Matt Williams (Hindmarsh, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) commends the Government on the establishment of an Infrastructure Growth Package (IGP) that will fast track investment in critical infrastructure across the country;

(2) notes that:

(a) funds will be targeted at projects that grow the economy, boost productivity and create jobs;

(b) the fund includes $5 billion over five years towards the Asset Recycling Initiative which will encourage the states and territories to sell assets and recycle the sale proceeds into new productivity-enhancing infrastructure, and

(c) the fund also includes $3.7 billion for targeted infrastructure investments to delivery priority infrastructure projects and upgrades across the country;

(3) acknowledges the IGP builds on the Government's existing commitment, now at more than $50 billion, to fund key road, rail and intermodal projects; and

(4) recognises the IGP as part of the Government's Economic Action Strategy to build a strong, prosperous economy for a safe and secure Australia.

Australia's infrastructure deficiencies have been talked about for a long time. There have been numerous reports by consultants and by governments at the state and federal levels. We have taken the bold decision to do something about it in significant terms. The challenges we face include not just an ageing population and increased expenditure commitments over the next 10 years but also a population set to grow to 38 million and our cities to almost double in size by 2050 and freight to almost double by 2030. These are some of the parameters we have to work within. We have a major infrastructure challenge and also a productivity challenge that we have heard a lot of debate, comments and reports about. We are taking up these challenges on both fronts. In this budget we are all contributing to make a better future for Australia. As the Treasurer said:

We are not going to pass the buck to another generation. We must move now to shape our destiny. We inherited an economy with below-trend growth; we inherited an economy with rising unemployment, with falling terms of trade.

Despite this, we are putting in a series of economic measures to build a better Australia.

The Infrastructure Growth Package is one of those key measures to grow the economy, ensuring that Australia can return to trend growth levels as soon as possible. The key component to lifting productivity growth in our budget is through an investment in productive infrastructure--$50 billion, a record amount spent on productive infrastructure. This is an additional $16 billion more than what Labor would have delivered if they were re-elected, and I will be interested in hearing what the members opposite say when their turn comes to speak on this significant package. This funding forms part of the government's economic action strategy to build a strong, prosperous economy, raise productivity and create thousands of new jobs.

The government's investment in infrastructure will also leverage greater co-contributions from state governments and the private sector. This innovative asset recycling program will free up billions of extra dollars. We are already seeing state governments look at their infrastructure assets in a different light. The growth package includes $11.6 billion in infrastructure growth and fast-tracks investments in critical infrastructure across the country. There is $5 billion over five years in the asset recycling initiative. There is $2.9 billion in Western Sydney to support the new Western Sydney airport, which I am sure my colleague here, the member for Reid, will speak about. There is $3.7 billion for targeted infrastructure investments to deliver priority infrastructure projects and upgrades, including the first ever concessional loan in Australia to accelerate WestConnex stage 2 in Sydney so it can be built at the same time as stage 1.

There is other funding like the East-West Link, now a $3 billion commitment; the Toowoomba second range crossing, now a $1.285 billion commitment; and the first ever regional public-private roads project in Australia. There are new projects the member for Perth might be interested in like the Perth freight link and a $9.25 million commitment for the first ever public-private roads project in Australia. There is the Northern Territory roads package worth $77 million and the national highway upgrade program, with $228 million. Additional funding for local roads programs includes the Black Spot program, now a $564.5 million commitment; and the Roads to Recovery program, now a $2.4 billion commitment. These are all significant commitments in their own right.

One of the most significant commitments from South Australia's perspective and, in particular, the perspective of my electorate of Hindmarsh is South Road. The North-South Corridor, which the Prime Minister has been extremely committed to since he came to Adelaide in October, was one of the first priorities that I dedicated myself to work on when I was elected. I have been regularly talking to the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, the assistant minister, Jamie Briggs, and others about the importance of this corridor to South Australia. I have been consulting with locals, businesses, stakeholders and local government, in particular the mayors of Charles Sturt, Marion and West Torrens as well as councillors in the areas.

