Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Urban Infrastructure) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. The 2017 budget sees an extraordinary level of investment commitment to transformative national projects. I want to speak about two of them. One is the Inland Rail corporation. There is an $8.4 billion equity contribution to this transformative Inland Rail project—a project that will bring together three states: Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. It will enable producers in those states to access markets more quickly and efficiently. It will significantly improve the rail share of the freight task between Melbourne and Brisbane. As we all know, the rail share east to west is very high, but, along the eastern seaboard at the moment, it is very difficult for rail to match the timing and reliability of road. But, with the Inland Rail, it will be possible to meet a reliable, 24-hour-journey time from Melbourne to Brisbane and vice versa. So this is a very important initiative. It is a nation-building initiative. And I make this point: a project which links together three states is a project that no one state government can deliver. Only the national government can deliver a project of this scale. This is nation-building infrastructure, and so too is the $5.3 billion commitment, the equity investment, that the Turnbull government is making in Western Sydney Airport.

For 40 years, governments of both political persuasions have failed to make the decision to proceed with a second Sydney airport. I want to acknowledge the work of the shadow minister, when he was the minister, in taking some important steps, particularly the joint study into the aviation needs of Sydney in 2012, which confirmed the need for a second Sydney airport. This government—the Turnbull government—has committed to a $5.3 billion equity injection into a new company to be established, WSA Co, which will build this vital facility which will deliver the additional aviation capacity that Sydney needs and the nation needs. Let's remember that Sydney is Australia's international aviation gateway, with 40 per cent of international traffic coming to Sydney.

The study that the shadow minister established when he was minister reported to the two governments—New South Wales and the Commonwealth—that by 2027 there would be no more slots available at Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport. The study reported that, by the mid- to late-2030s, there would be no additional capacity available at Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport, even with so-called upgauging—replacing smaller aircraft in a slot with larger aircraft. There is an urgent national need to build a second Sydney airport, and that is why this budget contains a $5.3 billion equity commitment to building Western Sydney Airport. It will meet the needs of Western Sydney. It will meet the needs of New South Wales. It will meet the needs of the nation. And, of course, it will deliver some 20,000 jobs by the early 2030s, 9,000 jobs directly and some 11,000 jobs indirectly. So this will be a major contribution to economic growth, jobs and opportunity in Western Sydney, an area where some one million additional people are expected to be living over the next 20 years.

We are working very closely with the New South Wales government in relation to ground transport infrastructure, including the $3.6 billion Western Sydney Infrastructure Plan. We are working on urban planning around the airport so that we can maximise the economic and beneficial impact of Western Sydney Airport, this very significant project for Western Sydney and for the nation. This budget contains major equity commitments to nation-building infrastructure. That is what an infrastructure budget should be doing. That is what this budget does.

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