Sophie Mirabella (Indi, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with great pleasure that I rise to speak in support of Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2007-2008 and related bills. The 2007-08 budget is a continuation of the responsible plans for Australia, for its community, for its growing prosperity and for future generations. Importantly, the budget continues a very fine trend of personal income tax relief. This is fundamental to improving incentives in our workforce. But it is not only a fundamental responsibility of government to collect funds through which it can provide essential services, plan for major infrastructure and invest in its people but also a fundamental responsibility that, once government has spent the required funds on appropriate projects, any surplus money, where appropriate, is given back to the people from whom it was taken. I am very proud to be part of a government that has continued taxation reform to give taxpayers back some of their own money that they have earned.

We see from a very simple illustration that a taxpayer on $30,000 per annum in 1999 was paying over $6,200 in taxation. As of 1 July 2007, effectively there will have been a reduction of 54 per cent, so that that same taxpayer will pay only $2,850. That is a real achievement and a real result. As we know, Madam Deputy Speaker Bishop—I am sure you share this view—the person best able to spend their money is the person who earns it. The more that we can do to ensure that the Australian economy continues to thrive, and there continues to be an environment in which employers continue to grow their businesses and employ more people, the better we will all be in the long term.

There is a particular project I want to focus on. This budget and previous budgets have made huge investments in infrastructure—whether it is social infrastructure in education or, as in the last few budgets, significant investment in health infrastructure, and this budget in built infrastructure. I want to focus on a particular infrastructure project in the largest population centre in my electorate of Indi: Wodonga. The project is the Wodonga rail bypass project. Unlike the state Labor government, the Australian government has put in the budget papers its commitment, in writing, in black and white, of $45 million to assist in the removal of the railway from central Wodonga. It is an important railway line—it is the Melbourne to Sydney railway line. There has been discussion over many decades in favour of its removal from central Wodonga.

Way back when I was but a mere candidate for the seat of Indi, I recall with great excitement the initial commitment of $20 million made in Wodonga. That has been sitting on the table. Every year I have asked the Treasurer to keep rolling it over into the next year, because the project has not quite begun. And what has happened? Due to delay by the state government the project, of course, as with all its other major projects, has blown out. They asked for an additional $25 million, which was expeditiously provided for by the government and announced in February this year by the Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Mark Vaile. So we have had $20 million sitting on the table since December 2000, we have had an extra $25 million sitting on the table since February this year and the Victorian government, which do have primary carriage of this project, have just dithered. The project has blown out. And guess what? It is not in their budget papers. So here we have a government requesting assistance from the Commonwealth, we put it in in good faith and roll it over year after year, saying, ‘Yes, all right, you want some more money because you haven’t been competent enough to get a simple project like this started; we’ll give you an extra $25 million,’ and what happens? They do not put it in their budget! It makes me wonder whether they are fair dinkum about getting this project started.

In July 2003 the then Minister for State and Regional Development, John Brumby, explained the hold-up as ‘a sticking point’ in Freight Australia. We know that this is not the case, and that the hold-up was the fact that the Bracks government in Victoria cannot manage basic major projects. All you have to do to see that is look at the fast rail project, where they promised in 1999 a fast rail project for $80 million. That blew out way over time and way over budget to $1.3 billion in 2006—for saving a few minutes on the train. That is their proven record of trying to invest in and improve Victoria’s infrastructure. So they have form on their ability to mismanage infrastructure.

In good faith, the Commonwealth has rolled over the funding, and I thank the Treasurer and the Prime Minister for that. The federal government’s commitment to this project is there. My personal commitment is there because it is my community. I understand how vital the removal of that railway from central Wodonga is to the continued development and growth of Albury-Wodonga as a critical transport and economic hub.

Earlier this year, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister came to the border for the opening of the $518 million Albury-Wodonga freeway upgrade, as did the Premier of Victoria, even though his government did not contribute a cent to the construction of the freeway upgrade—although I think it is fair to say that he did provide $6 million for half the cost of the state Bandiana link road; the Commonwealth provided the other half. The fact that they delayed even coming up with a commitment of $6 million for the Bandiana link ensured that the significant project, the main upgrade of the Hume Highway at Albury-Wodonga, blew out significantly. On that very day, the Premier of Victoria said that the Wodonga rail bypass ‘could start by June’. I was in Wodonga on the weekend and there was no sign of that substantive work. Mr Bracks is very fond of getting on the front page, and that is what came out of the opening of the Hume upgrade in Albury-Wodonga when he said, ‘But wait, there’s more: Wodonga railway relocation could begin by June.’ It was very sensational.

Madam Deputy Speaker, you cannot blame me or the locals in my electorate for being very sceptical. We have seen numerous front pages of the Border Mail proclaiming the beginning of the removal of the rail from Wodonga. Today, marking 100 days since the premier made his promise on Monday, 5 March 2007 that that work would start, is an appropriate time to table the front page of the Border Mail, if I may have leave to do so.

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