Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. Will the minister outline to the House how the government is continuing to deliver the infrastructure of the 21st century?

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question.

Mr Albanese interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Grayndler will desist!

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

She, like other members on this side of the House, is aware of the substantial road-funding and rail-funding projects being undertaken by this government in the biggest infrastructure commitment in our history. Of course, that is in very sharp contrast to the Leader of the Opposition, who, in his error-ridden budget speech actually made the assertion that we are cutting funding to roads and rail by 17 per cent. He said we are cutting funding! The biggest road and rail funding project in Australia's history and he says we are cutting it. I suspect he was taking his advice from the shadow minister for transport. But that is not a good idea. After all, he is the leadership contender. You should not be taking his advice and, frankly, it was wrong. Perhaps you should have referred to the budget papers when making that speech. That is where I would expect you would go if you want accurate information about what is happening with road and rail funding.

Budget Paper No. 1, table 15, makes it absolutely clear that road and rail funding are all increasing in these budgets. Road transport expenditure increases from $4.2 billion in 2014-15 to $5.9 billion in 2015-16 and it goes up again in 2016-17 to $8.4 billion, almost double over three years. And the Leader of the Opposition says it is being cut!

What sort of logic, what sort of mathematics, is that?

Let us move down to rail. In 2014-15 rail received $740 million. It increased to $1.08 billion in 2015-16, and rises again to $1.3 billion in 2016-17. Again, the expenditure almost doubled over that period, and the Leader of the Opposition thinks it has been cut. What sort of logic comes from this member?

The honourable member for Capricornia sees a lot of this work in her own electorate. She sees the work about to commence on the Peak Downs Highway and the new bridges that are going to be built on that road, the Yeppen flood plain, funded and built by this particular government, and tens of millions of dollars on Roads to Recovery and grants to councils in her electorate. This will make a real difference at the local level and nationally. Funding for roads and rail is going up, up, up—not down, as claimed by the Leader of the Opposition.