Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Urban Infrastructure. Will the minister please update the House on the progress of the Moreton Bay Rail Link and how the Turnbull government is delivering on this vital billion dollar infrastructure?

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Urban Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to have this opportunity to answer the question from the member for Petrie. He has been a longstanding champion of the Moreton Bay Rail Link and he has been a longstanding advocate for this remarkable project, which is going to transform the lives of his constituents. I was very pleased to have the opportunity to visit Mango Hill station with the member for Petrie in November 2015. We looked at the progress on this very important piece of infrastructure. We met the members of the Mango Hill Progress Association and they are very pleased because this is progress. It is officially opening on 3 October this year. This 12.6 kilometre line will link Petrie and Kippa-Ring with six new stations along the line. This is a very significant breakthrough for the member for Petrie's constituents. He has really been a traffic advocate for this project and he has been particularly strong in delivering the financial commitment that has been so key to getting this done.

It is quite instructive to look at the numbers because the member for Grayndler is determined to claim credit for this, along with his unlimited capacity to claim credit for every piece of infrastructure ever built. The numbers are extremely instructive. There is $595 million of Commonwealth funding and only $65 million dollars was paid by the previous government before they left office. Around 90 per cent of the funding was provided by a coalition government for the Moreton Bay Rail Link. The advocacy and the leadership of the member for Petrie has been absolutely critical to delivering that outcome.

The member for Grayndler is indignantly claiming that it was all him. He simply does not understand the difference between making a start and getting the job done. It is like he got to base camp and he is claiming that he made it to the summit. He did not. It is the coalition that has got this job done. It is the coalition which has delivered this funding. The Moreton Bay Rail Link is going to make a very significant change. The member for Petrie has played a very important role in this vital piece of infrastructure and that will be appropriately acknowledged at the opening on 3 October this year.