Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Senator Cash. Can the minister update the Senate on how the Morrison government is delivering on its plan to invest $100 billion into infrastructure, which is creating jobs and driving the economy, including through the delivery of vital projects in regional Australia, particularly in our home state of Western Australia?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Brockman for the question and I acknowledge his commitment to rural and regional Australia—in particular in our great state of Western Australia. One of the hallmarks of the Morrison government is obviously our commitment to building the infrastructure to make our transport networks safer, more efficient and more reliable. Between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2019 the coalition government has invested more than $5.5 billion in infrastructure in Western Australia. In fact, on 20 November 2019, the government announced an $868 million infrastructure investment boom in Western Australia, including $817 million in bring-forwards.

This accelerated investment will deliver on a range of projects, such as the early construction of the Bunbury Outer Ring Road—obviously very important for us—the Albany Ring Road and the Tonkin Highway Gap and upgrades to the Karratha to Tom Price corridor. These investments will stimulate the economy and, in stimulating the economy, they will support job creation. This government is all about putting in place the policies to ensure that we are creating jobs for Australians.

We're also investing, though, in the Wheatbelt Secondary Freight Network Program. This program of works has targeted 53 freight routes in need of upgrade that cover 4,400 kilometres of road. This is an important safety investment as well as an important economic development. In terms of the wheatbelt itself, one of the reasons this is so important is that 600 jobs will be supported during the project.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Brockman, a supplementary question?

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the minister aware of whether the recently updated Infrastructure Australia priority list supports the Morrison government's infrastructure pipeline?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government welcomed this week's release of Infrastructure Australia's 2020 update to its Infrastructure Priority List which reaffirms the Morrison government's delivery of the infrastructure that Australia needs and deserves. The Infrastructure Priority List has delivered the largest list of projects to date, including 147 nationally significant projects across a range of sectors, including transport, energy, water, communications, housing and education. It's about $58 billion worth of projects. The list itself focuses on delivering regional and urban projects to support a growing population, to meet the national freight challenges and to get Australians home to their loved ones sooner and safer. I'm pleased to inform the Senate that the Morrison government is already supporting and investing in a number of projects identified on the updated list.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Brockman, a final supplementary question?

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, why is investing in building infrastructure critical to supporting a strong economy?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is all about ensuring that we're investing in those policies that are going to grow the economy and allow job creation. Certainly our $100 billion investment in key infrastructure projects is part of this government's blueprint for delivering jobs, productivity and economic growth to all Australians. The investment itself, though, will increase freight efficiency and improve road safety but also ensure that local businesses are able to get their goods to market more quickly and more reliably, whether they're in the north of Queensland or Western Australia, regional areas or urban Australia. All Australians will ultimately benefit from our infrastructure investment. The record infrastructure investment—it is a record structure investment of $100 billion—is all about supporting and building the infrastructure projects that are going to ensure that our economy does grow and we continue to create more jobs for Australians.