Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The federal Labor government left office with $500 million locked into the budget for rail in Perth—and what was the first thing the Abbott-Turnbull government did when it came in? It ripped that money out, leaving WA high and dry. Since then, we have seen no money committed by this government for rail in Western Australia. The only reason we ended up with any money for public transport was a GST compensation package, which the Barnett government used for an unfunded and chronically delayed airport link.

So I listened to the Prime Minister's infrastructure statement last week with some cynicism, but Mr Turnbull did tell us that he wants to work with state governments to create an urban rail plan for capital cities. Well, have I got good news for Mr Turnbull: in Perth, Mark McGowan and WA Labor have a plan ready to go. Metronet is a comprehensive plan to connect Perth's suburbs and fix our congestion crisis. In my electorate, that means building the circle line to connect the Thornlie and Mandurah lines, finally giving residents of Canning Vale the rail that they so badly need. This means fewer cars on heavily congested roads like Ranford Road, making our streets safer, particularly for the students of Carey Baptist College who join us in the gallery today.

Here is my challenge to you, Mr Turnbull. Your party has ignored WA's congestion crisis for three years. Whether it is Colin Barnett, Tony Abbott or you, you have left WA without rail funding for far too long. We have got the plan; now it is time for the federal government to come to the party. So stop ripping off Western Australians and start investing in Metronet.