Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the Government's $9.6 billion of funding in the 2022-23 October budget for the infrastructure that Australia needs, including but not limited to:

(a) upgrading the Bruce Highway in Queensland;

(b) building electric bus charging infrastructure for Perth's electric bus network;

(c) investing in Tasmania's Bass and Tasman highways;

(d) investing in South Australia's Dukes and Augusta highways;

(e) partnering with the Victorian Government to deliver Melbourne's Suburban Rail Loop;

(f) improving Canberra's cycle routes;

(g) sealing the Northern Territory's Tanami Road and upgrading the Central Arnhem Road; and

(h) investing in Western Sydney's Road Package; and

(2) notes this funding will make journeys quicker and ensure Australians return home to their families safely.

It was great to be able to sit in the main chamber and watch my mate and neighbour, the Treasurer Jim Chalmers, hand down the Albanese government's first budget last month. It was a true Labor budget, a responsible budget considering the current instability of the world markets and other factors that impact outside of the government's control. However, this motion acknowledges the $9.6 billion of funding contained within the Albanese government's first budget that will go towards the infrastructure that Australia needs. I choose these words carefully as, for almost the last decade, money has not always gone where it was most needed to improve the country for Australians. Instead, it has often going to where it is most electorally favourable for the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison governments. Again, I say: this funding will be invested in the infrastructure that Australia needs. Importantly, this infrastructure pipeline will deliver boosts to every corner of Australia.

Coming from north of the Tweed, I will start with infrastructure spending in Queensland. Whether it is investing in improving the Bruce Highway between Gladstone and Rockhampton—that is, Yeppin, not Yeppoon—as well as in Brisbane's outer north or working with the Queensland government by locking in funding to get on with stage 1 of the Coomera connector—or better known locally as the second M1.

On the other side of the country, in Western Australia we are helping to build electric bus charging infrastructure for Perth's electric bus network to provide green public transport. Tasmanians do not miss out. They will get safer, faster travel through upgrades to the Bass and Tasman highways. In New South Wales, there is $300 of new money for the Western Sydney roads package. And we are investing right here in the ACT to improve Canberra's cycling routes, which will take more cars off the road and make it safer for people and families to get around for work and for fun. We are investing in South Australia's Dukes and Augusta highways, as well as sealing the Northern Territory's Tanami Road and upgrading the Central Arnhem Road—great for those communities.

I cannot not forget Victoria, where we are partnering with the state government to deliver the important Melbourne Suburban Rail Loop. The rail loop will deliver a 90-kilometre rail line that will link every major train service from the Frankston line to the Werribee line via Melbourne Airport. Much like the Cross River Rail project in Brisbane, this is a vital heavy rail network infrastructure project that was ideologically opposed by the Liberal-Nationals. You have to wonder whether the coalition just does not like helping to build much-needed heavy rail infrastructure of the future, or perhaps it may have more to do that they do not want to go back into major projects put forward by Labor state governments, which goes back to my earlier point: the Albanese government is about delivering infrastructure that Australia needs, not about pork barrelling, not about doing unfunded projects such as building car parks for train lines that are not needed.

However, the former Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison governments were interested in spending lots of money, borrowing money in fact, taking us into deeper and deeper debt, but only to win or help when marginal seats. Maybe this is why Labor governments are the ones that build nation-defining infrastructure projects, not the Liberal and National parties. This budget investment will help Australians get around quicker and safer whether it is for work, for family or for pleasure and that will be good for our productivity. The Albanese government has stripped the waste and rorts and is getting on with delivering an infrastructure pipeline that states, communities and contractors can rely on.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I appreciate the opportunity this motion provides to speak on infrastructure funding in the budget, although there are not a lot of new announcements for South Australia. Unlike the member for Moreton, the previous speaker, I'll give a full five minutes on what wasn't in the budget—the lost opportunities—when it comes to my home city of Adelaide in particular. Every year a budget is handed down it provides an opportunity for the government, not just in recurrent terms but also in long-term investment terms, to talk about the priorities the government has for this nation and the parts of the country it really cares about and takes an opportunity to invest in.

