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

I want to go to some state-by-state specific projects, but before I do that I want to talk a little bit about airports and in particular one airport I know the Acting Prime Minister will know well—Wagga Wagga Airport. I flew in there about a month ago. It's a pretty flash looking airport.

Mr McCormack interjecting—

We could have. You weren't in town at the time, Acting Prime Minister. It's a pretty flash looking airport. I note the local member says that he's not in favour of this airport being handed over to the council. The council is experiencing significant problems. He has made the claim that the RAAF base would disappear from Wagga if the council has the airport. We know that many local councils had airports in their areas handed over to them over 30 years ago at no cost. The Wagga council is pretty keen for that to occur. I must admit that I'm at a bit of a loss as to why the Acting Prime Minister doesn't think this is a good idea. We have seen it happen in other areas.

I recognise very much the contribution to the Newcastle Airport and congratulate as well the member for Paterson for her great advocacy in making sure that the Acting Prime Minister was aware of that and ensured that that project got funded. I see that great partnership over Newcastle Airport between two councils that works very successfully. I ask the Acting Prime Minister why he thinks that's not possible for the Wagga Wagga Airport.

In terms of the state-by-state breakdown, there's so-called new money in this budget. I say 'so-called new money' because we know that there was a $3.3 billion cut in the heart of the budget to infrastructure funding. You are the first infrastructure minister in over a decade to have a cut to his infrastructure budget. For example, the government claim to be spending new money in the Northern Territory, but 99 per cent of the money promised the day before the budget is actually not in the budget at all. It's off on the never-never. It's quite an achievement—only one per cent of that new money is to be spent in the Northern Territory over the next four years.

For Victoria, 87 per cent of its promised new money isn't in the budget. The $2 billion commitment for the new intermodal freight hub in Melbourne's north or west is off budget. We don't know the location yet. I know there's talk between Truganina and Beveridge. We also don't know how it's going to be funded through the budget. Is it a loan? Is it an equity investment? Is it a grant? What is that money going to be? Can the Acting Prime Minister answer that please?

In New South Wales, well over half of the newly announced funding isn't in the budget. The biggest ticket item for New South Wales, as we've heard, is the $2 billion for the Great Western Highway upgrade, which is off on the never-never. I'm sure local members will be disappointed to hear that it won't be finished until 2028 at the earliest, on the current projections of the government's funding. Why is it that you didn't contribute a single cent to new public transport projects in New South Wales despite them being of the highest priority for the New South Wales government? Is it because it's the same old tired government that left Queensland to go it alone on Cross River Rail?

In South Australia over a third of the money promised isn't in the budget. The biggest promise, the North-South Corridor, is nothing more than a reheated announcement. I think it's been announced eight times now. It had already been announced before, and even the South Australian government has admitted what the Deputy Prime Minister won't admit: that this is a renouncement. It's got several headlines out of it, but we want to know when work will actually begin on this project that has been talked about forever and ever and ever.

When it comes to Tasmania I think the member for Lyons summed it up best, saying the announcements on the Midland Highway have been 'reheated more times than a dodgy takeaway'. Apparently the $64 million for the Burnie shiploader is fully funded. But, in reality, only $44 million is actually allocated to this project; it's $20 million short. We'd be keen to know where that new money is coming from.

When we were last in government, we actually delivered on infrastructure, whether it was Tiger Brennan Drive or Arnhem Highway in the Northern Territory; $7.9 billion for the Pacific Highway; building the Hunter Expressway; doubling the federal infrastructure spend per Victorian; investing in the Regional Rail Link; upgrading the M80; duplicating long parts of the Princes Highway, east and west; or, in South Australia, building the Northern Expressway. Labor has a really strong legacy of delivering on infrastructure. This government just cuts it.

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