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

I thank the member for North Sydney and the member for Indi for that and for circulating the amendments prior so that we could consider them properly, so we could look at them and engage with my office about that as well.

We're not supporting them, for a couple of reasons. I absolutely recognise, when you are building large-scale infrastructure projects, particularly when state governments and local councils are planning, there often are really difficult decisions being made. Often the issues that you've raised—and the member for North Sydney, particularly, raised with the projects in her electorate—are actually state government decisions around design planning.

I've certainly undertaken as part of the national partnership agreements, which expire in 2024, that when you and I have had a conversation we will look at the issues around the sorts of things we would expect state governments to do when they're in the planning process, and what consultation they'll have. So whilst I don't support the amendments that you've put forward, in relation to community, I recognise these projects do cause challenges, as that happens.

In relation to the annual statements, I know the member doesn't accept this position but what I have been trying to do is—at the moment, to be blunt, Infrastructure Australia's advice is completely ignored. It's not part of the budget process. There's no process for it to advise ERC about requests from state governments. It's not part of the process at all. So I am trying to integrate it into the process. That means there does have to be some level of cabinet decision-making. I know people are desperate to have every piece of information that is available to government, but there are some things that we have to decide. That is the role we were elected for. It is what executive government does. We make decisions about things.

Through freedom of information and all of the other processes, I request some of that. But if I'm able to actively make a decision about a project, it does need to be considered by cabinet. That means there are a multitude of views that will be discussed there and talked about, and Infrastructure Australia's advice is one of those. That's why we're not supporting it. I know you think that's me trying to not be transparent about it, but what I'm trying to do is say the reason I'm doing this in the first place is that that body is completely ignored and shut out of the process, and I want to bring it into the process. Bringing it into the process means that it is bringing it into cabinet deliberations.

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