Unfortunately from Adelaide's point of view, we didn't have any new announcements in investment. One of the really frightening things that are unravelling in South Australia right now is de-investment in infrastructure of the major north-south road corridor in Adelaide. Under previous Liberal governments that project was going to be completed and there was going to finally be a continuous proper carriageway running from well south of metropolitan Adelaide through the city and north beyond Gawler.

Until recently there had been consensus on both sides of politics to invest in the north-south corridor. The final stages of that, which were worked through, developed and brought to the Commonwealth government by the Marshall government, were duly invested in by the Morrison government. Unfortunately, we now have two Labor governments that are looking for every excuse they can find to delay and push that project into the never-never of the future.

There is a good budget outcome for the state Labor government when it comes to pretending that there are all these challenges in finishing the job there. It makes their numbers look better than the reality. There is an outcome for the Commonwealth in that in the sense that equally their payments are pushed further into the future. It means that the South Australian economy misses out. Investment that could be happening sooner is not happening under this government and under the state Labor government. That is going to have an enormous impact if the economic cycle moves—and it is, regrettably, on that trajectory.

We will need those infrastructure construction jobs coming online in the next couple of years. They won't be in South Australia. As other projects are finishing up there is the very significant risk—and it's turning into a likelihood—of a valley of death when it comes to infrastructure job opportunities in the South Australian economy. Regrettably, it is likely that's going to happen at a time when the economic cycle needs that investment quite desperately.

The government talked in this budget about some of the challenges on delivering on infrastructure right now because there are so many projects, labour shortages et cetera. The north-south corridor project was always due to start in a few years time, but it is now going to blow out way beyond that. The state government have made that admission, but they are yet to fully reveal by how much that timing is going to push out. We need those jobs coming online for the workers who are working on other infrastructure projects that will be coming to an end in the next couple of years. The next set of infrastructure projects, particularly that mammoth infrastructure project, would have provided certainty for the infrastructure workforce in South Australia. Those projects will not be there to pick up the slack.

This will have really serious economic consequences when those jobs won't be there in a couple of years time. South Australia will equally suffer enormous economic costs because of that infrastructure not coming online when it was meant to. It will miss out on the productivity gains for the economy and for commuters because of that not being completed on the time line that was in place under the previous government.

It is tricky and sneaky accounting. It does falsely make budgets look better, particularly the state government's budget. It is equally going to have an enormous economic toll. I'm very concerned about the next couple of years as infrastructure workers start to come off of current projects. The decisions that could have been made in this budget to bring projects on have not been made. That impact will be on Labor at the state and federal levels. They will be held to account for that because it is up to governments to invest in productive infrastructure in the future. This budget has done the opposite. It's going to take an enormous economic toll on the South Australian economy.

Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Moreton for moving this motion, and I join with him in acknowledging the $9.6 billion of funding that the Albanese Labor government has committed in the budget to deliver the infrastructure that Australia needs. Infrastructure under Labor is about improving productivity and improving safety; it's not about electoral margins. We will deliver infrastructure that puts community interest first, not political self-interest. Our budget takes an important first step in ensuring that the Commonwealth's infrastructure spending is responsible, affordable and sustainable. The total investment in transport infrastructure in every state and territory in this budget is $55 billion over the forward estimates for new and existing projects.

Investment in my home state of Tasmania—our home state, Deputy Speaker Wilkie—much of it in Lyons, which takes up half our state's landmass, includes $540 million to improve roads and highways, including the Bass Highway, the Tasman Highway and the east and west Tamar highways; $629 million for the new Bridgewater Bridge, which I know you'd be doubly excited about, Deputy Speaker, which is finally underway after a decade of dithering; $150 million to upgrade the Hobart to Sorell transport corridor; and up to $35 million for the TRANSlink transport hub near Launceston Airport.

The Roads of Strategic Importance initiative is ensuring our key freight roads efficiently connect areas of regional and remote economic activity to ports, airports and other transport hubs. Under ROSI we are delivering projects like targeted upgrades on the Bass Highway between Deloraine and Devonport and the Northern Roads Package, which includes upgrades to Birralee Road between Westbury and Frankford. We also have the Road Safety Program, which has been extended out a year so it can reflect the road safety action plan, which is currently being negotiated. This program is part of the government's commitment to reducing deaths and serious injuries on our roads, and it is delivering important safety upgrades to Tasmanian roads, including Colebrook Road, Tea Tree Road, Upper Scamander Road and Lake Leake Road. As announced in the budget, the Priority Community Infrastructure Program will provide $1.4 billion for local community sport and transport projects across Australia.

