Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today, I proudly rise to support the Infrastructure Australia Amendment (Independent Review) Bill 2023, because this Labor government committed to upholding and improving the independent advisory body, Infrastructure Australia. We are doing this to make sure that investments in Australia's future infrastructure will always be what needs to be done to continue building and moving our great nation. This will keep us powering ahead and establishing projects that will outlive us and serve generations of Australians to come.

Billions of dollars are invested in major national projects that improve transport, communication, energy and water infrastructure across the nation. These projects are created not only to improve Australians' access to essential resources but to keep our economy moving and growing. Investment in infrastructure is the cornerstone of growing this country. These projects keep our country moving, and they are the reason we've built the reputation of being the lucky country. It is a reputation that we must work hard to uphold and deliver that promise to all Australians. It is why we need to make sure we are investing wisely, and it's why it's crucial to have expert advice and guidance in the planning and overseeing of these projects.

To do this, we are strengthening our independent and expert advice body, focusing it on infrastructure priorities for our nation. It will provide advice on major projects to ensure the government of the day is making the right decisions for the Australian people. It's about making sure that infrastructure investments are put where they are most needed, rather than being guided by political imperatives. We all know what it feels like to see projects being subject to potential rorting because we saw enough of that under the previous coalition government. This government, a Labor government, went to the last election promising the Australian people greater accountability. We delivered the National Anti-Corruption Commission within six months. We delivered the promise of conducting a review of Infrastructure Australia. Infrastructure Australia was established under the last Labor government, but it was quickly neglected and weakened by successive coalition governments.

The review was important in refocusing the body to become the government's independent advisor on nationally significant infrastructure projects and privatisation. The bill implements the recommendations of that review by creating a strong and efficient body. These changes will ensure that governments will make the best investment decisions to benefit the Australian people and will decrease the bureaucracy of duplication between the federal, state and territory governments. The body will be headed by three appointed members based on their skills, expertise, knowledge, diversity and geographical representation. They will then nominate the CEO. So this will be based on skills rather than political mateship. This is to guarantee that the body has a wide breadth of experience and knowledge to draw on when it looks at important national investments. It's an approach that means a more holistic oversight and consideration of projects, which will only improve the quality of the projects and provide Australians with peace of mind that the government is making a decision in the nation's best interest.

The bill will improve the quality of the investments we make and ensure the construction of a better and more connected Australia. It's because Labor governments understand the need to invest wisely in infrastructure. Ultimately, this bill is creating a more targeted focus for Infrastructure Australia. With clear outlines and goals, this advisory body will actually be able to assess and provide independent advice to better inform government decisions on major investments. It's re-energising the body by changing the candidate selection process and criteria, which will only serve to bring more expertise into infrastructure investment in the nation. Infrastructure Australia will be incredibly important to the budget process and strategic planning and investment of Australia's future.

The bill ensures the necessity of consulting and working with the body instead of ignoring it and pushing it aside to approve personal agendas and passion projects. This means, no matter who the government of the day is, the body will be there to work with the current government objective. It will make sure fair and thought-out decisions are made for the Australian people by determining and publishing its own recommendations. This will give transparency that projects are approved for the public's good and not for the coalition's mates, like we've seen in the past.

Labor has always been the party that has understood the importance of infrastructure, from the post wartime great build under Prime Minister Ben Chifley to Whitlam's sewerage to the suburbs programs, and the original implementation of Infrastructure Australia when Labor was last in government by none other than the now Prime Minister.

Infrastructure Australia was created to take the politics out of major projects. Major national infrastructure projects are too vital to the Australian economy and to the safety and wellbeing of our people. When it was created, Labor listened to the expert advice of where to put taxpayers' money, and now we are strengthening it and rebuilding it, and we will continue to listen to it. We understand the importance of experts in the field being able to provide recommendations and to work with the government to ensure the continuation of quality in Australia's future infrastructure projects, something the now opposition showed time and time again that they did not understand.

Infrastructure Australia in the hands of the coalition became victim to their legacy of rorting, and trust me: the electorate of McEwen remembers that legacy of rorting and broken promises. The people of McEwen know the importance of having infrastructure project approval independent to political agendas. We know it deeply and personally after years of neglect from those opposite, who only allocated seven per cent of the national infrastructure spend to Victoria. We had no choice but to be patient because, despite promises and assurances, the community's pleas for investment in our community were ignored. It wasn't because the project wasn't important. It wasn't because the project wouldn't help with the economic productivity of the regions and the safety of our road users. No, we waited on these broken promises because they didn't score enough political points from the then government on their colour-coded spreadsheet. We waited for the long-promised diamond interchange at Watson Street and the Hume Highway.

It was only under the Albanese Labor government that our electorate finally saw investment in infrastructure. We are one of the fastest-growing electorates in the country, and for too long we were getting left behind. Not only will Watson Street ramps be built at Wallan; we have also put funds in place for the essential interchange at Camerons Lane at Beveridge. Our very first budget recognised the importance these projects had to ease some of the traffic and improve safety for locals in our region. When these projects are finished, people and businesses will have easier and safer access to economic opportunities both in our electorate and in the surrounding regions.

One of the previous ministers for infrastructure, the member for New England, really took the opportunity to look after his mates, and stacked the board of Infrastructure Australia, because god forbid the coalition listen to the experts and invest in projects that we need most when, instead, they could have a 'fairly solid Barnaby supporter' and a bunch of Liberal and National party cronies there. These actions destroyed the purpose and reputation of Infrastructure Australia. And look what that got the Australian people: imaginary car parks, projects for mates getting approved and $1 trillion of Liberal and National debt.

Labor is committed to reinvesting in the foundations of our nation's future economic growth. That's why we're making sure Infrastructure Australia is as strong as it can be. The amendments outlined in this bill will ensure we can operate under the strategic direction of the appointed experts. Labor is putting Australia's economic future first, not party politics. We are respecting and promoting the integrity of the body, and we recognise the importance of Infrastructure Australia's independence through this bill. This bill ultimately upholds the very principles of what we are supposed to do in this place. It puts the needs of the Australian people first, making sure we are making expert decisions to strengthen the foundations of our economy and build a brighter Australia for future generations.

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