Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. I think that question earns the non-sequitur award of the afternoon. But, nevertheless, let me be very clear to the House that in communities around Australia where people turn up wanting to get on the train to go to work, they turn up at 6 or 6.30 or 7 in the morning and there are no commuter car parks available them. For example, I visited Watergardens in north-western Melbourne, where I saw today how commuters are forced to park up to a kilometre away, on the dirt on the side of a busy road, and walk to the station along an unpaved cutting. We are doing something about that. We are committing funding for the Watergardens commuter car park under our $70 million commitment to the northern lines of Melbourne, one of six commuter car parks under construction right now—Berwick in Victoria, Coomera in Queensland. I was with the Queensland Labor transport minister announcing the commencement of construction on the Coomera park 'n' ride, and I can tell you, Mr Speaker, that when people turn up to a location like that they're not asking about lines on spreadsheets; they're asking, 'How can we get a facility built so that we can get to work'—

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