There have been several events recently in Tasmania that have highlighted the importance of good roads and investment in transport infrastructure. Last year, for example, Tasman Highway was closed for six weeks at Paradise Gorge. It's a picturesque but narrow section next to the Prosser River and just west of Orford. A large rock had loomed over the highway for decades, and, after it showed recent sign of movement, the decision was made to remove and remediate. This meant that people traveling from Hobart to the east coast had to detour south-east through Wielangta Road, a long and winding gravel road, or they had to go north via Lake Leake, which is miles out of the way. It was all a massive disruption for residents and businesses, but, as is always the case in Tasmania, the community came together and made it work as well as could be expected. A quick aside: I look forward to an announcement any day now from the Liberal state government about the sealing of Wielangta Road, something I've been calling for for years, because it's a terrific alternative coastal route. Back in June last year, the Tasmanian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport said it was his intention to progress with sealing, but I haven't heard much from him since.

More recently, as in many parts of the country, floods and storms across my electorate have damaged roads, forcing closures and causing delays. Both roads in and out of St Marys in Tasmania's north-east were flooded, causing difficulties for residents and emergency services. St Marys Pass, a winding section of Esk Highway between the town of St Marys and the east coast, remains closed due to rockfall and landslip, with no ETA for reopening. The alternative route, Elephant Pass, has limited access. I'm informed that school bus drivers are reluctant to use it and that alternative arrangements are being made to accommodate students who would normally travel between St Marys and the coast. With travel between St Marys and St Helens on the coast so important for tourism, shopping and commerce, there's a growing call for an alternative route to be created, and I look forward to working with the St Marys community and other stakeholders on how best to progress their concerns.

What we know for sure is that access is too important to leave to the caprice of the weather gods. As Minister Catherine King has previously said:

Good roads are the lifeblood of communities across Tasmania—and improving safety and travel time is really important for local families and the economy.

I thank the minister for her commitment to improving Tasmania's infrastructure and look forward to working with her over this term to deliver on Labor's commitments to my state and my electorate. We will deliver our commitments, unlike the other side, which dithered for over a decade.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Lyons should have read it like he meant it. Their hearts are not in this motion. I'll tell you why their hearts are not in this motion: because they know, and the member for Lyons certainly knows, that Tasmanian infrastructure will now go lacking because of the Labor federal government.

I worked well with the Tasmanian Liberal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Michael Ferguson, to actually build things, to get on and do things, whether they were arterial roads, whether they were the Scottsdale dam in north-east Tasmania, which was started and finished in my time as Deputy Prime Minister because you can get on and build water infrastructure. Those opposite don't understand that concept. They don't get it. They don't want to do it.

The person who actually put this motion forward, the member for Moreton, the Brisbane based MP from Labor, tweeted on 1 November 2021:

My grandfather was a grader driver during the Great Depression. If a road hasn't had a grader on it since the Thirties why on earth would a responsible federal government make it a priority now while the population in the bush is decreasing?

That was from the person who put this motion forward. It says a lot about the fact that he doesn't have his heart in this motion. He had a full minute and five seconds to go in his five-minute contribution and still couldn't put the time into talking about what he supposedly believes in when it comes to infrastructure. Let me remind him of some of the comments that came in following that tweet.

As a rural bloke, this is the most short sighted and selfish stance I've heard. Essentially this doesn't affect me and I've seen some ppl relocate to the city, so let's keep the access roads, used by many, in a 3rd world condition."

Hit the bricks Graham

That was from mattwilson_77. There are others. Gray Connolly replied:

Is this honestly the ALP position? That if you live outside an urban area, you should just accept roads that are third world?

Let me tell you: not only are the roads atrocious due to recent weather events in regional Australia; they are dangerous. What does it take? Does it take a small vehicle, or indeed a heavy truck, to hit a pothole, veer off and kill somebody before somebody does something about an emergency fund for our rural roads?

