James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Senate will now consider the proposal from Senator McKenzie, which is also shown at item 15 on today's Order of Business.

Pursuant to standing order 75, I propose that the following matter of public importance be submitted to the Senate for discussion:

The Albanese Government is proposing to increase migration to Australia by 1.5 million people over the next five years while at the same time they have put at risk more than 400 congestion busting, productivity enhancing and life saving infrastructure projects through a 90 day infrastructure review which has today hit 190 days and counting.

Is consideration of the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

With the concurrence of the Senate, the clerks will set the clock in line with the informal arrangements made by the whips.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It gives me a great deal of pleasure, but some distaste, to rise to talk to this matter of public importance. We've heard the Treasurer come out over the weekend and attempt to argue that our infrastructure investment pipeline, which is building road and rail projects right across our congested state capitals and suburbs, is somehow to blame for the inflation mess that the federal government has failed to get on top of. Rather than take responsibility now that they're in government—you've got to stop pointing the finger, man up or girl up, and make the tough decisions—the Treasurer is now saying, 'Well, it's all the infrastructure pipeline's problem.'

Over the past 24 hours, we've seen a very cynical attempt by the Albanese government to distance itself from the economic ramifications of its own decisions. The RBA is scheduled to meet tomorrow in the wake of higher-than-expected quarterly inflation and house prices that are set to surpass the record set before the RBA began increasing interest rates. Australian families have been doing it tough now for months. Things haven't been easy under Albanese. Energy prices are up 18 per cent. Your mortgage has gone through the roof. If you are a renter, because your landlord's mortgage has gone through the roof, your rent has gone up as well. Food inflation is also up, at eight per cent, and fuel is not going down either. Instead of actually taking action on getting the budget under control, the Labor government is seeking to say, 'Well, that's just all the infrastructure projects' problem.'

Isn't that interesting? When they set up the short, sharp infrastructure review, it was supposed to be 90 days. We all remember that. It was just before the May budget, on the back of cancelling $10 billion of projects and programs in the October budget. It was all going to be quite quick and easy: 'We're going to work with the states and announce it shortly.' That was 190 days ago. It's 100 days overdue. It's just more cuts and delays. People are being laid off from construction work projects as a result of this government's refusal to admit that investing in infrastructure is a critical part of dealing with the other side of their policy agenda, which is to fuel our economic growth through increasing population. As we heard in question time, we've had hundreds of thousands of new arrivals into our congested cities and suburbs at the same time that Anthony Albanese is wanting to cut those infrastructure projects.

Is it any wonder that now it's not just the opposition saying, 'Steady on, guys; you don't know what you're doing,' but also Labor deputy premiers in Queensland saying this is actually going to cause economic and political problems? You may solve a short- or medium-term inflation issue, but you're going to have a long-term productivity issue. Decisions in government are about what we're going to invest taxpayers' money in and what we're not. This government continually refuses to back the aspirations of the Australian people. We saw it in the referendum. We saw it in their decision to reject the Qatar Airways flight application, which sees higher flight prices for Australian travellers. We saw the debacle of our once proud national carrier Qantas at its AGM a couple of days ago. In this Senate chamber, not even half an hour ago, the Labor Party refused to admit that they'd got it wrong. They'd prefer to back their mates. They'd prefer to back the top end of town over mums and dads who are actually sitting down at kitchen tables trying to work out whether to pay the kids' swimming fees this year and how they are going to get Christmas done while the rest of the bills are going through the roof.

Cutting and delaying productivity-enhancing infrastructure across our cities is not the way to improve the lifestyle of everyday Australians, who want to be able to get to and from work safely and quickly so they can get home to what they actually like doing, which is being with their family, and to get our product to port. Even Labor state governments agree that Albanese, who had the opportunity to be shadow minister for six years, has got it wrong, and it's time they face up and stop trying to cost-shift and cast blame.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very happy to stand up and respond to those five minutes of misleading mistruths. I just want everyone in the chamber to know—and I'm so rapt that it's a broadcasting day so all those out there driving their cars can hear this too: this is very ripe coming from a minister who was sacked for rorting! This is the same minister who had the colour-coded spreadsheets—

Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Sterle.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It always touches a nerve.

Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKenzie.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm all for facts on conflicts of interest, Senator Sterle, rather than making up your own in the chamber just because it suits you.

Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think that was a debating point, but, anyway, Senator Sterle, could we stick to the topic please.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very happy to continue. When I went to school in Langford in the sixties in the west, we were brought up with some very decent principles as a working class family. One is that you don't spend money you haven't got. We were taught very, very clearly—you can walk out, Senator McKenzie, because I know you can't handle the truth—you don't spend what you haven't—okay, it's the peanut gallery time! God, the truth hurts.

Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator O'Sullivan has the call.

Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Sterle, my good friend, knows better than anyone—

Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I assume this is a point of order.

Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is a point of order. Senators should not reflect on the presence of a senator in the chamber.

Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Sterle, if you could, do not reflect on senators please. Just stick to the debate that's before the chamber at the moment.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For you, Mr Acting Deputy President, I'd love to. But we've got to tell the truth. So I want to get back to this: if you haven't got the money, you can't spend it. It's a basic, simple principle that we all grew up with in the 60s—I know that goes for all of those before and a lot after me. They are the same principles I instilled in my kids. We all want the four-bedroom house. We all want the holiday in Bali. We all want the latest Toyota LandCruiser. We want, we want, we want. But we actually have to go to work, put money aside and start gradually working our way through our lives. All of us want the big mansion we can't afford. But what this previous government did—I don't know if I'm going to get in trouble for saying this, but it's just the truth. The previous Prime Minister was all about announcements.

It's very, very easy to sit back in the car or in the lounge and say, 'Yeah, the government should be doing this, the government should be doing that.' Yes, there are a lot of things the government should be doing. But for crying out loud we had to call for an urgent review. The previous government, under Mr Morrison and Mr Frydenberg, promised 800-odd projects. They had announcements, they had photos, but they did not consult with state governments and they did not consult with local councils. When we do these infrastructure projects—roads, rail, ports and all sorts of things—God help us, we actually should talk to the states because the states are the ones that have to implement it, and they cofund it. You don't have to be Einstein to work out that $33 billion, as Minister King said, is overspending on promises and announcements with no homework, no agreement with the states, no agreement with the councils, but a lot of photo opportunities for an election.

I think there are a lot of Aussies who would probably sit back and say, 'That's fair, I think it's fair that we have to control not only what we spend.' But what about our labour? I don't know about the good folk in the chamber, but I can tell you I'm from the great state of Western Australia. We have seriously got a crisis in construction. We know over 2,200 building companies have gone broke. We know that there is a strain in trying to get tradespeople and builders, so what is absolutely wrong with saying, 'Hang on, when we plan or when we make these announcements, let's talk to the local governments, talk to the state governments, make sure we have everything in place for when the money starts coming so that we can afford to build infrastructure'? There are many times when we should spend more than what we can afford on infrastructure. We get that. But for crying out loud, if this is the way that some people want to bring up the next generation by just making announcements, spending, saying 'Don't worry about it, she'll be right,' God help us. Thank God Australia woke up, thank God the grown-ups are finally back in power.

It hurts me to see a lot of infrastructure projects that aren't going ahead because we can't get the labour. What hurts me more is when shallow, hollow promises are made in the heat of an election just to save a few miserable souls in their seats with no intention of building these projects. What about the election promises to commuters, the car parks, the train stations? Every single one of them came in at the same cost of around $600 million for each one. It didn't matter if it was in the heart of Melbourne or the top end of Queensland—isn't that amazing? Then we have the audacity now from the senator who is not in the room—am I allowed to say that because she's not in the room now anyway?

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator—

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm just saying, Mr Deputy President—I know I will get in trouble for saying this—she moved the motion and then didn't sit in the chamber to even listen to the rest of the contributions. You can raise your eyebrows, but you defend the 800 projects that you knew—

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Sterle—

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Oh God, give me strength!

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hughes.

Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Point of order: the constant commentary and denigration of women on this side of the chamber by Senator Sterle is really getting beyond a joke. He was told not to impugn senators who aren't here, yet he taints the chair and carries on still. Senator Sterle has been here long enough to know how it works, and he should stick to the standing orders.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Sterle, you are aware of the rules. Senator Sterle has the call.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I really appreciate that because it actually does make you wonder, doesn't it? I've got no problem with having a full-spirited debate on expenses, but mistruths have to be called out because if you were sitting— (Time expired)

Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have got to make a comment about this. Senator Sterle said, 'The false promises that are given at election time to win your seat or possibly to win government,' and I'll go back to Labor's promise that people would save $275 on electricity. I'll leave it at that.

