Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Before question time I raised a number of concerns which are shared by many on this side of the chamber. The largest infrastructure spend in the history of the Australian people, $43 billion, is being committed by this government without the benefit of a cost-benefit analysis—which their own organisation, Infrastructure Australia, has requested for any major infrastructure rollout. I asked the question earlier and I will pose it again: why would you create Infrastructure Australia and then not heed their advice or accede to their questions in order to get value for taxpayer dollars?

The first conclusion one could draw is that there is not value for taxpayer dollars. The other conclusion we could draw is: based on the track record of this government, billions of dollars will be squandered under this program. That is their history and a leopard cannot change its spots. Their history is of squandering billions of dollars on half-baked programs that end up with bigger problems down the track. These are legitimate questions, whether you are a Liberal or a Labor person, or even if you are a Green. You deserve to know the truth. The problem is: Minister Conroy and this government are hiding something from us all. They will not release the business case.

What I find absolutely remarkable is the fact that they commit to $43 billion of infrastructure rollout without a business case being made beforehand. We know is was cooked up on a plane, while Kevin 747—