Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister: This government has spent $1.7 billion less on road and rail projects than it announced in last year's budget, making it six budgets in a row that this government has spent less than it announced on infrastructure. How can Australians trust this Prime Minister to deliver anything he announces in tonight's budget, when he has never honoured his infrastructure announcements?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In response to the pandemic, the government has announced $11.3 billion for infrastructure ventures, focused on shovel-ready projects. That consists of $1 billion to immediately bring forward work on small priority projects, $500 million for targeted road safety works, $500 million to support local councils, $1.75 billion in additional funding for Sydney Metro, Western Sydney Airport and $7.5 billion in new funding for 114 projects. Since coming to government, 399 projects have been completed. This includes 50 that were completed just in the last financial year and there are 153 projects under construction across Australia. This includes 60 that commenced construction in 2019-20. There are a further 481 projects that are in planning. That includes the Bruce Highway—Cooroy to Curra, section D; stage 2 of Mungle Back Creek to Boggabilla on the Newell Highway and the Albany Ring Road. Examples of projects recently completed include WestConnex stage 2—which was opposed by the Leader of the Opposition—which was opened to traffic in July; stage 1 of the Mackay Ring Road and the Darlington upgrade and Northern Connector projects in Adelaide. We will continue to work with state and territory governments because every dollar we spend on infrastructure is spent with state and territory governments who run these projects. I'll ask the Deputy Prime Minster to add to my answer.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The crisis has reminded us once again why infrastructure is so important to our economy and to the functioning of our society. Throughout it all our ports have kept operating, our transport and logistics infrastructure has kept moving, our buses and trains have kept running, our construction workers have kept building, our airlines and airports have done everything they can to keep planes in the sky, and Australians have moved about by foot and bicycle in record numbers. Who said this:

It is increasingly clear that just as infrastructure has kept us going throughout this crisis it will play a critical role in seeing us out of it. Not just in terms of the economic stimulus it brings, but much more.

Who said that? The member for Ballarat. That's right. She knows. She comes into this place and asks that question, and yet, despite that, on 17 September in her address to the Infrastructure Partnerships Australia conference she said that. She knows full well that infrastructure is leading the way. She knows full well, as the Prime Minister has just outlined, the projects that we're building, the projects that we're constructing and the projects that are under way, whether it is carparks, roads, rail or airports. Western Sydney Airport—how good is it? That's 11,000 jobs, and 28,000 jobs in the life of it. Ask me a question about it. I would love to answer. You don't have too many questions. Thankfully you've got one today. You asked it of the Prime Minister. Ask me one directly. I'd love to answer more from you, because it's just like a dorothy dixer. It's fantastic. I love getting questions about infrastructure, because we have got so much delivery. (Time expired)