Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Will the minister update the House on how the government’s stimulus investment in road, rail and community infrastructure is progressing across the nation?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fremantle for her question. It is good to get another question from this side of the House about infrastructure, because we have had none all year—not a single question on infrastructure—from the opposite side of the House. Indeed, 70 per cent of our economic stimulus is in nation-building infrastructure—in our roads, in our rail, in our ports, in our broadband and, of course, in our schools as well as in our housing. This is about supporting jobs today to boost our economic recovery to support the economy of tomorrow.

As part of the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan, we brought forward some $711 million to accelerate 14 road projects across the country. This is now flowing through in projects across the nation. Indeed, last Friday the member for Brand launched the construction of the Mandurah Entrance Road in Perth in Western Australia. This construction is supporting up to 200 jobs and is construction welcomed by the West Australian Minister for Transport, Simon O’Brien. It is not surprising that the West Australian Treasurer, when asked about whether the stimulus should be withdrawn, said last Thursday, ‘I think that would be far too premature to argue for the Commonwealth to pull back on a stimulatory package. We see evidence of that here.’ Indeed they do in Western Australia, as they do right around the country. Indeed, last Thursday I turned the first sod on section B, Cooroy to Curra, on the Bruce Highway as part of our N1.

In rail, we have injected $1.2 billion to undertake 17 rail projects. Just nine months later, projects are underway right around the country. Work got underway so quickly that three of those projects have been completed—announced, people put to work and completed so as to improve productivity on those rail lines. But, of course, we are also delivering on community infrastructure. We are investing over $1 billion through the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program. Of that, some 400 projects have been completed already. Over 2,500 projects are underway.

Are those who argue for the stimulus to be brought back saying that those 2,500 local community infrastructure projects in electorates right around the nation—theirs and ours regardless of political flavour—should be stopped halfway through? What are they saying when they say that these projects should be withdrawn? I note that the member for North Sydney has said that he will not go to the school infrastructure projects as part of the economic stimulus in his electorate because that would be hypocritical given that he voted against the package. That stands in stark contrast to the member for Wentworth and other members who are happy to turn up to these projects that they voted against. I look forward to seeing Malcolm this Friday, once again in the electorate of Wentworth, at a Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program announcement. Right around the country, with the exception of the member for North Sydney, their members on the ground in their own electorates are supporting the economic stimulus because they know that local communities want the jobs and the economic activity that that stimulus is bringing.