Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Labor governments have a long and proud history of building infrastructure that our country needs. We build the things that our country and communities need to grow and thrive. The people in the Hunter already knew this before the election. They are reminded of it every time they drive on the Hunter Expressway delivered by the Rudd Labor government. Since our election, the people of the Hunter have again been reminded that there is only one party that delivers on the infrastructure that is needed in our country and in our regions. They are reminded of that when they see the progress on the Singleton Bypass. They are reminded of it when they see the works beginning on the Muswellbrook bypass.

For a decade, the people of Singleton and Muswellbrook heard of these projects. They heard the chatter about finding a way to ease the congestion and the traffic in their small regional towns. But, for a decade, they remained stuck in traffic, not knowing whether the bypasses would ever become a reality. Now, after a decade of talking about these two projects, progress is being made. 'What has changed?' you ask. After a decade of talk and no action, there is work actually starting to get done. The answer is simple: the Labor Party was elected.

If that's not enough to convince you that we are the party of infrastructure, let me tell you a little story that the member for New England might be more familiar with. In 2021, the road between Merriwa and Willow Tree collapsed. As a result, the road was unable to be used. The name of this road was Coulson's Creek Road. This road was part of a route which was vital for so many in the transport and agriculture industries. Since the closure of this road, those transporting goods, including stock and feed for farms, have had to make a significant detour just to be able to make it to their destinations. This has added up to $500 for each trip for some.

You would think a local member would jump straight onto this and get the funding to fix the road as quickly as possible, especially when that local member belonged to a party which was in government for much of the time this road was closed and a party which claims so often to be for the regions and for farmers. I have news for the people of New England. The National Party and the member for New England were not there when this road was closed. They did nothing, despite knowing that this closure was costly to so many.

There is a party that really stands up for regions, especially when it comes to providing infrastructure that is needed. It is us, the Labor Party. We were elected to government and we have delivered what that member failed to do while he was in government. We have committed $38.6 million towards fixing this piece of infrastructure which is needed by many in the electorate of New England and also the Hunter.

The key difference between us and those opposite is that we don't make commitments just to win votes. We don't write promises on the back of beer coasters and throw them out in the bin after we are elected. We make a commitment and we deliver. When infrastructure is needed, we build it, whether it will bring us a political gain or not, because without delivering the infrastructure that this country needs we will fall behind.

The fact is that we were left with a pile of mess by the previous government. There were projects that were poorly scoped, were underfunded and simply could not be delivered. Under the coalition, the number of infrastructure projects blew out from nearly 150 to 800. But they failed to deliver. Commitments mean nothing if we cannot do, if we cannot and do not deliver them. The minister has received an independent strategic review for the infrastructure investment program report. Let me tell you, I've had some pretty poor report cards in my time, but none as bad as this. This report highlights just how badly the Liberals and Nationals managed the infrastructure investment program under their wasted decade.

But we are turning this around. As a government, we are committed to maintaining the 10-year infrastructure pipeline at $120 billion, and we will ensure that the transport infrastructure projects that we deliver are nationally significant and nation-shaping projects. Only a Labor government cares about infrastructure.

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