Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Deputy Prime Minister for giving an introduction to what's in this year's budget for infrastructure, transport and regional development. I want to start with a project that is part of the broad appropriation of the department: Western Sydney International Airport and the acquisition that the government made of the Leppington Triangle. The Australian National Audit Office report into the processes leading to the acquisition and the price paid per hectare by the Morrison government for this piece of land was pretty scathing. In fact, the ANAO stated very clearly that it fell short of ethical standards, with public servants meeting with landowners in coffee shops, and it failed to ensure proper probity measures were followed. It's a very serious audit report.

I would like to start with a simple question about which minister was the responsible minister at the time and which minister is willing to accept responsibility for this acquisition. The purchase itself was completed on 31 July 2018. The major brief into the decision was in January 2018. Minister Tudge, I understand that you were the Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population when this purchase was completed. Do you take any responsibility for this acquisition? Minister McCormack, can you confirm that on 31 July 2018, when the purchase of the Leppington Triangle was finalised, you were the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, as well as being the responsible cabinet minister for this project? Do you take responsibility for this purchase? I understand that Minister Fletcher was the minister in January 2018. Given that one of the briefs that the ANAO refers to, which basically outlined to the government what the acquisition strategy was and that it was finalised, was in January, was signed off by Minister Fletcher and CCed to then Minister Joyce, can either of the ministers at the table confirm that they were the responsible minister?

I've never seen such duck-shoving, frankly, as on this project. Somewhere along the line, one of the ministers here has to stand up and say, 'I was the minister responsible for this decision and I signed off on it,' and we haven't seen that at all so far. We've had the Deputy Prime Minister, of course, describe this acquisition as a bargain and a good deal. Have you changed your mind yet at all? Were you surprised to learn that the AFP are actively now investigating? Minister Tudge, were you surprised that they are investigating?

Minister McCormack, as minister for infrastructure, you are responsible for billions of dollars of government infrastructure spending, with projects from Western Sydney Airport to Inland Rail, and countless smaller projects across the country. Many of these projects involve very sensitive negotiations with landholders regarding road placement, access, the location of intermodal hubs, the placement of rail lines and the rezoning of lands. Do you have confidence that your department has behaved ethically in all other interactions of this type, including in projects like Inland Rail? Are you aware of any similar overinflated purchases in any other projects that you are responsible for? If you were aware of them, would you spot the problem and do something to fix it? Or would you, as has happened in this case, tick off millions of dollars of taxpayer funding for a grossly inflated piece of land?

At Senate estimates last month we heard revelations that the Department of Infrastructure had budgeted in the order of $30 million for the purchase of Leppington Triangle before the valuation strategy or the acquisition process was in place. Minister, what kind of acquisition strategy or process begins with the final price and then works backwards from there? Is this the normal approach of your office and your department? When the decision was taken, who took the decision to take compulsory acquisition off the table? We'd like to hear the minister answer that question. When the scandal was publicly revealed by the Australian National Audit Office, the minister's response was to allow the Department of Infrastructure to hold another investigation into themselves. This is despite previous departmental investigations clearing the deal of any wrongdoing and the department failing to comply with the ANAO investigation. (Time expired)

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