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

My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. Does the Prime Minister stand by his statement in 2008: 'What we haven't done'—'we' being federal governments—'is spend a lot of money, or any money, on urban transport, because that was clearly a state responsibility. Now, there are very powerful arguments for having at least some areas which are unequivocally the responsibility of the state government, so at least you know where the buck stops.' Is that why governments of which you have been a part have not funded public transport?

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on my right! The minister for immigration will cease interjecting.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The hour is so late in question time that the questions from the opposition are moving in a very satisfying direction. The honourable member knows as well as I do that the needs for investment in urban infrastructure span the whole gamut of modes of transport. He knows as well as I do that the approach that I have taken—my own views, expounded in numerous speeches over many years—is that the federal government should support transport infrastructure in cities on the basis of its merit. So you do not favour road over rail or rail over road; you look at the merits, because the reality is that a modern city needs both. It needs good mass transit; it needs good roads; it needs good planning.

In terms of the support we give, as you can see already with the contribution to the Gold Coast light rail, we are supporting mass transport—public rail transport—and we will continue to do so, but it has to stack up on its merits and it will have to compete with other projects. We do not have unlimited funds. This is simply a businesslike, pragmatic approach that recognises, as honourable members have seen from the composition of the ministry and from the appointment of a Minister for Cities and the Built Environment, that ensuring that our cities have support from the federal government is vitally important for the whole of our economy.

The fact is that the prosperity and livability of our cities is a vital economic asset. Many people think—or some people may think—that the environment of our cities is a touchy-feely thing. Well, let me say to honourable members: a livable city is a vital piece of economic infrastructure—having a clean environment in our cities, being able to move around our cities easily. The denial of public transport options in our cities discriminates against the old, the poor and the young. It is a critical matter of equity to ensure that we have good urban planning across cities.

The federal government does not manage cities. We can support good outcomes, encourage good outcomes and encourage good projects, and we will, and we will not discriminate between road and rail. They will all be assessed on their merits, and we have already demonstrated that that is precisely what we are doing. So I am sorry if the honourable member is a bit disappointed by this, but he really should be delighted rather than being so clearly indignant.

Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Territories, Local Government and Major Projects. Will the minister outline how the government is investing in public transport in Queensland to ensure efficient transport for the Commonwealth Games?

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Territories, Local Government and Major Projects) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much to the member for Forde, who has been a very strong advocate for the needs of his community when it comes to public transport—as indeed have been the member for Moncrieff, the member for Fadden and the member for McPherson. It was wonderful to see all of those members—along with, of course, the member for Wentworth—riding the Gold Coast light rail yesterday morning, along with the Premier of Queensland and the Mayor of the Gold Coast. There was quite a collection of politicians on the Gold Coast light rail yesterday, and that was appropriately marking the fact that the fact that the Turnbull government has made a commitment to invest up to $95 million to ensure that the Gold Coast light rail stage 2 will be delivered in time for the Commonwealth Games. It is very important to see that all three levels of government are coming together in relation to this vital infrastructure project. It is tremendously important for the Commonwealth Games and therefore, of course, to this project of national significance.

But beyond its importance to the Commonwealth Games is the importance that this piece of infrastructure will play in the connection to the existing heavy rail network with the 7.3-kilometre link from the Gold Coast University Hospital through to the existing heavy rail network at Helensvale. This is a capped grant from the Commonwealth and subject to an assessment of the final business case by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development.

This important piece of national infrastructure is vital to the Commonwealth Games transport task. It will connect five competition venues and nine events to accommodation and public transport interchanges. It will also be an important boost for the local economy, supporting more than 1,000 jobs during construction. As the Prime Minister said yesterday in his remarks at this announcement, we do need to look creatively at how we capture the value that arises from the increase in property values and whether this can be a means of providing additional funding for infrastructure. And, of course, it is noteworthy here that the Gold Coast regional council successfully introduce a betterment levy to assist in funding stage one of the Gold Coast light rail project.

The coalition government's $50 billion infrastructure investment commitment is being invested in the right infrastructure, not just any infrastructure, and this will leverage some $125 billion in investment in total. So the Turnbull government is investing in this public transport project, which is of national significance, and we are very pleased to do so, working cooperatively with the state government and the local government.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On that note, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.