Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

There is not a problem in this country that cannot be solved with a big, bold announcement. That is all you get out of the government. Whenever there's a problem, there's a big announcement—always small delivery, but at least there was a big announcement, at least there was something in the media that they could run out with and say they'd done. Tonight we will have, with the Morrison recession, an announcement led recovery—a lot of newsprint—and we'll have economic stimulus that will be funnelled through ad managers, because ad campaigns will always be the big priority of this government. When you look at any of the things we've raised concerns about on this side, there's always an ad campaign by this government but very little delivery. Infrastructure is the absolute classic. This government has spent so much money on ad campaigns talking about infrastructure. The ad companies have done well. It's not road builders; it's ad managers. It's not rail builders; it's marketing managers. But there's never any actual delivery to make a difference where people are depending on it.

In the part of Western Sydney that the member for Greenway and I represent we see huge growth—200,000 people moving in to the north-west growth centre. What do we see out of both the federal and state governments? Nothing. We have a place that's bursting at the seams. We have roads that cannot cope with the congestion, no schools, and hospitals promised but not delivered. The T1 main rail line is at 286 per cent capacity—not 100 per cent capacity; three times capacity. There's no money being put into it.

When the Deputy Prime Minister was asked yesterday at a press conference what is going to be done to fix congestion in that part of Western Sydney he pointed to the Western Sydney Airport. So, if you're stuck in a traffic jam, you can get a plane out of it! That's basically the response of the Deputy Prime Minister. He pointed to the airport. That is kind of like telling me that putting traffic lights on the Harbour Bridge will fix Western Sydney congestion. It is an absolute joke. We've heard all the things this government has put forward—all the money and announcements—but what has happened? Constant underdelivery—$1.7 billion this year. Every single year of this government they have failed to deliver on infrastructure.

What does that mean to the residents of Marsden Park who were on the Channel 9 news last night? They said that their neighbour had moved into a new housing estate and then moved out because of frustration with infrastructure. What about the other residents from Marsden Park who have written to me saying that they had moved from Ryde in Sydney to escape congestion and now want to leave again. That's what they're saying.

They are depending on both the federal and state governments to deliver. The federal government is underspending and the state government can't get ferries to fit under bridges and can't get trains to fit on railway lines. We're supposed to depend on the combination of the Deputy Prime Minister, who thinks that paying 10 times more for land is a bargain, and the New South Wales transport minister, who thinks that naming a boat Ferry McFerryface will save urban congestion in New South Wales. This is what we're depending on. It's an absolute joke.

This is the same crew who said that they could deliver the NBN for less than $30 billion and spent nearly double that. They said we didn't need fibre at all and could rely on copper. Now they have embarrassingly had to crawl back and admit that we on this side of the House were right in pushing for fibre and making sure that that was delivered. When people have relied on governments, particularly from that side, to deliver they constantly haven't.

The worst thing I heard today in question time was the Prime Minister refer to burning roofs. Prime Minister, there were roofs burning in Cobargo. Where were you? You were in Hawaii. You claimed that you didn't hold a hose. You were failing to claim responsibility then. You always announce drought funding and never deliver. You announce bushfire funds but you never deliver. You said that by stopping cruise boats we'd be safe, and the Ruby Princess came in and all these people suffered as a result. You're an absolute disgrace. What you're doing is corruption, and we shouldn't have to put up with it. (Time expired)

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