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

With regard to public transport, it has been pointed out, quite correctly, that buses use roads. But to deal with urban congestion you need to deal with rail. If you had not abolished the Major Cities Unit, if you had not refused to allow the Urban Policy Forum to meet, if you had listened to the Infrastructure Australia Council, you might be conscious of that. The structure that we put in place of Infrastructure Australia, which makes assessments regardless of mode, without instruction from the government, ensured that recommendations such as the Regional Rail Link in Victoria went ahead because of the cost-benefit analysis that was done. That is how infrastructure investment should be directed, as a result of that arms-length advice to the government. Over a period of time, it will undermine not just federal investment but also state investment.

With regard to roads funding and the points that were made, the coalition's own policy said that all infrastructure projects worth more than $100 million would be required to undergo a cost-benefit analysis. It says:

Infrastructure Australia will be required to calculate and publish the net present value of recommended infrastructure projects and to justify why a given project has been recommended and prioritised.

Stage 2 of the east west project in Victoria will forward $1 billion this month to the Victorian government—into their bank account. They will be collecting money for a project in which it is not clear where the tunnel will come out, let alone a cost-benefit analysis. It does not even have a finalised case, let alone a business case.

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