I rise to speak on this matter of public importance. However, I won't confine myself to talking about congestion-busting infrastructure. Labor's record on immigration policy does much more than place pressure on our infrastructure. It puts pressure on our public health system, with hospital emergency rooms overflowing every day. It puts downward pressure on wage growth, which is great for big business but not for the Australian people. It is completely incompatible with other government policies, particularly Labor's climate change scam. It helps drive the cost-of-living crisis, forcing Australians into poverty, and it is the primary driver of the national housing and rental crisis, which is driving more Australian families into homelessness. Research shows that for every two new migrants another dwelling needs to be built to accommodate them. However, we are starting from way behind. There is an estimated shortfall of at least 650,000 homes in Australia already.

I am sick and tired of hearing Labor blame the previous government for high immigration, lack of housing and our overwhelmed public health system. It's Labor's policy of record immigration since they took government 18 months ago that is driving these crises, and it's a policy not supported by the majority of the Australian people. Poll after poll shows strong support for reduced immigration. Economic experts, even in the Australian Financial Review, are also advocating for a reduction in the numbers. Labor is aiming to bring another 1.5 million people—more than the entire population of Adelaide—to Australia in the next five years. We cannot accommodate these numbers because we can't even accommodate the people who already live here. There is no issue in Australia more urgent than reducing immigration, but Labor have turned a deaf ear. There is no issue on which Labor are more completely out of touch with community sentiment and economic reality than this.

Do you know what? A good DJ knows how to read the room and which music to play to keep the crowd dancing. If they get it wrong, the crowd leaves the dance floor. As this week's Newspoll has shown, the crowd is leaving DJ Albanese's dance floor as the multiple crises driven by record immigration bite harder at Australian families. A good leader would read the electorate and remember these are the people he serves.

The problem with the Labor Party is that, every time anything comes up in this chamber, all they do is point the finger and blame the previous government. You've been in for a year and a half, but what have you actually done? Your policies aren't working. You had a Voice referendum that failed. Your housing policy will fail. With high immigration, you're destroying the Australian people.

Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Albanese government's 90-day infrastructure review turns 190 days old today and turns into a sad and sorry tale rather than the short and sharp review promised by the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government when she announced it on 1 May. Now, with inflation remaining well above the RBA's target band and another hit looking to present itself to Australian householders tomorrow, the government is wildly looking for a distraction from that event. I note that all but two government cabinet ministers aren't even here at Parliament House this week because the Prime Minister decided that the House didn't need to sit at all because there isn't a cost-of-living crisis, there isn't a housing crisis and people aren't stuck on roads. Nobody needs to be here to do their job apart from those in the Senate.

The government's argument that Labor must cut millions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects to curb inflation is misinformation. In response to Senator Sterle lecturing, 'If you haven't got the money you can't spend,' to Australian families, a lot of Aussies would sit back and say, 'That's not fair.' I would say lots of Aussies are saying, 'It's not fair that we're facing a cost-of-living crisis and increasing interest rates while you aren't even prepared to sit in the House and do your job.'

The Albanese government cut and delayed $9.6 billion worth of infrastructure projects in the October budget, and what have we seen for that? Our interest rates are going up and Australian families are feeling the pinch time and time again. In the final budget outcome for 2022-23, it was revealed that the government had cut a further $2.9 billion in road and rail expenditure between the October budget and 30 June. These cuts helped prop up their budget surplus but have been of no assistance to families stuck on congested streets while travelling to and from work every morning and every night.

More than 400 congestion-busting, productivity-enhancing and lifesaving projects have been put on hold by Labor's infrastructure review and are now at risk of cancellation. If projects are cancelled by Labor it will mean more time stuck in traffic, less-safe roads and a reduced commitment by government to achieving economy-growing, productivity-enhancing infrastructure, meaning more traffic time and less family time. These delays are causing uncertainty for business, suppliers and contractors, who have geared up in the materials and planned for the workforce needed to deliver these projects, which are now on hold.

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is it any wonder that those opposite would attack an independent review into spending on infrastructure? This is a review that is only necessary because of decisions made by those opposite, including, memorably, Senator McKenzie.

Let's take a little look back, shall we? A former government that was all announcement and no delivery—a decade of waste and rorts. Sporting infrastructure was decided on a colour-coded spreadsheet, there were car parks where not a single one was recommended by the department of infrastructure and there were airport land rorts. Is it any wonder that those opposite never delivered on their own election promise for an integrity commission, with a record like that? The integrity commission which they promised would have been so weak that it wouldn't even have been able to commence its own inquiries—and they didn't even want to do that. Is it a surprise to anyone that the 'no-alition' is here today attacking an independent infrastructure review? These are the people who managed to leave an infrastructure pipeline that is an absolute mess, and these are the people who managed to leave Australia with $1 trillion in debt and nothing to show for it.