I commend other support from the local community, including by the Messenger, the local newspaper, on their commitment to the issue. They have run a series of articles and spoken to local stakeholders, local residents groups and traders groups. Their support in getting this project over the line has been significant. As the Messenger said in their post-budget edition: 'Residents, traders and community leaders are celebrating victory.' How right they are. Since the announcement, I have also spoken with many residents and traders and they have been extremely positive about the announcement because they know it will help decrease travelling times for families in the area. It will decrease travelling times for businesses. It will improve productivity. It will reduce the amount of time people are stuck in traffic. It has been very well received in the local community—and so it should be. This has been on the cards for so long and we decided to act strongly.

This is the single largest infrastructure investment in South Australia by any Australian government. Early works will start next year, to be completed by 2018. The upgrades will improve access to the port, the airport and freight terminals, and will improve the efficiency of public transport, something that all South Australians want. It will reduce time people spend being stuck in traffic, giving them more time with their families. It will accelerate new opportunities for economic development and job opportunities and slash travel times for commuters.

The government has made a record $2 billion investment to build the infrastructure of the 21st century in South Australia. Eight hundred new jobs will be created. This is $435 million more than what Labor would have invested in South Australia if they were re-elected. Let me tell you what others have said. The state Labor Treasurer, Tom Koutsantonis, has said:

It's got to be fixed, it's very, very important and I think quite frankly that the Commonwealth have stumped up to take on one of the hardest parts of South Road and that's encouraging.

The RAA were almost most complimentary. Mr Mark Borlace from the RAA said:

It's fantastic to see that these two significant parts of South Road will be upgraded by 2018.

Regarding the Black Spot program and Roads to Recovery in my electorate of Hindmarsh, we have made three major announcements that will help with road safety. Tapleys Hill Road, Marlborough Street and Valetta Road in Fulham Gardens will be improved. Marion Road and Cross Road at South Plympton will have changes made to help address the high level of right-turn crashes on all approaches. Sir Donald Bradman Drive and Sir Richard Williams Avenue in Brooklyn Park will be improved to improve sight distance and reduce rear-end crashes. These are examples of local programs, local commitments and local improvements.

I will quickly touch on some major infrastructure investment across other areas of Australia. In Victoria, there is a record $7.6 billion investment, which is $1.6 billion more than Labor would have committed. In WA—the member for Perth will be interested—a record $4.7 billion is committed, which is $880 million more than Labor committed. The Swan Valley bypass and the Great Northern Highway are two of the projects. In Queensland, 45 new programs of works are proposed for the Bruce Highway. The Gateway Motorway in Brisbane has received a commitment of $930 million. The total contribution is $6.7 billion for Queensland. In Tasmania, the Midland Highway will receive $400 million for freight and passenger movements. The member for Grayndler has joined us and I know he is happy about these announcements. I am looking forward to hearing his response to this record infrastructure investment.

In closing, infrastructure spend is a win for all Australians—from the Northern Territory, where we are upgrading six regional roads, to Tasmania where there is record Commonwealth government investment in infrastructure to improve our productivity, to help our businesses, to reduce travelling times for families and, importantly, to improve our economy to get it back on track, to build a better and bigger Australia.

Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That all the words after 'That' be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

(1) condemns the government for failing to fulfil its promises on infrastructure investment in its budget of broken promises;

(2) the House notes the Budget:

(a) fails to conduct cost benefit analysis for any new project funded in the budget greater than $100 million;

(b) cuts funding to projects which have been recommended by Infrastructure Australia including Brisbane's Cross River Rail and the Melbourne Metro;

(c) fails to provide any additional funding across the forward estimates for the Pacific Highway or the Bruce Highway;

(d) cuts funding for any public transport projects other than those already under construction;

(e) fails to fund any new rail freight projects;

(3) further notes the advance payment of $1.5 billion this month for the East West project in Melbourne in direct contravention of the government's stated policy of only making milestone payments upon construction; and

(4) condemns the Coalition for undermining the independence of Infrastructure Australia.

When I came to work this morning, I did not realise I was coming to a fantasy world. That is what the motion represents—an attempt by this deceitful government to overinflate the scale of infrastructure spending in the 2014-15 budget. The only new projects in this budget have been funded by cuts to projects that have been recommended by Infrastructure Australia in order to fund projects that have not had cost-benefit analysis, such as the East West project in Melbourne. The East West project in Melbourne is getting a $1½ billion advance payment this month. Regarding the second stage of the project, which is getting a $1 billion advance payment, at Senate estimates it was not clear even where the tunnel will come up. That is, not only has it not had proper planning or cost-benefit analysis but it is unclear where it will go.