As the member for Wide Bay reminded me only this morning, you're twice as likely to die on a regional road than you are on a metropolitan road, and yet the member for Moreton talks about more cycle paths in Canberra. Go figure. More cycle paths in Canberra! If you ever saw a pothole in Canberra, you would think the members representing the Canberra electorates would throw their hands up and think, 'This is the worst thing of all.' Cars in rural Australia at the moment are veering sideways—every which way—to avoid the very dangerous potholes that have been caused by recent weather events. As the minister for infrastructure, I put record funding into local roads and community infrastructure under Roads to Recovery, and it's incumbent upon this government to do something about the dreadful state of rural roads at the moment.

In his tweet the member for Moreton talked about the population in the bush decreasing. It's just not true. In fact, regional Australia grew by 832,000 people, increasing by 11 per cent, according to the stats available from Australian Bureau of Statistics data since the 2017 ERP. Regional cities were the growth area during COVID. You know that, Deputy Speaker Wilkie, and so do so many others. Apparently that's been lost on the member for Moreton.

Our regional electorates deserve funding. It's not about pork-barrelling. It's about them getting their fair share. It's about them getting the key infrastructure that they need, whether that's dams—I note that so much of the money has been pulled out of the dam water infrastructure that we had in there, and it's been put into such things as cycle paths in Canberra. This is a disgrace. Yes, sure, we need our public servants to have good facilities, amenities and infrastructure like everybody else, but not at the expense of regional, rural and remote people, who carried this nation during COVID-19.

Agriculture and resources carried this nation. When everybody else was pulling the doonas up over their heads and worrying about the pandemic, regional Australians were rolling up their sleeves and getting on with the job of carrying this nation, of shouldering the burden of responsibility to keep this nation's economy going. So for the member for Moreton to come in here and talk up infrastructure, when Labor is actually pulling back infrastructure and taking it away from the regional areas that protected and saved this nation during the pandemic, is, quite frankly, a disgrace. He should be ashamed of himself and so should Labor for ruining the bush during the budget.

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

I want to thank the member for Moreton for this motion. He knows that the growth of this country is in the regions, which is why he put this motion forward. The fact is that he is a great supporter of the regions. And we're fortunate in federal Labor that we've got a prime minister who not only understands the regions but understands infrastructure. That's why we saw such investments as we did, including in my electorate and in the Northern Territory, in this budget. The Prime Minister knows, as does the member for Moreton, that there has been a shift to our regions from capital cities during COVID. Lots of Australians are realising that outside of Sydney and Melbourne, and perhaps Brisbane, there's a great life to be had—it's a balance of work and lifestyle. There are many benefits to living in the regions. More than that, if we're going to have sustainable economic growth into the future, that cannot happen without enabling infrastructure for our regions.

There is a massive and untapped potential in our country, including in my electorate and the member for Lingiari's electorate in the Northern Territory. That's why in this recent budget there was a massive $2.5 billion—that's 'billion' a 'b'—investment into this enabling infrastructure in the Northern Territory, $1.5 billion of which is going to the Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct, which I will reflect on a bit.

This development at Middle Arm is a centrepiece for the Northern Territory moving towards a more sustainable economy into the future—in fact, moving towards a $40 billion economy, but sustainable. The Northern Territory has abundant natural solar resources—we've got plenty of sun—but also critical minerals. We'll need those minerals to build the batteries and the solar panels as we work as a nation, as part of a concerted global commitment, towards a clean-energy economy. At Middle Arm, we're going to build a renewable energy hub. Honourable members would have heard about Sun Cable. It's going to be the largest solar project in the world and will be part of the Middle Arm development. Green hydrogen and ammonia, which, of course, are the foundations for cleaner fuel and a sustainable future feeding the planet, will also be manufactured there. We're also going to have a data storage centre at the Middle Arm precinct, powered by solar power, which will serve global markets. It's not, as some have misleadingly claimed, a petrochemicals hub. As the Chief Minister, Natasha Fyles, said, as recently as the weekend, 'It is not a petrochemical plant.' For Territorians who might just be starting to hear about this project, it's identifying that we need that balance between our harbour and our environment, but we also need to have industry. Rather than having eight or 10 projects that in isolation might seem okay, but then you get to the end of it and go, 'Hang on, they're scattered throughout our harbour,' as a single, collective project this is co-located. We're doing a whole assessment of that Middle Arm project, but each project will go through the appropriate checks and balances individually as well. It's about shared resources and enabling infrastructure, which is what this Commonwealth government investment is all about. The Chief Minister went on to say that the Territory's rigorous environmental rules would also ensure the environment was covered as the project went ahead. She said:

It's really important for Territorians to understand we've got some of the most vigorous environmental protections and community impact legislation that we've worked through and this will go through every assessment

That's the NT Chief Minister. She is, as I am, deeply committed to the environmental health of our Darwin Harbour; we're absolutely committed to that. (Time expired)

Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm privileged to serve in the role of assistant shadow minister for infrastructure and transport. When I assumed that position, I took the opportunity to recodify, if you like, the coalition's commitment to the $120 billion worth of infrastructure projects in the nation's infrastructure pipeline. That's the legacy of the coalition government having worked very hard to establish that pipeline. Why did we do that? We did that because, of course, infrastructure is the driving force behind our nation's economy. It's about making our freight task safer and more efficient. It's about growing the productivity of the nation.

On budget night I was concerned to see what had happened to the $120 billion pipeline. We need to be really clear: those opposite are running a very cute me-too campaign on infrastructure. It's like, 'Yes, us too,' so much so that they're even claiming to have maintained the $120 billion in the infrastructure pipeline. But, when you dig a little deeper, you start to be introduced to phrases like 'reprofiling expenditure'. So effectively what's happened is two things.

Flat out, $2.8 billion worth of projects have been cancelled. That's clear. If you want to know more about that, there are people walking around parliament at the moment running a campaign to build the Rockhampton Ring Road. That was a project of incredible importance to the people of Queensland and of particular importance to the people of Rockhampton. That was out to tender, and it's been cancelled. So you can't really run the me-too argument. At least have a go at explaining it to those people that have travelled over three days, 20 hours of driving, over 2,000 kilometres to come here to simply make one statement: keep your promise. Of course, that statement relates to the then Leader of the Opposition, Anthony Albanese, making the statement that he would continue with the building of the ring road.

But I'm more interested in the too-cute-by-half approach when it comes to infrastructure otherwise—that is, $6.5 billion in unspecified road and rail projects have been delayed by a government that said it would be more transparent and more open with the Australian people. That's not me saying that; that's their budget. That's straight out of the budget documents. Of course, if you're running a me-too argument when it's really not a me-too situation or reality, then you also start claiming credit for projects that were coalition commitments and embedded in a series of budgets leading up to it. My friend opposite just mentioned the Middle Arm project. That is a coalition project, and I'm grateful those opposite have seen merit in it. There are others: the Outback Way project, for example, and, in South Australia, a congestion-busting project in Marion.

I then looked for fresh money in the budget, because that's what you do. It's not about what's already in the budget, projected and programmed over four years, albeit what I said about reprofiling out of the forward estimates. Where's the new money? I've got to tell you: there's scant little of it, and, where it exists, it does not prioritise regional Australia, which disproportionately carries the burden of our nation's freight tasks. No-one's going to argue with me that the disproportionate amount of freight task occurs in regional Australia as we take our product, whether it's off farm or out of a mine, to its destination, often ports in metropolitan cities. What I was doing was looking for fresh money, and I found some, from a South Australia perspective. I thought, 'Brilliant.' There's $460 million of new money for infrastructure projects in the budget for South Australia. But then I checked the footnote. Do you know what the footnote said? It said 'over 10 years'. So those opposite are celebrating the fact that they're spending $460 million of new money in South Australia on road projects over 10 years, with $400 million of that on the Stuart, Augusta and Dukes highways. Technically, that money could be spent in 2032. Please! One hundred and twenty billion dollars of infrastructure in the pipeline? You're running a me-too argument and coming to this place with a self-congratulatory motion like this? You're kidding yourself.

Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am delighted to rise today to speak on this motion acknowledging the nation-building infrastructure that the Albanese government is delivering in its very first budget. In my electorate of Gilmore on the New South Wales South Coast, the state of our roads is incredibly important. Our train line ends at Bomaderry, so we rely on our roads more heavily than do places like Wollongong or Sydney. The South Coast is a major tourism drawcard, and the Princes Highway is the lifeblood that connects tourists to our magnificent towns and villages. It's also the connector that brings in feed for farmers' cattle and connects our produce with national and international markets. As well, it takes our kids to school and allows people to get to work.

