Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Defence Personnel) Share this | Hansard source

Before I was elected in 2007 I was in business for 20 years. I never had any problems with my fellow shareholders and directors in the business investing in social or human capital or physical capital that made a difference in terms of our profitability and growth and that left a legacy. I can't say the same about this government, Acting Prime Minister. You are spending $100 billion on the government credit card, racking up a trillion dollars in debt but leaving no real physical legacy, and, as the shadow minister said, there are $3.3 billion in cuts to infrastructure in the budget—it is actually listed in the budget.

My home state of Queensland was promised $1.6 billion in new projects, but only 50 per cent of that is on this side of the forward estimates. Only $18.1 million of new spending in the budget is due in this first year—$18.1 million. That's about 18 kilometres of road. That's just extraordinary. TheCourier Mail records that Queensland has the lowest amount per capita, at $307 per person, compared to $488 in Western Australia, $448 in Victoria and $367 in New South Wales. How does the Acting Prime Minister defend this paltry per capita volume of spending in the fastest-growing and most decentralised state in the country? How can you justify that, Acting Prime Minister? How is it that Queensland receives less funding per capita for infrastructure than any other state and territory? The government claimed they would provide $1.6 billion of new money for Queensland infrastructure projects. It's simply $18 million this year. Why is more than half of that money not actually listed across the forward estimates? It's off in the never-never. It's designed to get a headline before the budget but is not good enough to deliver on needs.

The mayor of Ipswich brought you, Acting Prime Minister, and Senator Paul Scarr to Ipswich and to Springfield to talk about the Ipswich to Springfield business case, the rail link that's necessary. Ipswich is going to grow from about 230,000 people to about 550,000 in the next 20 or 30 years. Acting Prime Minister, I mentioned this to you twice, showing bipartisan support. I expected $1 million in the budget. Why is there not $1 million in the budget for the business case in this really fast-growing area? It is the fastest-growing area in South-East Queensland. One in seven people in the country live in South-East Queensland, contributing $1 in $6 to our national growth, our national expenditure. It is simply not good enough. I ask you to think about that again, Acting Prime Minister, and to make a commitment to Ipswich.

Why is there no money in the budget for the last section of the Ipswich Motorway from the Oxley roundabout to the Centenary interchange? At the last federal election we said that, if we won the election, we would commit $500 million to kickstart that project. The coalition were opposed to the Ipswich Motorway upgrade until they had a road to Damascus conversion experience an election ago. Then, to the credit of the government—I will give the government credit and acknowledge this—they worked with the Queensland government on the Oxley roundabout to Suscatand Street section, and that has made a big difference in the lives of people in South-East Queensland, from Brisbane, Ipswich and beyond. That last section absolutely needs to get done, and there is no money in the budget. I call on you, Acting Prime Minister, to do the right thing. When are you going to do it?

In addition to that, there is the Cunningham Highway. We've spent, since John Howard's days as Prime Minister, over $1 billion on the RAAF Base Amberley. Whoever is the base commander at the time and the CDF always talk about the fact that, no matter who's in government, we need to fix the road outside the RAAF Base Amberley. We need to do it, but there's no money for it in the budget. You know the government in Queensland is going to lodge a business case. They've said that they're going to lodge a business case. Why is there no money in the budget in relation to that? What about the Mount Crosby Road interchange? There's a bit of money for a scoping study. Why aren't you showing a proactive approach and working with the Queensland government to fix this most notorious section of road in Ipswich? It clogs up the Mount Crosby Road interchange all the way back to the Dinmore overpass. Why aren't you working with the Queensland government in a more proactive way to get that done? Why is there no money in the budget beyond a scoping study, $4 million? That's simply not good enough, Acting Prime Minister. The fastest-growing region in South-East Queensland in the fastest-growing part of the country, and there's no money, almost none.

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