In terms of the other announcements, there are a series of re-announcements of federal Labor government funded projects that were already in the budget. At the heart of this budget is not a record new funding package for infrastructure spending; at the heart of it is deceit from the government. That includes the member for Hindmarsh's contribution who spoke about his joy at the Torrens to Torrens section of South Road being funded. That in his electorate was of course the preconstruction work that had already begun and the then opposition opposed the project. He mentioned projects like Tasmania's Midland Highway, where there has been a $100 million cut. Of course, most significantly are the cuts to any public transport project that was not already under construction. In addition to that, there are cuts to roads, such as Melbourne's M80 project—$500 million was cut—which was recommended by Infrastructure Australia and has a positive BCR. There is the billion-dollar cut to financial assistance grants for local government. Then there are the so-called new things that have been created. Have a look at the detail. The Recycling Fund comes from the Building Australia Fund and the Education Infrastructure Fund—money that was already in the budget. They have renamed it and pretended that it is something new. It is dependent upon, of course, privatisation of existing public assets. They do not want to use the 'privatisation' word, but that is precisely what this fund is about.

Let us look at the advanced payments and compare that with what the government is actually saying. Only 10 days ago the assistant to the minister, his errand boy, the member for Mayo, said:

So we are driving the state governments very hard to give us timetables to ensure that we're meeting the expected time of delivery of these projects. That we're hitting milestones, that we're only making payments to states when they actually deliver the milestones, that they're not getting money in their bank account prior to milestones being delivered …

It could not have been clearer, yet what has occurred? Today we know, on top of the East West, there is an advanced payment for the Pacific Highway in New South Wales. There are no new projects and no new additional funding, but an advanced payment is being made. That is why this is such a con.

At the same time not a single project that has received new funding in this budget has been recommended by Infrastructure Australia. The whole idea of Infrastructure Australia was to break the nexus between the short-term political cycle of just three years and the infrastructure investment cycle. Yet what it has done is ensure that Infrastructure Australia and that process are undermined.

The Perth freight project, which I am sure the member for Perth will comment on, had been rejected previously and again had no cost-benefit analysis attached to it. It is something that was done on the back of an envelope in order to have something to reannounce. They do deserve some credit for their ingenuity and chutzpah. They have renamed some projects. The F3 to M2 in Sydney has become the north link. The Perth to Darwin highway came with a number of names, but they have come up with a new north link name for that project as well. Renaming a project does not make it a new project. It is extraordinary that they believe that they can somehow get their way through on this.

They say that, if you invest in roads and not rail, that will free up money. What it does is encourage state governments to also prioritise roads rather than have proper transport strategies. I believe in funding both roads and rail. You need to fund the project that produces the greatest productivity and helps deal with urban congestion in our cities. You cannot have an ideology that says just roads, as the conservatives do, or just rail, as the Greens political party do. You need to be guided and to have a comprehensive plan.

I started this speech by saying that the House of Representatives had turned into a bit of a fantasy land. When you measure the motion before us against the facts, you have to wonder how they decided that this is a great package. It is a package where the facts do not matter. This government wants to wind back the clock when it comes to infrastructure development. It will lead to a failure to invest in any urban public transport. States over a period of time will prioritise road projects because that is where the co-funding is. There is a natural incentive there. You would have to be a complete nong to be a Treasurer and not acknowledge that that is a fact. When you are competing with other states to get federal co-investment into your state or territory that will occur. But there seems to be no acknowledgement of that by the government, even though Infrastructure Australia made it very clear in an answer to a question that that would be the case over a period of time. The fact is that we need to deal with investment in terms of infrastructure in order to boost productivity. This government is walking away from the Infrastructure Australia process. It is undermining the independence of Infrastructure Australia, which is in the legislation that is before the Senate at the moment and which has been rejected by the Business Council of Australia, by the Urban Development Institute of Australia, by Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, who are all saying that the government is going down the wrong road in undermining that independence and it needs to have the process right. If you get the process right, you will get the right investments.

Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak against the amendments and in favour of the original motion as put by the member for Hindmarsh. Whilst I had a prepared speech, I had the inspiration from the member for Grayndler's words and I think the term was 'fantasy land'.

For six years as a member of the Reid community I watched a long, long episode of the Muppets. Over those six years, everyone in the Labor government was fighting one another for the role of Gonzo. If you want to talk about fantasy land, there is no better illustration than the member for Grayndler's lauding of Infrastructure Australia. Why? Because he invented it. I do not begrudge him that but what I would draw his attention to is that, in the last Labor government, Rudd-Gillard-Rudd, the Adelaide desal plant, a $328 million project in Adelaide, was approved by the Labor government—which version I am not exactly sure; it was one of the three. That $328 million has since been studied by the Auditor-General and he has, to put it brutally, slammed it and called it for what it is when he said proper grants processes were not followed.

Infrastructure Australia is fine in concept; however, the hypocrisy of the member for Grayndler is to stand here lauding it. When it suited him, he circumvented it, as did his government, to do what the Auditor-General labelled 'pork barrelling'.

I also note that the member for Grayndler did not mention two specific projects—the second airport for Sydney and the WestConnex. I do not blame him for that either. In July 2010 the member for Grayndler said in the Fairfax press:

The simple fact is that Sydney does need a second airport and we need to plan for it now if this city is going to continue to be a truly global city.

I say 'Hear, hear!' to the member for Grayndler because he is my next-door neighbour in Reid, and I said in my maiden speech exactly the same thing; however, that was 2010 when he was in government. I would draw his attention to 2013, when he said in the Fairfax press again that 'construction on a second Sydney airport would start within three years if Labor was re-elected'. The problem with the member for Grayndler is not specific to the member for Grayndler. It was a common theme of the last six years—that six-year version of the Muppets. We were promised the world and delivered an atlas in Reid. Quite frankly, it is not good enough.

I rise today to dismiss out of hand the amendments in support of my friend because those two projects which I have just mentioned, the WestConnex and the second Sydney airport, are on their way. While Labor may have talked about them for six years and put in place some magnificent bodies like Infrastructure Australia and circumvented it to pork-barrel when it suited them, we are getting on with the job of governing and delivering for the people of Reid.

WestConnex will be delivered and delivered promptly. You heard more announcements by the Premier of New South Wales, Mike Baird, on the weekend about fast-tracking stage 1 and 2. It divides my electorate in two. It is not good enough. Parramatta Road is a barrier between the north and south of my electorate—it has been since I was a boy—and we will fix that.

The second Sydney airport is a necessity for my electorate of Reid, where we deal with twice the long-term operating plan level of noise. We said pre-election we would commit to a location and to building it, and guess what? Unlike the member for Grayndler, who promised the people of Grayndler and Reid the world and delivered an atlas, we are getting on with the job of governing.

I rise to condemn the amendment out of hand, in support of my good friend the member for Hindmarsh, in support of the Abbott coalition government delivering what we said we would do before we were elected. I applaud the Prime Minister, the Treasurer, the Deputy Prime Minister and the assistant minister for infrastructure for the wonderful job they are doing. I say: long may it continue.

Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with pleasure that I rise to support the member for Grayndler's amendment, because nowhere more than in Western Australia do we see the difference in the attention a place is given under Labor and under Liberal governments. Just as a preamble—I always want to get this in—during the six budgets under Labor we committed $4.2 billion worth of expenditure for infrastructure in Western Australia. That compares with $1.9 billion over the last six years of the Howard government. So quite clearly the bacon was brought home by the Labor government in terms of infrastructure.

I want to talk a little bit now about projects in Western Australia and why it is highly dubious that we are going to be receiving any additional funds at all. First of all, we know that there has been a net reduction in this budget of $500 million in certain projects. So $500 million that was committed to Perth urban rail has been deleted from this budget, in line with the Prime Minister's anti-obsession with public transport. We all know—it is well documented—his very outdated views on public transport. He wants everyone to be a king in a metal castle, driving around in a car. He thinks that is what creates a good city and a good society.

