George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Will the minister update the House with the long-awaited news that initial works on the Mackay Ring Road stage 1—the biggest infrastructure project that Mackay, in my electorate of Dawson, has ever seen—is about to begin?

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Dawson for his question and I recognise his passionate advocacy for his community. I also congratulate him on his great win in the election. He is a real champion and a real giant of the Liberal-National Party in central Queensland. Can I also say that the Turnbull-Joyce government is getting on with the job of delivering the infrastructure that Australia needs. This is a Prime Minister, this is a cabinet and, in fact, this is a backbench that understands that when you invest in good infrastructure, you can change people's lives and you can save people's lives. We talk about changing people's lives by reducing congestion and getting them home to their families sooner and improving productivity but you are also saving people's lives by engineering treatments on roads, which reduces road trauma.

This is a government that has a record $50 billion infrastructure investment program and $6.7 billion of that is going to the Bruce Highway; $558 million that is going to Queensland this year. We are fixing the Bruce Highway, because we love the Bruce Highway on our side of the House. Right along the Bruce Highway, we have the member for Dickson and the members for Fairfax, Fisher, Wide Bay, Hinkler, Flynn, Capricornia, Dawson, and Leichhardt. They are all champions for the Bruce Highway because they understand that if we invest in the highway, then we change people's lives and we save people's lives.

Mr Albanese interjecting—

The member for Grayndler is interjecting. He has been a forlorn figure of late. I like the member for Grayndler and I feel his pain. He yearns for those glory days the Albo era, those glorious 83 days as Deputy Prime Minister! The sun shone brighter, the honey tasted sweeter and the Rabbitohs won every week. If you listen to the member for Grayndler, he built everything in those 83 days; but we know that he is delusional. We know that he is not the father of modern Australia, because we are getting on with the job of delivering this $50 billion investment program.

The member for Dawson referred to the Mackay Ring Road. It has now been finalised and the initial works will be commencing shortly. The federal government is providing 80 per cent of the funding for that project—$448 million—with the total cost of the project being $565 million. The member for Dawson has been advocating for this project for many years and I congratulate him on the success he has had. This is a major infrastructure project which will deliver for the Mackay region for many years to come. There will be jobs during the construction period but also improvements in terms of freight, productivity and safety for local residents.

I congratulate the member for Dawson again on his advocacy, and I look forward to working with members on both sides of House as we deliver hundreds of projects across the next three years across the length and breadth of Australia. This is a government which is building our nation's future. We are investing in our nation's future because we have a strong economic plan. I urge those opposite, rather than carping and harping on needlessly, to work with the government as we invest in our nation's future, as we build an nation's future, as we build our strong economic plan and as we deliver over the next three years. I urge those opposite to support us and to get on board with the government. It is great plan for the future of Australia.