Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak against the amendments and in favour of the original motion as put by the member for Hindmarsh. Whilst I had a prepared speech, I had the inspiration from the member for Grayndler's words and I think the term was 'fantasy land'.

For six years as a member of the Reid community I watched a long, long episode of the Muppets. Over those six years, everyone in the Labor government was fighting one another for the role of Gonzo. If you want to talk about fantasy land, there is no better illustration than the member for Grayndler's lauding of Infrastructure Australia. Why? Because he invented it. I do not begrudge him that but what I would draw his attention to is that, in the last Labor government, Rudd-Gillard-Rudd, the Adelaide desal plant, a $328 million project in Adelaide, was approved by the Labor government—which version I am not exactly sure; it was one of the three. That $328 million has since been studied by the Auditor-General and he has, to put it brutally, slammed it and called it for what it is when he said proper grants processes were not followed.

Infrastructure Australia is fine in concept; however, the hypocrisy of the member for Grayndler is to stand here lauding it. When it suited him, he circumvented it, as did his government, to do what the Auditor-General labelled 'pork barrelling'.

I also note that the member for Grayndler did not mention two specific projects—the second airport for Sydney and the WestConnex. I do not blame him for that either. In July 2010 the member for Grayndler said in the Fairfax press:

The simple fact is that Sydney does need a second airport and we need to plan for it now if this city is going to continue to be a truly global city.

I say 'Hear, hear!' to the member for Grayndler because he is my next-door neighbour in Reid, and I said in my maiden speech exactly the same thing; however, that was 2010 when he was in government. I would draw his attention to 2013, when he said in the Fairfax press again that 'construction on a second Sydney airport would start within three years if Labor was re-elected'. The problem with the member for Grayndler is not specific to the member for Grayndler. It was a common theme of the last six years—that six-year version of the Muppets. We were promised the world and delivered an atlas in Reid. Quite frankly, it is not good enough.

I rise today to dismiss out of hand the amendments in support of my friend because those two projects which I have just mentioned, the WestConnex and the second Sydney airport, are on their way. While Labor may have talked about them for six years and put in place some magnificent bodies like Infrastructure Australia and circumvented it to pork-barrel when it suited them, we are getting on with the job of governing and delivering for the people of Reid.

WestConnex will be delivered and delivered promptly. You heard more announcements by the Premier of New South Wales, Mike Baird, on the weekend about fast-tracking stage 1 and 2. It divides my electorate in two. It is not good enough. Parramatta Road is a barrier between the north and south of my electorate—it has been since I was a boy—and we will fix that.

The second Sydney airport is a necessity for my electorate of Reid, where we deal with twice the long-term operating plan level of noise. We said pre-election we would commit to a location and to building it, and guess what? Unlike the member for Grayndler, who promised the people of Grayndler and Reid the world and delivered an atlas, we are getting on with the job of governing.

I rise to condemn the amendment out of hand, in support of my good friend the member for Hindmarsh, in support of the Abbott coalition government delivering what we said we would do before we were elected. I applaud the Prime Minister, the Treasurer, the Deputy Prime Minister and the assistant minister for infrastructure for the wonderful job they are doing. I say: long may it continue.

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