Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The introduction by the government of the Infrastructure Australia Bill 2008 marked a significant shift in the role of the Commonwealth government in the planning and coordination of infrastructure investment and planning in Australia. I have listened carefully to the various contributions made during the debate on the second reading, and I want to thank all those who have contributed, though I am sure Senator Ronaldson was not one of them.

I understand that the opposition will not be opposing the establishment of Infrastructure Australia. The coalition’s lack of understanding of the infrastructure challenges faced by Australia today is clear. Most of this debate has been spent blaming the states for the nation’s infrastructure problems or trying to mount an argument that says infrastructure is limited to AusLink alone. We know that for 11½ years priority was never given to infrastructure by the Howard-Costello government. There was no federal infrastructure minister and no leadership. It was easier to blame the states than to get on with the job. Only during the election campaign did those opposite discover infrastructure.