But in particular the big-ticket item, the supposedly new project that has been introduced in Western Australia to attempt to compensate for the loss of $500 million from a very worthwhile urban rail project, is the Perth Freight Link. The member for Grayndler talked a little about how projects are being renamed. One of the reasons why the extension of Roe Highway stage 8 has been renamed the Perth Freight Link is largely that they need to wrap some pre-existing projects that have already been funded into what is supposedly a grand concept.

We heard the Deputy Prime Minister saying, 'This project is ready to start now,' but the bit that he is actually starting now is the upgrade of Leach Highway and High Street going into the existing Fremantle port. That is a project that was funded under Labor. It was in the budget under Labor. It has now been woven into the Perth Freight Link in order for the government to say, 'Look, our project is underway already.'

But in fact, if we look at what the substance of their project really is, which is the highly controversial extension of the Roe Highway stage 8, we find it is very much not ready to go. In fact, one of the local members, Rita Saffioti, was questioning the Treasurer during estimates in the legislative assembly. The Treasurer responded to her questions about how they were going to fund the Perth freight line. He said: 'Firstly, it's not referred to in our budget at all. We don't have full information about it.' He went on to say: 'The Western Australian government has not made a decision as to its contribution to the proposal put forward by the Commonwealth and until I have a proposal in front of me I cannot answer the member's questions.' So it is a project that is so early in its development that the state government were not even aware of it when they prepared and proposed their budget documents.

So we have this allocation of $850 million to build five kilometres of road—very, very expensive road—right through a wetland. I would be prepared to lay money that that part of the project will never go ahead. What we have here is a creation. You put money into something that you know is unlikely ever to be built, but it makes it look like you have made a commitment to Western Australia. They will be claiming the project is underway when in fact the bits of it that are going to be built and will be built over the next year were a pre-existing project funded under our budget.

I also want to make a comment about Oakajee, which still appears. Oakajee was a proposal funded conditionally under Labor and, surprisingly, still seems to be in the budget. When I asked the Deputy Premier about its continued existence in the budget, he said, 'Oh, yes, we did think about taking it out, but it's going to go ahead.' Yet public servants recently gave evidence that this project is not going ahead. (Time expired)

Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am delighted to rise in support of this motion moved by the member for Hindmarsh today, because it articulates the heart of what the coalition government is doing to build a strong economy, create jobs and deliver the infrastructure of the 21st century. To that end, I do not support the amendments moved by the member for Grayndler in relation to this motion.

The Infrastructure Growth Package will fast-track investment in critical infrastructure across Australia and includes a record $14.9 billion worth of investment in my home state of New South Wales—$6 billion more than what Labor would have invested had they been re-elected. Some of the projects we are funding are of enormous significance to New South Wales, including NorthConnex, which is particularly important to people and businesses on the Central Coat. The coalition government and the New South Wales Liberal and Nationals government will each contribute $405 million toward this $3 billion major investment that will connect the M1, formerly known as the F3, and the M2 together in a nine-kilometre underground tunnel, bypassing around 20 to 22 sets of traffic lights between my electorate and the Sydney CBD, depending on whether you use Pennant Hills Road or the Pacific Highway.

It will save the average commuter or, for instance, a freight truck driver around 15 minutes each way. For the 30,000 to 40,000 commuters who leave the Central Coast early in the morning and return home to their families late at night, this equates around 10 hours per month in reduced travel time—more than a full day's worth of work every month. That is time they can spend building their businesses, building their careers, investing in their families, spending time with other people or enjoying the best of the incredible lifestyle that we have to offer on the Central Coast. For freight companies, manufacturers and other businesses who also rely on vital road connections, this reduction in travel time can also deliver potential cost savings and boost productivity.

Construction on NorthConnex will commence next year. It will create around 2,000 direct jobs, bringing additional economic benefits and, importantly, more employment opportunities for people in my electorate of Robertson. When NorthConnex opens in 2019, this will be the realisation of a 50-year-old dream, a plan that has been on the books for decades. Thanks to the investment by the federal coalition government and the New South Wales Liberal and Nationals government, this dream can now become a reality. In addition, of course, we also have the M1 productivity package for the widening of the Kariong to Somersby and Kariong interchange ramps, with upgrades expected to be completed by mid-2019.

