Paul Neville (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Transport and Regional Services. Would the minister advise the House how budget measures will boost transport infrastructure?

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Minister for Transport and Regional Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hinkler. This budget makes an enormous boost to Australia’s infrastructure. It is a fantastic additional investment in roads and rail in Australia and will help us to achieve some of those important national objectives to improve communications around our country. Perhaps at the head of that list is the $800 million extra being provided to the Hume Highway. So now we are within sight of achieving one of those great national dreams of having a four-lane highway between our two biggest cities. Surely after all these years that is an important objective and one that only a government with the proper levels of fiscal responsibility has been able to achieve.

But it is not just the Hume Highway that has benefited from this infusion of additional funds. There is $160 million more for the Pacific Highway. That brings to $1.3 billion the commitment by this government and the New South Wales government to upgrading the Pacific Highway. I commend the members from the Northern Rivers areas of New South Wales and northern New South Wales for their continuing efforts to ensure that this very significant piece of New South Wales state road infrastructure is appropriately funded. It is still a significant task to complete that upgrade, but it is wonderful that there is an additional contribution now to speed up that activity.

There is another $268 million to improve the road between Townsville and Cairns—a really significant investment in flood immunity in that region. I notice that the member for Kennedy, like the opposition, when asking a question the day after the budget could not even bring himself to ask about that most important piece of infrastructure development, most of which is in his electorate and will certainly benefit everyone travelling on the Bruce Highway in Northern Queensland. There is $323 million to upgrade roads in Western Australia, $100 million for the road between Gawler and Nuriootpa in South Australia, $30 million for flood upgrading in the Northern Territory and $270 million for the Australian Rail Track Corporation to improve the rail track network around Australia. All of those projects are very significant investments. It is all new money available immediately. It is on top of the $12.7 billion in AusLink network investments and will certainly make significant improvements in a whole range of our key regional road areas.

Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Snowdon interjecting

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Minister for Transport and Regional Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Someone opposite interjects, ‘What about regional areas?’ What about the Roads to Recovery program, with $307 million? Every local authority in Australia has now got more money to spend on local roads and local streets in projects of their choice, and this will make a very significant difference as well.

Naturally, this infusion of additional funding for roads has been widely welcomed around the country. Almost every commentator has spoken with enthusiasm—the NRMA, the Tourism and Transport Forum and Commerce Queensland. Even the South Australian Labor Treasurer said that this was a balanced budget and a budget that recognises the need for road upgrades and investment in our defence forces and the Murray River. So all sorts of people have been giving endorsement to what is really an outstanding budget.

I can only find one critic of this investment and that is Senator Kerry O’Brien. He does not want money to be spent on road infrastructure. He wants it instead to be spent on creating a bureaucracy called ‘Infrastructure Australia’ to do yet another audit of road needs. We know the problems. We are getting on with fixing them.

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.