Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Infrastructure is one of the critical pillars of our society. It's great to hear that the member for Fisher and the previous government have invested infrastructure funding into regions such as the Sunshine Coast. We are still waiting for the $150 million promised for Fairfield Hospital at the last state election, so we really need that infrastructure funding investment. It is a key reason why election after election we hear politicians make promises to build this infrastructure and that infrastructure to entice voters, especially in marginal seats. Many of us know that infrastructure and pork-barrelling are a dynamic duo, with politicians winning and losing seats over car parks, roundabouts, railways and highways. But I am sure I speak on behalf of many members of this House when I say that infrastructure funding or any funding should not just go to communities in marginal seats.

I thank the minister's office for discussing this review with me in detail and I wholeheartedly agree that a revamp of Infrastructure Australia is needed. I hope that this legislation will not only amend Infrastructure Australia processes but also provide accurate impartial insights into the infrastructure projects that are needed the most.

For my community and Fowler, infrastructure funding is desperately needed for our multicultural, migrant and refugee communities. We have settled hundreds of thousands of people over the decades, yet successive governments have failed to invest in major infrastructure projects. It is as if our refugee communities are simply an afterthought. When tens of thousands of Syrian refugees were settled in Fowler in 2012, escaping the atrocities of war, Fairfield and Liverpool city councils welcomed them with open arms. That is what we do. It is great that the Australian government contributes to addressing the world's humanitarian needs but it is not just about bringing people here. It is about having infrastructure and plans in place to ensure we can support and enable people to thrive later on. With a lack of investment into our public infrastructure such as our Fairfield Hospital, our trains, our local schools, our really congested roads, our local community were forced to bear the social and economic costs of a huge influx of people who were in desperate need of a roof over their heads, jobs to match their skills, schools to send their traumatised school children to, and services to assist them to integrate successfully into this new foreign land called Australia. Yet to this day we somehow still miss out on so many critical funding rounds of both state and federal governments.

I remember growing up in Bossley Park. Back then our migrant communities were forgotten and demonised, and it seemed for a long time that nothing would change. We had one car park in the Cabramatta CBD and a pink toilet, which people had to pay 50c to use. I think we were the only suburb in all of Australia where we had to pay to use the public toilets. This is what sparked my political journey—campaigning for better local car park for our often quiet but hardworking community. We were not asking for much at all. I am proud to say that my advocacy led to Dutton Plaza Car Park being renovated and redeveloped into a multi-storey car park with a shopping precinct.

I also have to thank my Fairfield Council mayor and councillors for fighting with me to give our families and residents better local infrastructure facilities.

My community had few expectations for infrastructure and we took what we got. But in the last few decades, our children have grown up through the trials and tribulations of growing up 'out west' and have transformed Western Sydney into a rapidly growing and thriving economy. Many of our young people in Fowler have realised that they have the right to speak up and to not accept to be treated as second-class citizens. They have earned the right to ask for what they deserve. They too have paid taxes. They know they can expect to have more than just a car park and a toilet.

This brings me to Western Sydney Airport, one of the most significant pieces of infrastructure to be developed in our growing region and is part of Liverpool council. There are opportunities in this significant development for my communities both in Fairfield and Liverpool council LGAs. Not only would there be jobs in the construction and manufacturing of facilities but airport operations, retail as well as adjacent activities, one of which includes the construction and servicing of a business park, bringing more liveliness to the Western Sydney region.

While unemployment has remained low for the rest of Australia, Fowler's unemployment rate has been steadily around 10 per cent for many years. So it is fantastic that this airport is expected to support over 28,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2031. But it is critical that we have a proper public transport link that will connect the airport to the Fairfield, Liverpool and Parramatta CBDs. My electorate of Fowler will essentially become the midway point between Western Sydney Airport and the Sydney CBD; therefore, it only makes sense that a metro link connecting the airport with Parramatta, Liverpool and the Sydney CBD would go through my electorate, making it easier for workers to travel to and from the airport, as well as to the city.