We on this side of the chamber are committed to delivering an infrastructure program that is fit for purpose—one that is fiscally responsible and, critically, one that is deliverable. This is the exact opposite of what appears in the coalition's so-called plan. We know that under those opposite there were announcements made without any clear benefit to the public which could be defended, and without adequate funding allocated. These were projects without merit and projects without a clear rationale for investment. The number of infrastructure projects under those opposite blew out from 150 to 800, without any real commitment or any real plan to deliver. Apparently—and no-one will be surprised by this—a large number of those announcements which were loading up this imaginary infrastructure pipeline were made just before the elections of 2016 and 2019. No surprises there! There are no surprises that the promises were made—promises that couldn't be kept. These were promises for political advantage and not to advantage the nation. The independent review has already found more than $33 billion in cost overruns—$33 billion in cost overruns! In fact, the reviewers found that if we continued down the path set by those opposite then the government wouldn't even be able to fund any new projects until 2033. Does that sound like sound economic management to you? Does it sound like a good plan for infrastructure development?

This is why this government commissioned this independent review: to ensure that the infrastructure program is delivering for this country. And while we do this work, we are getting on with the job of delivering critical infrastructure projects across the country—as Senator McKenzie has put so well: congestion-busting, productivity-enhancing and lifesaving projects. We are getting on with delivering them. There are over 300 Commonwealth funded major transport projects currently underway or under construction, including, proudly, many of them in my home state of Victoria. Australia deserves a pipeline of transport infrastructure projects that are genuinely good for the nation, as well as being economically sustainable. And that is exactly what we are delivering.

And, of course, it's important that we do all of this without contributing to inflationary pressures. As the Treasurer has said, we are working to get maximum value for money. We are working to get the right infrastructure for our economy and our people, and we are doing all of that without putting additional upward pressure on inflation. Our approach to infrastructure is like all of our economic plans when it comes to managing inflation: we are taking a strong and measured approach. We are getting the budget back on track, returning revenues to the bottom line and banking the first surplus in 15 years. We are delivering much-needed cost-of-living relief and targeting it to those who need it most, and we're investing sustainably in the future.

And the experts tell us that it's working; whether it's the RBA governor, the Treasury secretary, the ABS or the International Monetary Fund, all are in agreement that our economic policy is helping to drive down inflation. Our approach to infrastructure will continue to make that happen. We will deliver, we will invest responsibly and we will clean up their mess. (Time expired)

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition is correct to point out the lunacy of Treasurer Jim Chalmers's comments that he may cut infrastructure funding to fight inflation. The best way to fix inflation is to increase productivity, including through productive infrastructure and productive capacity. In fact, the best way to fix inflation is to make sure it doesn't happen in the first place. That means stopping the Reserve Bank from creating $500 billion out of thin air and dropping it from helicopters as they did for Scott Morrison in the response to COVID. Never again. That means stopping the record level of net immigration, estimated at 500,000 this year—half a million! That means pulling back on the 2.3 million visa holders in the country right now who are adding pressure to the housing crisis, driving up demand, driving rentals up and driving inflation.

To the Treasurer, if you're looking for spending cuts to fight inflation, look at subsidies. Australian federal and state governments are still handing out $10 billion in subsidies per quarter—$4 billion more than before COVID. Treasurer, if you really want to cut some infrastructure to fight inflation, cut any money you are putting toward wind, solar, batteries and pumped hydro, like Snowy 2.0. That's the dog in New South Wales, by the way. That will have a double positive effect, taking the heat out of house construction prices and dropping power prices, which contribute to almost every other product in the country.

Let's get serious about fighting inflation. Here's how you do it: cut immigration; ditch the United Nations net zero pipedream; build productive capacity and productive infrastructure, like ports, dams, railways and power stations; and don't create inflation in the first place, printing money out of thin air in electronic journal entries as the Reserve Bank has admitted. Get back to sound basics that enable the productive capacity of Australians to prosper.

Gerard Rennick (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The worst thing you could possibly do at the moment, given that we have a cost-of-living crisis and a housing crisis in this country, is to lift the rate of immigration to 500,000 people a year. I should add that, in the last quarter, it was actually 180,000 people who came to Australia. If that's extrapolated over the next 12 months, we'll be looking at closer to 700,000 people who are coming into this country.