In school holidays, it can take local people two, three or four times as long to get anywhere—and that's on a good day. If there's an accident—which, heartbreakingly, all too often there is—then traffic can be stuck at a standstill for hours. Many of our road blackspots and bottlenecks are notorious. Local people know where they are and know that they could be fixed with the right investment.

Our community has been fighting for the infrastructure we deserve for many years, and I have been a proud champion of that fight. I have joined with our community to call on the previous federal government to bring forward promised funding for the Princes Highway—particularly in the wake of the bushfires and the pandemic, when we needed the economic boost. We fought for a flyover for the Jervis Bay road intersection—an infamous pinch point, where the New South Wales government wanted to stick a roundabout. Another famous pinch point sees traffic coming to a standstill through the Milton and Ulladulla townships. We need a bypass desperately, but governments at a state and federal level have dragged their heels. I spent years calling for this funding to be brought forward. They resisted. But we won on every occasion, helping to deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in local road improvements, dragging Liberal state and federal governments kicking and screaming every step of the way.

These are just a few examples of the roads projects I have helped to secure from opposition and as part of the community. There are many more. It's been hard work, but, together, we are starting to see real improvement.

The Albanese government is delivering billions of dollars in nation-building infrastructure, and my electorate on the New South Wales South Coast is a top priority. As part of the budget, we have recommitted $752 million in Australian government funding for the Milton-Ulladulla bypass, because we know how important it is. I'm incredibly proud of that.

We've also delivered $40 million to help Shoalhaven City Council fix local potholed roads which are in a terrible state after months of relentless rain. It won't do everything, but it's a start.

For comparison, the New South Wales government has given local councils a share in $50 million to help fix the roads—something that was celebrated by our local state members. But, honestly, how far will that go? A few hundred thousand dollars per council won't make much of a dent.

The new Nowra Bridge will be a fantastic asset for the Shoalhaven community, but it won't solve all of our problems. What we need now is the Nowra bypass, and I have been joining with local people calling for this for many years. Liberal governments at state and federal levels haven't wanted to know about this project. We could be ready to start construction now, but they have ignored our calls for years.

During the election campaign, I was the first one to make a commitment to the Nowra bypass, and now I have delivered $32 million as part of the budget to get the pre-planning works finally started. I was really delighted that the New South Wales government committed $8 million towards this, during the campaign, but it turns out that this was another hollow statement, because, in their last budget before the state election, they didn't include one dollar for the Nowra bypass. The minister said the Albanese government needed to deliver on our promise first—a strange perspective, if you ask me. But today I say to the minister: we have delivered on our commitment; now it is time for you to deliver on yours. We need the Nowra bypass off the ground, and I will keep working every day to ensure this happens as quickly as possible.

Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It seems this government is very selective when it comes to strategic nation-building. We are at a critical time for our nation's economy. The smart thing to do would be to invest in the parts of Australia that produce the nation's wealth and make sure that they receive the required infrastructure. But apparently this Labor government is more concerned with rewarding those who voted for it and punishing those who didn't.

When the coalition was in government we invested billions in regional roads like the Mackay Ring Road and the Mackay north access upgrade, which was a huge reprieve for all road users in and around Mackay. We funded upgrades to the Haughton River Bridge and delivered record funding for all upgrades to local roads in regional council areas. Along the Bruce Highway we delivered funding for overtaking lanes, for shoulders and for widening the roads. We targeted black spots and increased the number of rest areas. The coalition did significant legwork, and the new Labor government is rolling all of that back.

Sadly, the inaction, the delays and the cuts for regional Australia are history repeating itself for Labor. We saw this first from the state government, and we are now seeing it from the federal government. Take the roadworks north and south of Bowen, for example, which are right smack in the middle of my electorate of Dawson. The coalition government funded these works to ensure safer and more-efficient roads, but the state Labor government has dropped the ball. Nothing is happening. You can't even call them roadworks, because no work is actually being done—it's stagnant. And now speed limits are reduced to a crawl. Worst of all, the state Labor government doesn't seem to care too much. I've written to the Minister for Transport and Main Roads, and I'm still waiting for a reply. What have I heard? Nothing, crickets.

