Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Fisher talked about mistakes and the neglect of the past. There are a number of projects in Queensland that he could be referring to, such as the Ipswich Motorway and the failure of the coalition to support that and their vote against its upgrade repeatedly in this place; their vote against all the infrastructure projects after the floods in south-east Queensland and northern Queensland; their failure to support the Blacksoil Interchange and the Warrego Highway; projects in south-east Queensland; their ripping out of $2 billion from the roads and public infrastructure budget when they came to power in 1996; and their failure during that whole time in terms of the Bruce Highway—putting in only $1.3 billion across 12 years of their tenure in the context of a federal Labor government committing and actually spending $5.7 billion on the Bruce Highway. We increased the infrastructure spend per Queenslander from $143 to $314 per Queenslander. We committed $60 billion. There are projects all up and down the Bruce Highway—important projects for south-east Queensland as well as northern Queensland. It is important for jobs, productivity and economic development. Queensland is the most decentralised state in the country.

It is interesting and quite galling that the coalition should talk about infrastructure when in the time that I have been in this place they have voted against infrastructure spends in Queensland again, again and again when it comes to nation building. Again and again coalition LNP members in this place have voted against upgrades for important rail, road and port projects in Queensland. But this is not new. During the whole time of the former Howard government, during their 12 years in office, they did not fund a single public transport project in Queensland—not one. In contrast, there are the Moreton Bay rail link and Gold Coast Rapid Transit projects.

We have a very important project for all of Queensland, the Cross River Rail project in Brisbane. It is a very important project for all of Queensland and yet the coalition will not support it. The Brisbane City Council supports it, the Queensland government supports it, and the coalition has ripped away over $700 million committed for that particular project.

When it comes to the Bruce Highway, the coalition have form, because their colleagues and comrades in George Street, Brisbane, said they would spend $1 billion on the Bruce Highway. But guess what? They did not do that at all. In fact they have committed only a couple of hundred million across a few years. When we were in government our commitment to the Bruce Highway—and we took it to the last election—was greater and more short-term, in terms of bringing the funding forward, than the position the coalition took at the last election. Their money was off in the never-never. It was Campbell Newman and the LNP, in George Street, Brisbane—it was a great promise when in opposition, but when they get into power what did they do? They cut, cut and cut.

That is the case also when you look at the fiscal budget impact of coalition policies. There are projects they promised everywhere. Have a look at what they released before the election and then cut funding for. It is not just the projects for which they said they would do it but also for projects for which they hinted they might do it. In my area, and the member for Oxley's area and the member for Moreton's area, they claimed they would do that final section of the Ipswich Motorway. They matched Labor's rhetoric and commitment to the final section of the Ipswich Motorway—$276 million to kick-start the Darra to Rocklea section. Labor had committed and built $2.5 billion on the other parts of the Ipswich Motorway. But guess what? The coalition, as they have done again and again, whether they are in power in Queensland or nationally, cut the funding—just look at the fiscal budget impact of coalition policies. How much? About $65 million, not $276 million.

It is the same thing with the Bruce Highway—neglect and mistakes, as the member for Fisher talked about before. That is what they were guilty of when they were in government and that is what they are guilty of now. We will see when the people of Central, South-East and North Queensland get the funding they need and deserve on the Bruce Highway. We should remember one thing about the Cooroy to Curra section of the Bruce Highway. It is the section of the highway the member for Wide Bay used to talk about always, both in Queensland and down here in Canberra, but he could not get it done when he was the transport minister under the Howard coalition government. We started it. The section is done and the funding is committed. It is a classic example of why Labor and only Labor is committed to infrastructure in Queensland. (Time expired)

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