an infrastructure program for a city like Perth, not the minister's limited and political approach which lacked any strategic vision.

I see the member for Perth is in the chamber and I know she was big on strategic plans when she was the WA minister for infrastructure. I am sure that she is horrified with the way the former government approached infrastructure without any strategic plans and without any funding. I note she is the next to speak on this bill. I will be interested to hear a response to reports in the West Australian on 17 May 2014 that she deliberately tried to sabotage the construction of the Perth Freight Link when she was in the WA government. I would like to hear the member's justification of her comments that a freight link from Fremantle to Kewdale would be 'planning lunacy'. I would also like to hear what the member thinks about the previous federal Labor government's insistence on a 50:50 split of funding for national highways, dumping financial responsibility onto the states. I have not finished the comments I had wanted to make, but I commend the bill to the House.

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