Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

I say to the honourable member that if she wants to meet with me to talk about these issues, she's welcome to, as other honourable members have, and as the member for Eden-Monaro regularly has on similar matters in her electorate. That is what good representatives do—seek a meeting with the minister and talk the issues through. But we'll talk about the facts. The fact of the matter is that this VNI West link has been discussed for many years. We are getting on with the job. But we aren't, to be fair, the first government to focus on this issue. The previous government also focused on the issue. In fact, my predecessor, the then minister for energy, said:

We are investing in VNI West because it is expected to generate $1.9 billion in net market benefits …

That's what the member for Hume, my predecessor, said about this project. He was backing it in, saying how important it is. This is an important project that will be delivered properly by this government. (Time expired)

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