Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. Will the Deputy Prime Minister update the House on action the government is taking to build the infrastructure needed to support jobs and growth in Western Australia?

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Swan for the question. Western Australia is certainly a winner with this government's infrastructure program. We have a large number of very important projects being undertaken in Western Australia, worth about $5.4 billion in all. They will be transformational for Perth and also make significant upgradings to the state's rural highway network. The funding includes the $116 million allocated over the last few days for the duplication of the Armadale Road and, of course, our commitments to projects like the Perth Freight Link, a $925 million project; $894 million to NorthLink WA; and $676 million to Gateway Western Australia. These are important projects, and I think they will make a real difference to Western Australia and particularly to Perth and the way in which traffic flows around that region. And of course these projects are fully funded.

Labor, when they were last in office, claimed credit for some of these particular programs and boasted—particularly the member for Grayndler, who is not with us today.

Mr Husic interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I remind the member for Chifley that he has been warned. The member for Chifley has been warned twice.

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Grayndler boasted that these were Labor funded projects—except the problem for him was the member for Lilley, when he was Treasurer. He made it absolutely clear that these projects were not in fact funded, because he said that revenue from the mining resource tax went:

… to investment in infrastructure projects like the Gateway project in Western Australia around the airport. That's what it's all about … If we don't have the revenue from the tax then we can't make the investments.

Of course, how much revenue did they get from the tax? Zero. Labor, in fact, was funding these projects with money that did not exist, and the Treasurer knew that it did not exist. The projects were simply not funded. From our perspective we have got the projects working, we have got them under construction, we have got them advancing and delivering jobs and opportunities in Western Australia, and they are paid for. That is the difference between a government that believes in sound economic management and those who believe that you can build things with Monopoly money, that you are never brought to account.