With nearly 45 per cent of my electorate using predominantly petrol cars to get to work, you can imagine both the congestion on our roads and the carbon footprint. If we are to transition to a greener future, a fast and efficient transport link for commuters to get cars off the roads would be required. So I was elated to hear that the east-west metro line made it onto the Infrastructure Australia Infrastructure Priority List. This will benefit the people of Fowler and beyond. But then, during the election campaign, Labor announced it would scrap the line for buses in favour of another line from Leppington to Macarthur.

Now, I'm not saying that we should not have it, if that's what they want to build, but the East West Rail Link is also vital. My community and I were devastated by this news. To add insult to injury, the New South Wales Liberal government, at the time, gave us breadcrumbs in their WestInvest program. They couldn't even provide the $25 million for the health and wellness centre for the Cabramatta area. So, as we watch other electorates get hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, you can just imagine how our community felt. We weren't asking for a football stadium. We weren't asking for a superhighway. Why is it that my community gets treated like we're asking for the world, when we're simply asking for facilities that not only benefit my electorate but the entire Sydney CBD?

In my meeting with the infrastructure minister, she said that the priority list for Infrastructure Australia was essentially meaningless and that there was no funding behind the hundreds of projects on it. I was gobsmacked. I understand there are currently 166 projects on the priority list, which is far bigger than a priority list should be. The Grattan Institute reported that during the 2019 federal campaign only one of the coalition's 71 transport promises valued at $100 million or more had a business case approved by Infrastructure Australia. For Labor, it was two out of the 61 projects. What is the point of a priority list then, if, firstly, the priority list has hundreds of projects in waiting and, secondly, governments don't even fund projects that are on the priority list?

I'm sure this is not the vision our Prime Minister had for the body when, as the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government at the time, he set up Infrastructure Australia in 2009. Therefore, I fully support the current minister's goal of bringing integrity back to Infrastructure Australia. The government needs to consider further accountability and transparency to safeguard it for future generations, not just for this government but beyond.

But I fear that history will repeat itself. The new government will not make all of the recommended changes in the legislation provided in the independent review conducted by the head of Infrastructure Western Australia, Nicole Lockwood, and former infrastructure department head, Mike Mrdak. For example, one of the recommendations is that Infrastructure Australia provide two annual reports to inform the government's budgetary processes on current projects, project outcomes and updates. However, the government has rejected this, with concerns that it could breach cabinet-in-confidence. I don't understand how just having visibility of spending on an infrastructure project and where it is at may be breaching cabinet-in-confidence. I asked the question: what could possibly be so secretive about such infrastructure updates that are ultimately for the public benefit? Surely two people with high-ranking roles within infrastructure departments would also have some knowledge of how cabinet processes work and wouldn't have recommended it if it weren't viable.

Furthermore, I understand that ministerial discretion is required in some cases, but I have concerns with the amount of discretion given in the appointment of the commissioners, as well as the advisory council. The public has the right to know who is making nationally significant infrastructure network decisions in the first place, so I urge the government to consider whether future commissioners should disclose any conflicts of interest or ties to any major political parties. While this does not stop people with vested interests from being on the commission or advisory council, it gives the public the opportunity to know who is making certain infrastructure decisions and why. Accountability and transparency mean we will have more informed voters who can see the pork-barrelling for what it is and are willing to speak out against bad funding decisions.

This one-year-old government has been outspoken about previous governments' pork-barrelling approach to funding on infrastructure projects. Therefore, I encourage this new government, wanting to set a different integrity bar when it comes to spending taxpayers' money to build up our people and our country, to ensure that infrastructure spending will not leave the people and the community of Fowler behind. We all pay taxes. We all need roads. We all need public transport. But we must focus on the priority areas that are in dire need first. I want to see a system that prioritises infrastructure where it's needed most, not where the swing voters are. After all, how are we supposed to call ourselves an egalitarian society if we cannot equitably distribute basic needs to function as a society?

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