Danna Vale (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is directed to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Will the minister confirm that the government intends to secure the site of the School of Military Engineering in my electorate of Hughes for an international freight facility in Moorebank? If so, will the government guarantee full and transparent public consultation with the residents of Moorebank and Wattle Grove, and when would such consultations begin?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What I can confirm is that the government does indeed take the issue of intermodal freight services very seriously indeed. Moorebank has been identified as a critical area. Discussions, of course, need to take place with not just my department but the Department of Defence and also the state government. We know that we need to get serious about the freight issue and the freight challenges for Sydney. For 12 years this was left untouched, just like other infrastructure issues that were ignored by the former government. We have established Infrastructure Australia to bring together the different tiers of government—federal, state and local—and the private sector to make sure that we can move forward on these challenges, including making sure that we have intermodal facilities so that we can increase the amount of freight that is moved by rail. At the moment, we have had a significant increase in rail freight in terms of east-west; we have had nothing in terms of north-south. It was completely ignored by the former government. This government is determined to get the processes right to work not just with the different tiers of government but with the private sector and with local communities—because local communities know that infrastructure is critical, and part of that is getting freight right.

Danna Vale (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, the minister did not answer the question. I was asking when the public consultations would begin.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Hughes will resume her seat. The minister has concluded his answer.

Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is also to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Will the minister outline for the House why the government’s nation-building agenda is important given the economic circumstances, and whether Labor’s history as a nation-building party has been given broad support in the past? Is the minister aware of any threats to this agenda?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Oxley for his question and for his ongoing interest in infrastructure, particularly the Ipswich Motorway, where substantial progress has been made under the Rudd government. This government has been working—

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Finance, Competition Policy and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Another study.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I advise the member opposite—he lives in Brisbane—to go and have a look at the literally hundreds of workers today doing work on the Ipswich Motorway. You should go and have a look at Labor’s nation-building agenda in practice on the Ipswich Motorway—something that was ignored by those opposite for 12 years. Such progress is, of course, part of Labor’s tradition as a nation-building party. That is why from day one we moved quickly to establish Infrastructure Australia to bring together all the different levels of government and the private sector.

If Infrastructure Australia provides the way, the Building Australia Fund provides the means—a means to fund investment in roads, in rail, in ports and in broadband. These funds are under threat from a reckless, irresponsible opposition that wants to blow, at a minimum, a $6.2 billion hole in the surplus—an opposition that discarded its leader today but discarded economic responsibility sometime ago. It completely gave up on economic responsibility. I would have thought that the new Leader of the Opposition would understand the importance of our nation-building agenda, because in the past he has had a history of being attracted towards the Labor agenda. It is common knowledge in the Labor Party that the new Leader of the Opposition went to Kirribilli to meet with then Prime Minister Keating about getting the casual vacancy in the Senate for the Labor Party in 1994.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Isn’t it interesting, Mr Speaker, that at the beginning of question time the Prime Minister was offering congratulations and now the ‘dirt-raker’ from the government gets up and makes up stories.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for North Sydney will get to his point of order.

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am happy to engage in a debate. You want a debate? Bring it on.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for North Sydney will resume his seat. I indicate to him my tolerance about those types of points of order, which are not points of order. I will listen carefully to the conclusion of the minister’s answer.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you. This was about Graham Richardson’s casual vacancy in the Senate, and Malcolm Turnbull, the Leader of the Opposition, had a discussion with then Prime Minister Keating at Kirribilli.

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. This response from the minister is not in any way relevant to the question, which was about infrastructure.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the point of order, the question went in broad terms to Labor history, which I acknowledge should have been code for being very careful. I will listen to the minister concluding his answer quickly.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition clearly understood at that time that infrastructure was important. Only Labor could be trusted with the job of building the nation. We have seen a former Labor Party member replaced by someone who wanted to be a Labor senator.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will resume his seat.