Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's a pleasure to be able to speak on this motion. I must admit that, when I first saw it and saw that it was from the member for Cowan, I checked to see that it hadn't come out of a Monty Python skit or Yes, Prime Minister. It just bemused me. I must admit that I only heard the member for Fremantle's speech, because I was in the chair in the other chamber, but it was all motherhood statements and rhetoric. There was nothing about the specific claims they've made against us. There wasn't one mention of all the infrastructure that has been built.

Let's go back to 2007. Western Australia was promised $100 million a year by guess who? The federal Labor government under Kevin Rudd. It never came at all—not one cent of the $100 million per annum, as compensation for the GST, ever came. It disappeared into the ether. Again, don't listen to what Labor say; just watch what they do. There is no better example than ports and other infrastructure. They had six years to do all that, and where were they? They did nothing in Western Australia. All they gave us was a mining tax, which ruined our economy, and the carbon tax. But Labor conveniently forget all that.

We have from the member for Cowan a quick definition of neglect as not receiving proper attention and of being disregarded. The member for Cowan's motion goes on to accuse the government of failing to deliver key infrastructure funding in Western Australia. I'll just quickly remind you that there's an AFL event on tonight. It was the Abbott government that gave the West Coast Eagles $13 million for their infrastructure project at Lathlain in my electorate of Swan, with $10 million of it contributing to the $65 million building, and $3 million to the Wirrpanda Foundation—a bit of infrastructure that those on the other side forget.

It appears to me that the member for Cowan has neglected to read the news that this coalition government is building Western Australia's future by delivering the biggest infrastructure investment in Australia's history, so it is with great pleasure that I remind the member for Cowan and those on the other side of the chamber what we are doing in the great state of WA—and perhaps they can take notes for their WA state Labor colleagues. The coalition government is investing a record $75 billion in infrastructure funding and financing from 2017-18 to 2026-27 to get vital airport, road, and rail infrastructure projects underway across the country.

In my home state of WA alone the coalition is investing $6.8 billion in infrastructure, supporting jobs and growth across Australia's biggest state. In the 2016 budget WA was given $499 million GST top-up payments. Of that, $45 million was allocated to the Roe Highway and Berkshire Road grade separation within my electorate of Swan, which is now complete. The following year, in the 2016-17 budget, $490 million was allocated to build the Forrestfield Airport Link, all of which is in the electorate of Swan. The link will connect residents of Swan across Perth to the airport and CBD with three new stations: Forrestfield, Airport Central and Belmont. It's great to update the Chamber that construction is well underway, with support from the state Labor government.

A Commonwealth-state funding agreement will see the construction of another exciting project, a southbound on-ramp from Manning Road to Kwinana Freeway, finally going ahead. The project is $35 million, with a $28 million contribution from the federal government—not the state government—and $7 million from the state government. I would remind members, that Labor Senator Sue Lines spoke against the Manning Road on-ramp, which thousands of people in the Manning Road area want, and said, 'The member for Swan should take his eye off ridiculous infrastructure projects and concentrate on the people in his electorate', which I am doing. The response to the Manning Road on-ramp was enormous. I keep reminding the people who were so pleased to have it that Labor Senator Lines spoke and voted against it in the other chamber.

I welcome the Treasurer's 2017-18 budget that included funds for the grade separation of the Roe Highway and Kalamunda Road intersection and a once-in-a-generation upgrade of High Wycombe road and rail. This is a major investment in Swan, with the Roe-Kalamunda road being ranked No. 1 for crashes by Main Roads over the five years reporting period. The agreement sees our coalition government funding $68.8 million to enable the Roe Highway grade separation to proceed. I suggest the member for Cowan and those on the other side take note of what has been done by the federal coalition government in terms of infrastructure funding and that the member for Cowan also look at the two projects in her electorate and stop walking around with her eyes shut.

See this speech in context