David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Those opposite have a shameful record on infrastructure, and nowhere is that more obvious than in their appalling failure to support the critical WestConnex project. We will build WestConnex; they undermined it. They said to the New South Wales government, 'We might give you $1.8 billion to the project in around 2018 but only if you make a whole bunch of changes'—which add $6 billion to the cost. So it was $1.8 billion in five years time in exchange for adding $6 billion in cost to the project. That is an absolutely absurd way of managing infrastructure. We are doing the exact opposite. What we are doing is very sensible. We are putting $1½ billion in cash towards this critical project that will benefit my electorate of Banks and providing a $2 billion concessional loan to the New South Wales government. As a result, WestConnex is happening. This will deliver in spades for the people of south-western Sydney. The M5 East will go from four lanes to 10. If you live in Padstow, Riverwood or Revesby the best engineering estimate is that this will save you more than 20 minutes on your trip to the city during peak hour every morning and afternoon. That is a very big deal for my electorate of Banks. There was an extraordinary failure on infrastructure by those opposite. We know that infrastructure means cranes in the air and workers on the ground—and that is what we are delivering.

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