Stewart McArthur (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services. Would the Deputy Prime Minister explain to the House how the government’s sound economic management is allowing the Australian government to invest in our future to improve transport infrastructure, particularly in my electorate of Corangamite?

Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Corangamite for his question and recognise his interest in making sure that the federal government invests appropriately in the critical infrastructure in his part of Australia, in Victoria, and in particular the work he has done in getting investment in the Geelong ring road. I know that he has been a long and passionate advocate of that investment. Interestingly, out of $1.3 billion going into Victoria out of AusLink, $186 million is going into the Geelong ring road. The member for Corangamite is also a great advocate of ensuring that state governments shoulder their responsibilities for their roads. This is after the negotiated outcome of the AusLink corridors between the Commonwealth and the states, where we have agreed as a Commonwealth government to invest in specific roads. The states have said, ‘Well, you do that and we’ll shoulder our responsibilities over here.’ That is all very well until after the signing, and then they head off and start blaming the federal government for not putting money into their roads. A classic example in Victoria is the Princes Highway, and I know that the member for Corangamite actively holds the Victorian government to account to ensure that they step up to the plate and shoulder their responsibilities as far as the Princes Highway is concerned.

We are investing unparalleled amounts of money in Australia’s infrastructure through AusLink. Over the next 20 years the freight task in Australia is going to double. We are going to need this investment. In the current round of AusLink we are investing $15 billion in the AusLink corridors which we have agreed with states. That should allow the states to invest more money in their responsibilities. We continue to seek that process and ask them to do that, as was agreed through the AusLink negotiation ultimately endorsed by COAG. If the states could make some more progress in terms of their planning and in terms of their investment in their roads, we would see much better progress as far as the overall infrastructure in the nation’s roads is concerned. So, instead of the states blaming the Commonwealth for not fixing their roads, they should get on and do it themselves. We will continue to invest in the AusLink corridors, but we will also hold them to account.

We have an ally in this; it is the member for Batman. We appreciate his comments. I heard somewhere in a media interview today the Leader of the Opposition talking about a bipartisan approach to fiscal responsibility in this country. We have not seen it for the last 11 years; maybe we are about to see it. But he did make that point. However, the member for Batman is echoing my sentiment. I read with interest in the Surf Coast Echo a comment he was reported to have made about the Princes Highway. The member for Batman is reported to have said:

‘I understand the local community’s and council’s frustration but the buck stops with the state government. I know my responsibility and that is not one of them,’ Mr Ferguson said. ‘The duckshoving needs to stop. We can also play the blame game.’

I thank the member for Batman, because that is the truth. We negotiated the responsibilities for the different infrastructure corridors across Australia with the states under AusLink. We will continue to invest in AusLink, but we expect the states to continue to invest in their responsibilities, and this is one of them.

Mr Speaker, you will recall that last week the member for Fraser asked me a question about the blame game: are we going to continue to blame the states? Yes, we are—where they are not shouldering their responsibilities. That is the answer I gave last week. We look forward to more bipartisan support on fiscal responsibility, and this is one of them.