Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Minister for Transport and Regional Services) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Riverina for her question. It was a pleasure to be in her electorate last week to look at some of the projects that are under way as a result of the Australian government’s investment through AusLink in important rail and road infrastructure upgrades. In particular, I was able to witness the signing of a new $16 million contract to provide a new rail bridge over the river at Wagga Wagga, replacing the old 1881 steel structure with a modern concrete facility that will enable the speed limit of 20 kilometres per hour to be lifted as the trains cross the river and inevitably slow down the movement of freight between our capital cities.

We were also able to visit the Hume Highway and look at some of the projects in line for the $800 million investment by this government announced in AusLink for the Hume Highway, bringing to $1.4 billion the AusLink commitment to upgrade the Hume Highway to four lanes. When I was there, there was obviously a great deal of enthusiasm for this expenditure, but there was also a degree of frustration because the money that the Australian government has been providing to New South Wales for the Hume Highway in the past simply is not being spent. Particularly the people around the Coolac bypass project are especially angry that a long time—years, in fact—after the Australian government made the commitment to fund this important 12-kilometre bypass the work has not started.

In fact, the tenders for that project closed on 11 May 2005—a year and two weeks ago—and New South Wales to this day still have not decided on the successful tenderer. In fact, the whole process is caught up in New South Wales heritage legislation—red, green and black tape! They say to us that it will be at least the end of the year before they will be able to consider the issuing of a contract for this project. How many more people have to die on this road before the New South Wales government will get on with the job of spending the money that the Australian government has already provided them? There is an absolute degree of incompetence in the management of New South Wales that is delaying projects that could be delivering an improved road system to Australians, and it is time they got on with the job.

See this speech in context