Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is amazing that when the National Party want to be congratulated for so-called funding projects they will not acknowledge that they have cut funding for infrastructure in Australia. Today I want to address the issue of the chronic cuts and lack of infrastructure funding for my home state of Queensland. We had the member for Forde in here earlier wanting to be congratulated for getting people around his community, but the single one obstacle that is blocking funding for the M1 is the member for Forde. There is money on a table from the state government; money on the table from the federal opposition; money on the table and endorsement and support from the chamber of commerce, by the Logan City Council mayor and the full council, residents and chamber of commerce associations. But the member for Forde refuses to back his community. He refuses to stand up to this government that is chronically underinvesting in Queensland.

I note that we heard the National Party saying that this is all about the regions—and I note the term 'stronger regions'—but we also note that today's motion should acknowledge the $13.2 million National Stronger Regions Fund grant in the member for Warringah's electorate and the fact we are spending $3.2 million in the minister for the environment's electorate of Kooyong. I do not know if there has been a definition change for 'region'—

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