Mark Coulton (Parkes, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. Will the Deputy Prime Minister update the House on how the government is building the infrastructure of the 21st century and how will this vital work support jobs and opportunity across Australia?

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for the question. As we approach the winter break, it is appropriate to report to the parliament on the progress that we have made in infrastructure over the last six months, and it has certainly been a great six months for Australia's infrastructure industries. As the member for Parkes knows, vital infrastructure is important for ensuring that communities are able to access their nearest town and access services that they need and so that people can get to the markets.

This government has a historic $50 billion infrastructure package. Over the last few months, that package has actually grown because of the addition of the northern Australia package and the extra Roads to Recovery money this week which actually brings that package to about $57 billion. By way of comparison, that is $23 billion more than the other side offered at the last election. So there have been advances in the commitment and we are getting on with the vital job.

By way of examples for the member Parkes, the Roads to Recovery decision this week will mean councils in his electorate will get $156 million under the program, and that is $54 million more than they otherwise would have got. These are real commitments to the community that make a real difference. In more good news from the coalition government, we have decided to freeze the heavy vehicle road user charge for another year. This charge will stay at 26.14c per litre for the 2015-16 year. This recognises the fact that the charge has been overcollecting from the industry now for some years, and this will give them some relief in relation to the costs that they have to bear.

This program that we have in place is creating thousands of jobs across the nation. West Connex will create 10,000 jobs when fully operational. The Toowoomba second range crossing is a project that Labor have been lukewarm about. That will employ 1,800 people when it gets going; we hope in a couple of months. The Perth freight link is creating 2,400 jobs; North Connex, 8,700 jobs. Of course, there are 8,000 jobs being created in Western Sydney, in and around the Badgerys Creek airport; another 200 workers on the Midland Highway. Of course, the number being employed is 7,000 fewer than it should have been because Labor cancelled the East West project. And there is a Queensland government budget coming up, so who knows how many jobs will be lost in this sector. We are getting on with the job—creating the jobs, building the infrastructure.