Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

The assistant junior minister for infrastructure says, 'Hear, hear!' and good on him. Well, maybe he might want to fund the cross-river rail in Brisbane, or maybe he might want to fund the Melbourne metro or the Perth airport link or the public transport infrastructure right around the country that the previous government funded.

When the previous government, the Labor government, came to office in 2007, where do you think Australia might have figured in the world rankings for investment in infrastructure? First, maybe? Second? Third? We are a good country. We were 20th—20th in the OECD. When we left office in 2013, were we 20th?

Opposition members: No!

Maybe we had improved? Maybe we were 19th? Maybe we were 18th? We were first in the OECD—first in the OECD because of our investment in infrastructure. And the increase in spending on infrastructure under the previous government per capita went from $132 under the Howard government to $225 under the Labor government. That is how you build infrastructure. You don't talk about it; you don't write it into communiques; you fund it. It is a pretty simple concept: infrastructure does cost money, and you fund it and you build it. That is how you fund infrastructure.

Mr Ciobo interjecting—

Ninety-three. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer says, 'Oh, it's terrible—you borrowed money to fund infrastructure!' The Treasurer is talking about bonds to fund infrastructure. That wouldn't be borrowed money at all, would it! Bonds—that wouldn't be borrowed money, when you issue bonds to fund infrastructure! No wonder you are so influential on the Gold Coast! They have figured you out, haven't they? They figured you out a long time ago. That is why you came 93rd. You will be a minister one day—when Wyatt Roy is Prime Minister, you'll get there. Don't worry about it.

But this is a serious issue, because this government is strong on rhetoric, strong on acting, and strong on lecturing middle- and low-income earners about how they have got it so good and they need to pay more, but, when it comes to delivering the goods, this is a government that just does not have it.

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