Tomorrow, it looks like the Reserve Bank of Australia is going to raise interest rates yet again, driving more and more people into austerity in order to reduce demand. The former RBA governor Philip Lowe has said to me that he only deals with the demand side of the economy. He will not touch the supply side of the economy. That is why the other point of this MPI today is about cutting infrastructure, which is what the Labor government is proposing to do. It's pouring fuel onto the fire of the immigration crisis that we have in this country. It goes to show that the Labor government has no idea how to run a country. Rather than raising interest rates tomorrow, what should really happen is that the Labor government reduce immigration. That way, hardworking Australians aren't going to get hurt. What's happening at the moment is that, as immigration rises, it drives up demand, and then the RBA comes along and lifts interest rates to push down demand. That is killing the very people that we are meant to be serving. It's that type of mentality that has to stop.

The other thing is that, when you have a really high immigration rate, you have to build a lot of houses. We have a limited number of tradies in this country, not the least because back in the eighties, under the Button plan, the Hawke-Keating Labor government came up with the wonderful idea to send everyone to university and not to TAFE. So we already have a limited number of tradies in this country, but, if they are going to build, we want them to build not only houses but also factories. If we have too high an immigration rate, that allocates all the tradie labour—the skilled labour where you use your hands—from the actual building of factories, which can increase our manufacturing output and start to value-add to our raw materials that we're so good at producing, to the building sector. That means we've got most of our skilled labour sector in this country working on building houses and doing the plumbing and things like that for houses instead of actually looking at improving and getting higher value manufacturing in this country.

I will conclude yet again that the Labor government needs to get a grip. It needs to lower immigration, increase infrastructure spending and start to get people back on the tools and out of universities and out of superannuation funds.

Susan McDonald (Queensland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend Senator McKenzie for her matter of public importance today, which is that the Albanese government are proposing to increase migration to Australia by 1.5 million people over the next five years, while at the same time they have put at risk more than 400 congestion-busting projects through a 90-day infrastructure review, which has today hit 190 days and counting. I wanted to restate those words, because Labor speakers have been off in the weeds talking about all sorts of things, and most of them, of course, based in Victoria.

Labor is failing at the most basic job of government. It is failing to deliver basic planning. In northern Australia we have real projects that the coalition committed funding to and that were on track to being delivered. Some of them even Labor had agreed were important; for example, the Cairns water supply project, a project that Labor committed to commencing at the beginning of this year. Cairns, with its itinerant population and enormous number of tourists, will be out of water by 2026-27. This deadline looms large. Labor have gone missing on something they committed to in order to try to win Leichhardt and other seats in Queensland. Thank goodness they didn't win Leichhardt and there is still a strong and passionate coalition member there ensuring that someone holds the government to account. When Cairns is under pressure because of a shortage of water, who is going to solve it? It won't be the Labor government, because they are failing. They are failing to deliver basic projects like sealing dirt roads and upgrading gravel roads. These projects are in places that Labor members wouldn't have heard of, but they are places that deliver food and fibre to this country and to our neighbours. They deliver mining, tourism, jobs. The jobs and GDP of this nation come from these infrastructure projects.

Labor have been so distracted that they are failing on the basic job of planning. With this unplanned migration they're doing their very best to make it harder to live in this country, particularly for northern Australians. We have such a housing shortage, yet they are bringing hundreds of thousands more people into the country with no places for them to sleep, to lay their heads down at night. They are happy to spend half a billion dollars on a referendum. They're happy to back-in the unions' industrial relations legislation on same job, same pay, which is driving up costs on the very projects that they are delaying. With every day that passes, the only people who are benefiting from this are Labor's union mates, who are driving the agenda of this government. They are certainly not driving affordability and liveability for people who live in regional Australia; in particular, northern Australia. These are the people who are growing the food and fibre, doing the mining and hosting the tourism projects, and they're in the remote parts of the country where allegedly those opposite seek to close the gap. In not providing a proper bitumen road that means communities are not cut off for four months of the year, Labor is failing to do anything for those communities.

When I look at the Mobile Black Spot Program for additional telecommunication towers, I notice that not one of them is outside a Labor seat. It's extraordinary, isn't it, Mr Acting Deputy President, from a government that previously went on and on about transparency and making sure projects go to the right places? Apparently, the right places are inner-city Melbourne, inner-city Sydney and other places that already have sealed roads and mobile phone towers. This is a government that's failing at the basics.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time for the discussion has expired.