Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

FARRELL (—) (): I thank Senator Babet for his question and the opportunity to answer it in a fulsome way. Of course, I start by going back in time a little bit to indicate just the sort of mess that the coalition left us in. After 10 years of announcement upon announcement upon announcement but then no delivery, we are now delivering on an infrastructure program that is fit for purpose—and I stress the term 'fit for purpose'—fiscally responsible but, above all, deliverable.

Now, as you say, we commissioned an independent review to ensure our infrastructure program is deliverable and does not place added pressure on inflation and the cost of living, two issues that I know you're concerned about. This review was necessary because the former government was all about announcement and no delivery. Projects were left without adequate funding or resources, and projects without real benefits to the public were approved. No doubt the National Party was mixed up in all of those sorts of decisions. Minister King said the review has found more than $33 billion in cost overruns across the infrastructure investment program, with a high likelihood of future, as-yet-unknown cost increases. Minister King is working closely with the states and territories to determine the outcome of the review. The former government announced projects without checking if they were priorities of the state first—no surprises in that—and this resulted in those projects being stalled for years or, worse, costs blowing out. (Time expired)