Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. Why do the budget papers show that, of the $100 million allocated last financial year to the Northern Australia Roads Program, only $12 million was actually invested—an 88 per cent underspend in this area of great need?

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question and note that the infrastructure that is being built in the Northern Territory surrounds our issues in Defence and the defence of our nation. I also note the money that we put on the table, in excess of $100 million, for the Outback Way, which substantially goes through the Northern Territory. And we look forward to working with the Territory Labor government to make sure that we actually get that built. It's a vision of this government that we actually put that money on the table—$100 million as an election promise and also in excess of $20 million for the northern roads project. This is the sort of infrastructure that has a vision for our nation—sealing the third road from east to west across our nation. It is so long in the past. We just had one through Camooweal and one across the Nullarbor, but it is this government that is now sealing the third road. With equity and with grant money, we are investing more in infrastructure than any government prior to us.