Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. Would the minister update the House on the progress being made to duplicate the Pacific Highway? What is the government doing to ensure that it is completed by the end of this decade?

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

I thank the honourable member for Page for his question. I know, as he does, and as do all the members for northern New South Wales, how important it is for the duplication project of the Pacific Highway to be completed. That is why we have committed $5.64 billion to complete the duplication of the Pacific Highway by the end of this decade. Indeed, the last federal budget included all of the money that is required to complete this project.

It is well and truly underway. Construction has begun on the last 155-kilometre section from Woolgoolga to Ballina in honourable member's electorate. That project is headquartered in Grafton in his electorate. There is, therefore, real progress occurring, and we are determined to achieve our objective of completing this by the end of the decade.

I noticed recently that Labor have endorsed the former member for Page as their candidate at the next election. I cannot understand why they would do that in view of the fact that she stood idly by while Labor slowed down the construction of the Pacific Highway project and skipped the electorate of Page during the construction phase.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's absolute crap!

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

The member for Grayndler is warned!

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

It took a change of government to get this project well and truly underway in the electorate of Page.

I was also surprised when I read that the Leader of the Opposition had included amongst his top 10 projects for infrastructure for the Labor Party to fast-track the Pacific and Bruce Highway packages. Fast-track—when they were in government, they slowed it down! Their fifty-fifty funding proposal would have meant that the project would not have been completed until about 2028, another whole decade away, whereas we will be completing it in the term of the current forward estimates. The reality is that Labor intended to slow this project down, and their policy at the last election was to slow it down. Now we have the hypocrisy of the Leader of the Opposition putting it amongst his top priorities to fast-track it. He has already missed the boat. All of the money is provided and work is underway on the last major stretch. We will deliver this project by the end of the decade. For Labor it would have taken another decade.