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 update the House on how the government is helping to create jobs in my electorate of Capricornia and across Central Queensland? Is the minister aware of any threats to these jobs being delivered?

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

It was a great pleasure to be with the member for Capricornia and the member for Flynn for the opening of the Yeppen flood plain bridge just a few days ago.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Funded by us!

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Built by us!

Government members interjecting—

And funded by this side of parliament! Absolutely!

Honourable members interjecting—

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have not called you. I am not going to attempt to listen over constant interjections.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. It goes to whether the minister is misleading the House. It was built by workers funded by us. All you did was—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Resume your seat! The member for Grayndler knows more than most members in this House, because he made the point himself when he had a different role, that, if he wants to take that action, there are other forms of the House to do it in—not in question time.

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

Just to correct the record: the reality is that I turned the first sod on this project. The workers built the project and the taxpayers are paying for it—and this government is including it in the budget. They talked; we acted. We built it! The honourable member for Capricornia and the honourable member for Flynn were strong advocates of this project, which is, incidentally, the largest bridge in regional Queensland—and it is certainly a great tribute to all of those people who were involved in building this project. This government created 200 jobs for people by constructing that bridge. Those are real jobs for people in Central Queensland.

But that is not all we have done in that area. We have a large number of significant road projects underway: there is $428 million for the Mackay Ring Road, which will create 600 jobs—and that, I know, was very much appreciated by the member for Dawson; $166 million for the Peak Downs Highway; the Kin Kora roundabout in Flynn—another 78 jobs; the Sarina Northern Access—another 32 jobs.

We are creating jobs by building the infrastructure that those regions need. We are doing that because we have the capacity, because we are running an economy that is capable of funding these worthwhile projects.

But there are threats to these jobs. The other side, at its conference, is now proposing to implement a carbon tax—to go back and introduce a turbocharged carbon tax, which will add to the cost of every road construction project in Australia. Every road construction cost will be more expensive.

Ms Macklin interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In response to the member for Jagajaga, I am not going to recognise a point of order while she and her colleagues are interjecting.

Ms Macklin interjecting—

I recognise your voice!

Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have not called you. Member for Hotham, on a point of order—and it needs to be a point of order, not an attempt to revisit your last point of order.

Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No; it is under an entirely different provision of the standing orders. Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order on relevance. You have made the point in your previous ruling about whether or not people are allowed to—

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If I could listen!

Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You made a distinction in your response to the points of order regarding whether people on the other side are allowed to ask questions about opposition policy. You appear to have ruled that in order, which is disappointing. However, in your answer, you made a distinction between specific references to opposition policy and more abstract endings to the question.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If you had listened carefully to what I said, you would have heard the reference to opposition in the question. If you have an extensive look at the material I have looked at, there was no—

An honourable member interjecting—

Precisely! That was disorderly. It is disorderly. I am not going to be interjected on. The Deputy Prime Minister is in order—and I am listening carefully.

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

A turbocharged carbon tax will cost thousands of jobs with the closure, under Labor's policy, of power stations in places like Callide and Gladstone and Tarong and Stanwell—thousands of jobs will be lost. On the one hand, the coalition government is creating jobs and building infrastructure. The other side is offering us an alternative: fewer jobs, because projects will become more expensive—less affordable—and will not happen.