The member for Moreton and the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government might want to herald their Bruce Highway funding as a coup for regional Australia. In reality, the funding is all for Brisbane and surrounds. What an insult to the 30 per cent of Australians who live in regional Australia. What an insult to the people in my electorate of Dawson. The Bruce Highway is our main connector from the city to the bush. It is the key road that allows supplies to be delivered to Dawson for our industries, our farms and our hospitals. It is a vital corridor for getting our produce to market and, more importantly, food and fibre to the shelves of Australian supermarkets and other shops. The Bruce Highway enables residents in Dawson to get to their medical appointments. When you're in the bush you don't have specialists just around the corner.

More importantly still, the safety of families and road users in regional Australia is at stake. We know that twice as many people die on the roads in the country as in the cities. The politicking of this new government is making my people more vulnerable. The neglect of our highway at the hands of state Labor exposes their disdain for the people who didn't vote for them. The previous coalition government gave them money to complete the works, but the project continues to fall down the list of priorities.

Regional Aussies deserve more from their government, which was elected to represent everyone, not just those who voted for them—in particular, those in the south-east corner. Not only are these actions reckless, they are just plain foolish. Our part of the world in central and north Queensland is one of the biggest heavyweights in producing our nation's wealth. Our agriculture, our coal—there was a lost opportunity for Labor in the last budget. They need to continue the good work of the coalition.

When regional Australia is strong the whole nation is strong, but this government is leaving regional Australia behind, and it is to the nation's peril. I urged the infrastructure to minister and this Labor government to right this wrong. Prioritise regional infrastructure. Look after regional and rural Australia because regional and rural Australia looks after you. Otherwise this whole nation, this great nation of ours, will suffer, and it is purely not acceptable. Labor needs to do the right thing here and look after those who look after Australia.

Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Moreton for moving this motion. I was really delighted to have the opportunity to second this. I'm really thrilled, as I know the member for Moreton is, to be part of an Albanese government with a minister for infrastructure who really cares about making sure that all of our communities have the transport infrastructure that they need to thrive. I also note that the member for Ballarat, the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, knows my electorate, the electorate of Chisholm, very well, having grown up there, and in fact my grandfather was her maths teacher. I always like reflecting on that local connection.

I will paint a picture of what my electorate is like. We have wonderful schools. People move into my electorate for the high-quality schools, both public and private. They are people who want to see their children go to one of the local universities, Deakin University and Monash University. But one of the big issues at the moment is that we're lacking the transport infrastructure we need to really unlock the economic potential of this part of Melbourne. We're just about to open a heart hospital on the Monash University campus in Clayton. Moderna, of course, has just announced that they will be establishing their premises, creating thousands of jobs in my electorate too.

The issue is that we've lacked the vital north to south and east to west connections in particular parts of my electorate for too long. One of the very first announcements I was able to make during the election campaign—and I'm so delighted to see that we've committed to this in the budget—is a business case for the trackless rapid transport project. This is a project that will connect Caulfield to Rowville. That cuts through the southern part of my electorate across Wellington Road. What that means is that people who will need to go to the university to access the new heart hospital, which is Australia's first specialist cardiac hospital, will be able to do so easily without being in congested traffic, with a dedicated, special lane for this trackless rapid transport vehicle.

Of course, many people have spoken about connecting this part of Melbourne with transport infrastructure, but it is the federal Labor government who've made that first commitment to investigate a business case. I'm so pleased, and I know my community is so pleased. I know the university is very delighted with this, having led that project. I thank them for their efforts in putting together the work that was so compelling to me to understand exactly why it is that we need this particular transport to be provided. I know that with Moderna, with the Synchrotron, with the CSIRO and with so many other innovative businesses wanting to establish themselves in this precinct in Clayton it will be a very welcome investment indeed.

Additionally, the Suburban Rail Loop will make it easier to access the northern and southern corridors through my electorate and will finally connect the Monash and Deakin universities to one another. That opens up a whole lot of collaborative opportunities that I know a lot of people, myself included, are really excited about. At the announcement for the $2.2 billion to be invested in the Suburban Rail Loop, I think it was really timely to remember this week that the Prime Minister was asked whether he supported a pay rise for some of the lowest-paid workers in the country, and, of course, he said 'absolutely', because that is what a federal Labor government stands for. Again, better jobs will be possible when we have these better transport connections.