I take this opportunity to commend the New South Wales government on its recent announcement of an additional $20 billion in infrastructure investment designed to boost productivity, create jobs and reduce congestion. The Liberal and Nationals government in New South Wales is determined to help rebuild our state after 16 years of neglect by the Labor Party and recently announced it will fund this important $20 billion investment through a 49 per cent sale of the state owned electricity network sector. This will bring enormous benefits to the Central Coast, particularly with the regional roads fund and regional water fund, the schools and hospital building fund, sport and cultural fund and the construction of a second harbour rail crossing, which could reduce rail commuting times to and from Sydney.

The coalition's Infrastructure Growth Package will also fund a number of additional road upgrades in my electorate of Robertson, including fixing a dangerous intersection in Kariong. The Langford Drive intersection with Woy Woy Road is renowned by locals for numerous accidents and dangerous road crossings, and it has been a concern for a number of years. I am proud to be part of a government that is funding $675,000 towards a safer traffic solution for Langford Drive. In addition, as part of the Black Spot Program, $150,000 will be invested to upgrade the dangerous bend along Narara Valley Drive from Yurunga Avenue to Mangrove Road, including additional safety features to help tackle the number of accidents, especially during wet weather. The Black Spot Program will also enable another accident-prone site to be addressed, with $150,000 to install a wire rope barrier on the existing median on Avoca Drive, from Empire Bay Drive to Oberton Street in Kincumber.

This funding forms part of the government's Economic Action Strategy to build a strong, prosperous economy, boost productivity and create thousands of new jobs. In doing so, it is delivering on the local commitments we made in our Growth Plan for the Central Coast, commitments that will help build a better future for everyone who lives in the best part of the best country in the world.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Vocational Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate on the motion moved by the member for Hindmarsh. I will indicate to the chamber that it is my intention to support the amendment moved by the member for Grayndler. I was listening with great interest to the member for Robertson's contribution. So let me tell her about another big commuter corridor—that is, the Illawarra—and what has happened to us under this government in terms of infrastructure investment. I can assure you that it is not such a happy story.

In particular, I want to support the member for Grayndler's amendment, because in (2)(e) he talks about the failure to fund any new rail freight projects. This particularly impacts on my electorate. Obviously, infrastructure is a particularly important part of economic growth and development, particularly economic diversification in regions like mine that are undergoing some significant shift. Obviously, we continue to do reasonably well out of the mining sector that operates in my area, but the manufacturing sector has been undergoing significant change. I am sure that members would remember only a few years the major restructure of BlueScope Steel and the flow-on effects that had on our economy.

There are two aspects to the opportunity to economically diversify both industries and regions. They are infrastructure, not only the traditional forms of infrastructure such as road, rail, port but also the infrastructure of the future, the National Broadband Network. Sadly, both those have taken a hit since this government came to power.

Another thing that drives growth and opportunity for regions is investment in people, in skills, training and education development—if you like, the brain and the brawn—that contribute to growth and jobs of the future. Under this particular matter now before the chamber, I am obviously going to concentrate on the infrastructure side of the story in my own area. However, I would like to acknowledge that the partner to that story, if you really want to maximise the opportunity to be part of the industries of the future and to have the people in your local area have access to those jobs, is investment in people.

RDA Australia, the Illawarra branch, have been working very effectively for a number of years on a program of development for the region, under the very effective leadership of chairperson Eddy De Gabriele and chief executive officer Natalie Burroughs and her team. They have indeed worked with our community. Annually, they have a leadership conference on what needs to be done for the future. The investment in infrastructure is one of the priority areas for the RDA, representing the views of my whole area. There have been a number of action plans in place. But, in particular, I want to inform the House that they have reflected the ongoing commitment of my region to a rail link project, the Maldon Dombarton Rail Line. It is a freight-specific link that goes from Port Kembla and links us into the state-wide and nationwide rail infrastructure and, in particular, the growing Western Sydney corridor.

It is a project that, prior to us winning the election in 2007, we committed $300,000 for a pre-feasibility study, which was completed, then a further $3 million for a full feasibility study, which was also completed. As a result of that feasibility study we then committed $25.5 million to do all the preparatory work for the project. That was provided to the New South Wales government. They have commenced that work and it is due to finish, as I understand it, at the end of this month, if not early next month.

As a result of that work coming towards completion Labor and the then minister, the member for Grayndler, placed $50 million on the table to engage as a federal government with the private sector to see what the opportunities were to actually build the line. In MYEFO this government got rid of that $50 million. A major freight rail link that will significantly improve the commuter link on the rail by taking freight traffic off the commuter line and will significantly improve the impacts on our road has just been dropped and walked away from, despite the importance of the port of Kembla as one of the three major ports on the New South Wales coast. So it was a very short-sighted outcome.

Added to that we of course had the abandonment of the rollout of the National Broadband Network to the home across our region, which would have transformed the way the businesses in our region were connected to the wider world as well. It was very short-sighted and not an economic growth strategy at all. The minister and this government should look at reinstating those projects. (Time expired)

John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am delighted to speak today in support of this important motion from my colleague the hardworking member for Hindmarsh. Together with the members for Reid and Robertson, I have to commend the government on the establishment of an infrastructure growth package that will fast-track investment and critical infrastructure across our country. This investment will boost our economy, lift productivity and create jobs around the nation. It will also help us fix the No. 1 complaint by the good people of Bennelong: traffic congestion. Our local community owns the dubious honour of possessing five of the most 10 congested roads in New South Wales. Unlike those opposite, who year after year in government would make promise after unfulfilled promise, the coalition are actually delivering on our commitment to build the roads for the 21st century and to deliver the infrastructure needed by the people who place their trust in us.

Around Bennelong this includes WestConnex and NorthConnex. WestConnex is one of Australia's largest ever road projects. It is a 33-kilometre motorway designed to ease congestion, connect communities and create jobs. Construction on both stage 1 and 2 projects is expected to commence early next year. NorthConnex involves construction of a twin three-lane tunnel linking the M1 and M2 motorways. The tunnels will be around nine kilometres in length, running beneath Pennant Hills Road. This represents a solution for one of the worst choke points that impact on residents of Bennelong. The Commonwealth and New South Wales governments are both contributing $400 million towards this project. Construction on the project is expected to commence next year and be completed in 2019.

The federal government will also be committing funding for the installation of safety devices at two black spot projects in Bennelong: $400,000 in Pittwater Road in East Ryde and $42,500 in Balaclava Road, Eastwood. These projects are just a small part of the coalition's honouring our commitment to the people of Australia, with the federal budget delivering a record $50 billion investment in productivity-enhancing infrastructure across the country over the next five years, including an $11.6 billion growth package. This is $16 billion more than Labor even promised to deliver if they had been re-elected. The coalition's investment in infrastructure will leverage greater co-contributions from state governments and the private sector. The asset recycling program will free up billions of dollars for extra investments that are needed today. In total our measures add up to $126 billion of economic benefits spread across the entire economy. This massive investment will not only deliver productivity-enhancing roads and rail freight projects across Australia; it also frees up the states to get on with building urban rail. Since the federal election, the state governments have committed to investing in over $25 billion worth of major public projects.

These actions are just the first step. Our country has a lot to catch up on, with so many electorates directly affected by six years of broken Labor promises. In Bennelong we saw the farcical situation of the former Prime Minister and former Labor Premier announcing, with great fanfare, their promise to build the Epping to Parramatta rail link. The former minister even dedicated $2.1 billion towards this project, yet not one dollar was spent and not one sod of soil turned. The people of Bennelong were not easily fooled. This was not the first time a Labor government had promised this and other infrastructure. It was the election of the state coalition government in 2011 that finally saw construction commence on the North West Rail Link. Yet when the Premier went, cap in hand, to the former minister asking for the $2.1 billion to be redirected to a project that would actually see the light of day the money was nowhere to be found.

While this work to clean up Labor's mess is proceeding, we will also work on crucial master-planning so that we can continue to provide the infrastructure needs of the next generation. Such planning has been in short supply in our nation's history, yet we are surrounded with examples of long-term benefits that we have derived from strong infrastructure commitments and bold policy thinking. I look forward to working as part of this coalition government in setting the foundation stones for that bright future. I commend this motion to the House and reject the amendments from those opposite.

Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What many people may not appreciate is that our central bank, the RBA, not only keeps a close watch on housing affordability but also maintains a watching brief on the diverse range of factors affecting it—factors such as infrastructure planning and the way that it affects movement of people in our cities. In the space of last year, senior RBA officials Philip Lowe and Luci Ellis have given speeches with considerable insight into RBA analysis in this area. Starting with the speech by Luci Ellis, we see a focus on the proximity of where people work to where they live, viewed across state capitals. Sitting within that speech is the observation that, 'Survey data suggest that average commute times have risen since 2006 in at least some cities'—no surprise. The RBA warned the Howard government that infrastructure blockages would generate capacity constraints within the economy. They did little about this, and we have been playing catch-up ever since.

However, the fact that commute times have risen comes as no surprise to me or my fellow Western Sydney residents. The statement confirms reality. The imperative of improving people movement across Western Sydney is obvious, and the benefits are easy to see. The economic priority is exceptionally pressing, especially when it addresses a key challenge confronting the nation—lifting productivity.

That brings me to Deputy Governor Lowe's 2013 speech, Productivity and Infrastructure, where he observed:

… there are significant opportunities for additional investment in transportation infrastructure and for using the existing infrastructure more efficiently. Doing so would promote productivity growth in Australia and contribute to advancement of the overall welfare of our citizens.

Besides making the point that under-investment in transport infrastructure affects housing affordability, Deputy Governor Lowe remarked:

… I can't help but think that surely there are investments in transport infrastructure that would yield a social rate of return greater than the cost of financing.

As a member of a federal Labor government, I was proud to see us not only lift infrastructure spending to record levels but also improve decision-making processes and project governance. We balanced our spend across projects that would help private transport opportunity with projects boosting public transport capacity. Yet, in a few months, we have seen this new government go backwards on these infrastructure priorities—badly.

Since this government has come into office, billions of dollars have whooshed out with little regard to planning or long-term thinking. In Western Sydney, for instance, the Abbott government committed nearly $2 billion to supporting the WestConnex project, a project rightly drawing criticism for not living up to its intended objectives of taking motorists straight into Sydney's CBD and ensuring that the M5 actually delivers freight through to the port. Federal Labor committed to WestConnex on the basis that the New South Wales government addressed these flaws, and the Abbott government hid those flaws under a pile of taxpayer cash.

The Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese, rightly observed:

… when governments spend billions of scarce public dollars on new roads or rail lines they ought to be certain upfront that they get it right and that the investment delivers on the desired outcome.

If you arm yourself with a calculator, a clutch of government press releases and Google maps you will paint a mess of projects sprawling across the country. A trail of zeroes will cram your calculator screen, but amongst all that you will not find much cost-benefit analysis. To make matters worse they are watering down infrastructure governance, limiting the Infrastructure Australia board's capacity to independently determine priority order of projects.

Nothing better demonstrates the cavalier attitude of the government to infrastructure planning than Badgerys Creek airport. You will not hear those last three words roll off the Abbott government ministers' tongues because they refer to it as 'Sydney's second airport' or 'Western Sydney's first airport'. They are worried about this airport, and rightly so. That is why they do not call it 'Badgerys Creek airport'—the airport that dare not speak its name!

It is why Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss calls MP briefings on it but does not show up to lead the briefings. A couple of weeks ago when the PM was brave enough to talk publicly about Badgerys, he made a telling slip when he finally managed to mention it. He was addressing the The Daily Telegraph's Champions of the West awards night, and of course talking about Badgerys Creek in front of The Daily Telegraph is about as hard as driving an ice-cream van through a sweaty neighbourhood—they have been feverishly campaigning for it. During his speech, the PM slipped when he said, 'There should not be burden without benefit'—I repeat: 'burden without benefit', which says it all.

At the Badgerys Creek compound they chant about two benefits. The first is roads—three of them built around the airport—and the other is jobs. But they fail to mention detail. The roads have been described by the assistant minister for tar, the member for Mayo, as Western Sydney's 'economic plan'—three roads and an airport and, presto, an economic plan! The lack of detail on one of the biggest road projects, boasted by the government, does not even have a completion date; in fact, it says it is just going to be completed before the airport is built. All spin and no substance, and for an airport that we are told is supposed to create 60,000 jobs and will only create five. When it comes to infrastructure, it is clear that this government does not have a clue and does not have a sense of what it is going to be spending its money on. (Time expired)

Debate interrupted.