Kirsten Livermore (Capricornia, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Will the minister update the House on the government's investment in our nation's highways? How are the government's record infrastructure investments building the economy of the future?

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

I thank the member for Capricornia for her genuine interest, particularly in the Bruce Highway and the roads of Central Queensland. Indeed, her electorate has benefited from the doubling of the roads budget that has been undertaken by this government—up to some $28 billion—and, indeed, our much greater investment is delivering results. Andrew McKellar of the Australian Automobile Association backed it in, describing it as good news that there are now, in their report recently released, fewer high risk roads than five years ago.

The Bruce Highway has been a major beneficiary. We have invested in the Bruce Highway—and you do not have to believe those on this side of the House. This is what the member for Herbert had to say:

I will give Labor a pat on the back and say they have spent more in their four or five years on the Bruce Highway than we did before.

And he is right. More in four years than they did in 12, even though the Leader of the National Party was the Minister for Transport and Regional Services at the time: $1.2 billion over 12 years. You know the neglect, Mr Speaker, because you are one of the people who has made representations to me about this. If only they had a plan. They run around and speak about specific projects but they say sometimes that they have a plan. The member for Dawson said they had a plan. He has a website and it had on it 'Fix the Bruce'. It went up in June last year—the date is on the website: 28 June—and it said 'Coming soon'. Blank page—a blank page for their plan.

I clicked on again before question time. Guess what? It is still 'Coming soon'. Not a word, still coming soon, still blank, because they do not really have a plan. If you are going to have a responsible plan in infrastructure, you also have to have a plan to return the budget to surplus.

Peter Slipper (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Leader of the House will return to the substance of the question.

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

Indeed, Mr Speaker. To have a plan to build roads you have to have a responsible fiscal position. You have to get the budget back to surplus. We have done it. The Leader of the 'Noalition' says no to a budget surplus. Senator Abetz in a doorstop this morning has called it an extravagant promise. More and more, when you ask them what they are going to do about infrastructure and roads they no longer make promises. These are now just aspirations. You cannot drive on an aspiration. You cannot catch a train on an aspiration and you cannot have a port that is just an aspiration. You need to have real plans, properly funded. We have it, you have not. (Time expired)

An opposition member: Kevin Rudd's got an aspiration.

Peter Slipper (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I did not hear exactly which member made that statement but it was not helpful or conducive of an appropriate level of courtesy at question time.