As I said, it really is key to unlocking the economic potential in the south-east. I was really dismayed to see, under the former coalition government, the city deal, which was so hard fought for by the local community for the south-east of Melbourne, effectively ripped up. We've been waiting for the kinds of investment we're seeing from the Labor government at the moment in my area. I know that local industry, businesses, education institutions and residents are really excited about what this will mean.

I'm thrilled to be part of a government that's actually making commitments to get things done, things that have been sorely lacking for years. It's a delight for me to be part of such a visionary government led, of course, by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and with our very capable minister for infrastructure, the member for Ballarat. I once again thank the member for Moreton for moving this very important motion today.

Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Chisholm mentioned Wellington Road. It's interesting that she talked about the funding of Wellington Road. It's something I am passionate about and have spoken about in this House. She failed to mention the $110 million that this government has ripped out of the Wellington Road duplication project in the outer east, in Casey, Aston and La Trobe. That duplication was about saving lives and about getting people off the Dandenong Ranges in a bushfire emergency. The duplication was to allow emergency services to get up to the mountain and residents to get off. This motion talks about getting families home safely. I would love to hear from the government about another project that is more important than this one that would allow people to escape from bushfires. Once again we hear from this government and the member for Chisholm a lot of spin and talk. They don't talk about the money they're ripping from communities that would save lives in a bushfire emergency.

The former coalition government wanted to help regional Australians. They wanted to expand infrastructure projects, to make roads safer and more effective and to employ Australians along the way. In the same budget where the Labor Party has ignored the important infrastructure projects at hand it has also cancelled about $2 billion in grants that were promised by the coalition. Additionally, the Labor Party is cutting $4.6 billion of the previous coalition government's water projects over the next 12 years.

We have heard from the member for Chisholm and a lot of government members, particularly in Victoria, about the $2.2 billion they've committed to the Victorian Suburban Rail Loop. But you will not heard from any member of this government that that project has not gone through the independent assessment by Infrastructure Australia. When they were in opposition there was plenty of talk about how important Infrastructure Australia was, but once again they say one thing when in opposition and do another thing when in government. The Prime Minister himself when he was the opposition leader said in his budget reply speech in March:

Labor will make sure that those investments really stack up using the Infrastructure Australia model that I established.

Less than six months into this government he has already thrown that out the window. I wonder why he has changed his mind on this $2.2 billion, for a project that is expected to cost up to $125 billion and to be completed by 2085. Why has he rushed this through on such a big and significant project? Could it be that his barbecue friend Premier Daniel Andrews has an election in two to three weeks? Could it be that? As they say, what a coincidence. Once again this Prime Minister is playing politics with taxpayers' money to support his friend Daniel Andrews.

It's very similar to his broken promise of a $275 cut to power bills that we know is not going to happen. The Albanese government boasted in this budget about the savings they're going to make, but again they didn't talk about the majority of these savings coming from deferred or cancelled projects, whether they are road or rail. These deferred projects impact people. That is what has been lost in this by those opposite when they laud these decisions—like indefinitely delaying the Rockhampton Ring Road. It is pulling the rug out from underneath nearly 1,000 workers who were prepared and reliant on starting work in January next year, two or three months away. Their lives have been changed. You don't hear about that from those opposite. The ring road group came to Canberra today wanting action. I hope the Albanese government will at least have the decency to listen to these residents and workers who are impacted by this.

Of the upgrades that have been announced and noted in the bill, many have been re-announced by the Albanese government. These projects were already put in place by the coalition, including the Bruce Highway upgrade in Queensland and the nearly $700 million allocated for the Outback Way. The government is cancelling these infrastructure projects and is cancelling the Building Better Regions program without even looking at it. Community groups have invested time, money and effort in putting their applications in in good faith. This government cancelled every application, costing them that time and money. They are going to launch a new program. I dare say it will be very similar, if not identical, to the current program but they need to get their political spin by costing community groups time and money. Those community groups were relying on that fund to deliver their projects. (Time expired)

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired.