Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) Western Australia has consistently been neglected by the Government;

(b) despite promising $860 million during the federal election campaign for road and rail projects in Western Australia, the Government will instead dedicate just over $40 million for much needed projects;

(c) the Government has failed to deliver key infrastructure funding in Western Australia; and

(d) families and businesses in Western Australia continue to be disadvantaged by a government that ignores them;

(2) condemns the Government for its failure to deliver on its infrastructure promises for West Australians; and

(3) calls on the Prime Minister to explain why West Australians are consistently neglected, ignored and ripped off by the Government.

I'm pleased to put forward this motion because it draws attention to the neglect of Western Australia by this government. There are 15 Liberal members and senators from Western Australia, six of whom are Liberal federal ministers—that's one-fifth of the cabinet—but not one of them is willing to stand up for Western Australia when it counts. Not one of them is willing to fight for WA jobs. Not one of them is willing to fight for WA infrastructure. And Western Australia has, time and time again, been dudded by this federal Liberal government, robbing us of jobs and the opportunity to build a better state. Excluding the GST top-up funding, which we so righteously deserve—and I don't want to get started on GST or we might be here for a while—in 2015-2016, WA received just $437 million of federal infrastructure funding. In the 2016-2017 budget, that dropped to $390 million.

So, as unemployment soared, the people of Western Australia were doing it tough. Families were struggling, mortgage stress was through the roof and we were all crying out for job-creating projects. But those cries fell on deaf and uncaring ears. Then the WA state election happened, where more than 100,000 voters turned away from the Liberals and the Nationals, who had taken them for granted, and 26 seats were lost. And, in almost the blink of an eye, infrastructure spending in WA almost tripled. Those opposite will crow about it and call it their victory. They'll talk about this as a great investment in jobs and growth and pat themselves on the back. But we all know this one thing: that not one Liberal from WA or anywhere else paid any attention to Western Australia until their jobs were on the line—and that from our federal representatives, who we are meant to trust to fight for us and advocate for us. Western Australia will not be taken for granted. We will not be the 'wait a while' state.

But infrastructure spending isn't the only area in which WA is being neglected. For years now, the rate of methamphetamine usage in WA has been one of the highest across the country, ripping families and communities in Western Australia apart. And, despite regional WA having the highest meth use of anywhere in Australia, we received just 11.4 per cent of the federal funding to tackle addiction. In contrast, New South Wales has almost three times as many people, but its population uses meth at less than half the rate of Western Australians and yet New South Wales has been allocated 31.2 per cent of Ice Action Strategy funding pie. Those numbers simply do not add up for Western Australia. The funding is not enough to cope with the magnitude of the problem in Western Australia, and the Turnbull government, with its six WA ministers and 15 WA Liberal ministers and senators, won't do anything about it.

Just four days ago, it was confirmed that the Turnbull government has refused to invest any money in the new Perth stadium. There's been $100 million promised to the Townsville stadium, and past governments have put a total of $244 million towards football stadiums in New South Wales, in Victoria and in Adelaide. But, as is so often the case with this Liberal government, there is nothing for the people of Western Australia. I'm actually really pleased to see my colleagues from the other side here to speak on this—because, unless their jobs are on the line, they don't do anything for Western Australia. Unless the government are on the line, they are dragged kicking and screaming to do anything for Western Australia. I implore this Liberal government and I implore my colleagues over the other side to stop taking Western Australia for granted. Stop taking us for granted. Stop ignoring us. Stop neglecting us. Western Australians deserve better representation than this. Whether it's in infrastructure funding, whether it's in funding to tackle methamphetamine addiction or whether it's in funding for a stadium, time and time again we're getting left behind. Whether it's the national discourse on housing affordability, which simply does not take into account any of the WA experience, whether it's the national discourse on tax or whether it's the national discourse on infrastructure, we are consistently being left out. I feel the pain of Western Australians in my electorate when, every time they see me, they ask me, 'What is this government doing for us?' I implore the government to start taking notice of WA. (Time expired)

Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for this motion?

Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion put forward by the member for Cowan, which I might say is quite an absurd motion. The coalition government is investing a record amount of money in infrastructure—some $75 billion in infrastructure funding and financing from 2017-18 and 2026-27—to get the airports that we need and to get road and rail network infrastructure projects off the ground. One of the key planks of this government is its commitment to investment in infrastructure.

In Western Australia, we've recently heard about a commitment of some $6.8 billion in infrastructure in terms of the big picture. The majority of that money, to be fair, is going to the city. But I'm a regional member, and they're the things that I'm interested in, and that is not captured in that $6.8 billion. What I do know is that there is an abundance of big infrastructure projects in the northern end of Western Australia, in my seat of Durack. I'm not sure if the member for Cowan gets out of the city much, but, if she does, she might be pleasantly surprised at the investment that the coalition has made throughout the north-west of my state, and that's because this government is backing regional Australia.

In my electorate, we have the Great Northern Highway upgrade, which is a $344 million project, to which the federal government has committed around 75 per cent of the total funds. There's also the North West Coastal Highway upgrade, to which the federal government has committed $86.1 million, the total of which is $108 million. There is also the $6 million Derby Airport upgrade; $50 million for the Cape Leveque Road, which will do amazing things for those people along the peninsula; $45 million for the road between Kununurra and Wyndham, which, again, is going to be of huge support to that area and open up the port; $12 million for the Northern Australia Beef Roads project; and $100 million to help create the Outback Way across Western Australia, the Northern Territory and through to Queensland. Not in my electorate, another great project is the Great Southern housing project, to which the federal government is committing $10 million. It would be remiss of me not to talk about the Remote Airstrip Upgrade Program, which we've already spent nearly $5 million on, with airports in Norseman, Carnarvon and Wiluna. We mustn't forget the National Stronger Regions Fund and the Building Better Regions Fund streams, which are all starting to filter through, and we're starting to get runs on the board in my seat of Durack.

It should be noted that these programs never existed when those opposite were running the show. In six long years, we had no commitment to regional Australia. My concern is that should we have the day when those opposite are sitting on this side of the chamber those types of programs will disappear. I'll be doing everything I can to ensure that doesn't happen.

The National Stronger Regions Fund has delivered numerous projects in my electorate, including $300,000 which was recently committed to the Kununurra Rodeo and Campdraft facilities, which is allowing that rodeo association to expand their facilities, to host events year-round and to become a real regional hub for those types of activities. I went there the other day to open it. We had a lot of fun. And I hope that I'll be able to get out there again to do the same. From the National Stronger Regions Fund, in 2016, Durack received about $10 million for eight projects, and with the more recent Building Better Regions Fund, we've secured money for nine separate programs—a total of $20 million. As you can see, in addition to all the roads we're upgrading, that's a huge commitment to my electorate. At the weekend, I had the pleasure of another National Stronger Regions Fund application for the Dowerin Short Stay Accommodation precinct. They received a $800,000 federal government contribution, which was very well-received. What a great project it is.

With the time that's remaining, I want to talk briefly about GST reform. We know that there's a lot of barbs being thrown across the chamber. What has disappointed me in terms of my Western Australian Labor colleagues is the pitiful, miserable submission they put into the GST inquiry. We actually need everybody singing from the same song sheet. If you read that submission, you'd be left thinking, 'Oh, there's nothing to see here. There's nothing to see here.' But for us to get real reform to the GST model, we need my Western Australian Labor colleagues to be talking with their Labor counterparts in Victoria, in the Northern Territory and in Queensland because, without agreement from all states, we're going nowhere. It's very disappointing that we can stand here today and talk about what we are not doing for our state when the Labor representatives from our great state are not doing what they ought to be doing.

Tim Hammond (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm delighted to rise and speak on this motion in support of my great colleague, neighbouring the wonderful federal electorate of Perth, and that is the member for Cowan, Dr Anne Aly. She's doing a terrific job in representing her constituents but also representing the great state of Western Australia.

It must be said that any discussion about the extent to which Western Australia needs vastly more investment in infrastructure than it is currently receiving can't be made in the abstract. When one has regard to the disturbing bedfellows—being a state Liberal government and a federal Liberal coalition government—over the last few years, one doesn't wonder why we are in such a mess as we're in now. It is no wonder, having inherited such a deplorable set of financial books from the inept previous Liberal government of Colin Barnett, that we have so much more ground to make up than is currently on the table with the paltry offerings, the paltry investment—the feather duster type investment—in infrastructure from this federal government.

Let's paint the picture. The last time we saw a state Labor government—in relation to ensuring that there is a healthy set of books within which to support an atmosphere of consumer confidence and strong employment prospects—was 2008. What did we see in 2008, Madam Deputy Speaker? We saw a situation where the state was in surplus to the tune of $2 billion. To the extent we had debt it was in the range of about $3 billion, as we were slowly but surely ascending into a once-in-a-lifetime construction phase of a mining boom that was to sweep the state of Western Australia.

Fast forward to a time when the Liberal Party took government. We saw a revolving door of five treasurers in the eight years they were in power. What do we see at the end of that time? What do we have to show for it in Western Australia? We have a deficit of over $3 billion and a debt that, on the forward projections, in only 12 months time will be in the range of $40 billion. The reason that is relevant is that you can't have a conversation about the need to invest in infrastructure in Western Australia without it being proportionate to the size of the problem, and the size of the problem is largely a result of either ignorance, wilful blindness or neglect—or hubris—on the part of the former state Liberal government or this current federal government.

As we come off the tail end of that mining boom and look around to see the significant nation-building infrastructure projects that ought to be there before our eyes in Western Australia, we see two things. No. 1, we see state based initiatives that have been so poorly handled or so poorly invested in that we haven't got anything close to bang for our buck. No. 2, we see that any truly groundbreaking infrastructure projects in Western Australia were brought about as a result of a federal Labor government prior to 2013. The one thing that all of our members here have in common—both sides of the aisle—is that we all jump in cars and go off to the airport. As we make our way from the west to the east we see Gateway WA, a nation-building piece of infrastructure that was brought about as a result of federal Labor advocacy. We see a Great Eastern Highway upgrade that was brought about as a result of federal Labor advocacy.

In relation to investment and infrastructure from this federal government, what do we have to show in terms of any meaningful projects? Let's have a look at the budget papers; that is where it's terrific. Apart from level crossings and facilitations, what we're going to see is assessment of business cases by Infrastructure Australia in relation to rail. What we're going to see is: 'You can have, on the one hand, your Perth funding money, but you can only have it to the extent that you do what we tell you to do.' It's not really $1.2 billion at all; it is a conditional $1.2 billion. What is so sad about this debate is that it is so conditional upon the mismanagement of this federal government and a previous state Liberal government.

Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When you listen to WA Labor, particularly their federal members of parliament, you have to discount what they say and look at their actions. Nothing is more stark in this debate than the pathetic submission they made to the Productivity Commission in relation to the GST.

A government member: They're not hear to listen to you.

No, they are not here to listen. They like to make their political point and they like to scamper. But what did they say in their submission to the Productivity Commission? The WA federal Labor members were seeking:

… an outcome to this situation, but one that doesn't negatively impact other states and territories.

And they stand in this place and try to suggest that we should all stand up for Western Australia when they fail to do so themselves! What did Roger Cook, the Labor's Deputy Premier, say about them?

If they haven't supported the State Government's position they need to take more notice of it … It's time that people get real about this …

This is a direct message from state Labor to federal Labor in Western Australia. But The Sunday Times went further and said that:

WA Federal Labor MPs and Senators have not only hung WA out to dry, but also their State colleagues

It is shameful. What we know about Labor is that they're good at politics, but they're not good at delivering.

A government member: Are you sure they're good at that?

Perhaps not. But we're here today to talk about infrastructure, and the motion from the member for Cowan could not be further from the truth. I want to celebrate the $2.3 billion joint commitment to road and rail infrastructure projects between the federal government and the state Labor government in Western Australia, $1.6 billion of which was invested by the federal government in this budget alone in important road and rail projects that will create 6,000 local jobs and build 17 new congestion-busting projects across the metropolitan area.

The member for Cowan is talking about infrastructure today. I missed the first part of her speech, and she's not here to hear mine. I don't know if she spoke about the two projects in her electorate. One is the $65 million for Wanneroo Road and Ocean Reef Road interchange, which is one of the most congested intersections in the Perth metropolitan area. The project will boost capacity and traffic flow, ease congestion and improve safety for all road users. Today could have been a great opportunity to speak about that in a positive way. The other project is the $50 million for Wanneroo Road and Joondalup Drive interchange, the sixth most congested intersection in the Perth metropolitan area. These are important projects for the people of Cowan, and it's a shame that the member for Cowan isn't talking positively about them.

To say that the Turnbull government has failed to deliver for the people of Cowan is a load of rubbish. A big win for Tangney and for the people of the federal electorate of Fremantle, part of the $1.6 billion invested by the federal government, is the Roe Highway extension past the Kwinana Freeway and the provision of better and safer access to Fiona Stanley Hospital and the Murdoch Specialised Activity Centre. I am very proud to stand by my state Labor colleagues, in particular Peter Tinley, and welcome this important contribution to making our streets less congested and improving important access to the Murdoch Specialised Activity Centre. I hope that the member for Fremantle, who will contribute to this debate today, will also welcome and acknowledge that cooperation between the state Labor government and the federal Liberal government in relation to that project.

But on top of our commitment, on top of that combined $2.3 billion commitment to WA roads and rail, there is $1.2 billion that still remains to build Roe 8 and Roe 9. It is there as a contingent liability. It can be done. WA Labor is blocking this investment. All that needs to happen is for Premier Mark McGowan to say yes and to create those jobs that we need today. The Perth Freight Link, Roe 8 and Roe 9 will take 7,000 trucks off our roads and 74,000 light vehicles. Fourteen sets of traffic lights will be bypassed on Leach Highway and Stock Road. The construction of Roe 8 would save 450,000 tonnes of CO2 by 2031.

I raise this point because Labor did not commit to cancelling Roe 8 and Roe 9 until a month before election day. I don't think they really wanted to put a stop to this project, but I acknowledge that they did win the election. In the southern suburbs, they had less of a swing than they had in the northern suburbs, which proves that the people in the southern suburbs want this project. I'm calling on the Labor Party to have a look at that $1.2 billion that's there for this project and look at an alternative engineering solution to take traffic from the Kwinana Freeway to Fremantle so that our southern suburbs can benefit. (Time expired)

Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Cowan for bringing this motion forward. In her first 12 months as a representative, she's worked incredibly hard to be a responsive and strong advocate for her community. A big part of that has involved arguing for much-needed infrastructure projects in Perth's northern suburbs. I'm proud to work with her and my other WA Labor colleagues to fight for Western Australia's fair share of infrastructure investment, a fair share that has not been forthcoming under a coalition government that continues to take the west for granted. We need that investment because it means the ability to deliver public transport, it means shipbuilding and port facilities, and it means bridges and black spot solutions that reduce congestion and improve safety.

Smart, forward-looking investment in infrastructure is important because it lifts productivity, creates jobs and creates opportunities for small businesses and home businesses alike. But, unfortunately, this government has underinvested in national infrastructure. Not even their best year of investment can match the lowest year of investment under the former Labor government. In WA, we have had the worst of it. WA accounts for 11 per cent of the population and 33 per cent of the Australian landmass. Our state manages the costs and the logistical challenges of remoteness on an unprecedented scale. It needs to be supported, especially in a time of sharp economic downturn, but we've not yet received a fair or proportionate investment from the Abbott-Turnbull government. On this issue, the numbers do not lie.

In the course of the election campaign, the coalition made a set of promises across Australia about road and bridge projects. There were 78 projects; only three were in Western Australia. That's not 10 per cent; that's not even five per cent. From the $220 million Regional Jobs and Investment Packages—a program designed to fund projects that address areas of high unemployment—WA was the only state to miss out altogether. Ten projects were selected; none were in Western Australia. That's not even five per cent; that's zero per cent. When WA was named one of two naval shipbuilding hubs, I thought that would give us a chance of something like half the work and maybe half the investment—certainly, that's what the WA Liberals would like you to think. In June, they took out a sequence of full-page ads in The West Australian about shipbuilding that said '50 per cent' in bold, white text on a bright-blue Liberal circle. But are we getting 50 per cent? No, not exactly. Of the $89 billion in defence shipbuilding work, WA is getting $3.5 billion. That's not half. In fact, as you might have guessed, it's less than 5 per cent.

You can come into this place with all the rhetorical flair that you like, with all of the spin and with all of the full-page ads in The West Australian, but no amount of bluster and no amount of advertising dollars can spin the truth into some kind of fairytale. When you look at the paltry investment by the Abbott-Turnbull government, the numbers tell the story. The numbers do not lie. In fact, the one measure in which we are overrepresented—in which we get more than our fair share in Western Australia—is in the numbers of Liberal and National party members that come to this place. That's the evil genius of the last four years: the coalition do next to nothing for WA, all the time relying on their sense of entitlement to represent our state. That strategy does not seem to be changing. The faith by those opposite in the power of cynical advertising and playing the blame game remains as strong as ever. They'll keep running ads in The West Australiansaying 'we're getting 50 per cent', they'll keep blaming a brand new Labor government for the combined failures of the Abbott-Turnbull federal government and the Barnett state government for what they've not delivered over the last four years.

I knew that the member for Tangney was going to speak today. I steeled myself to hear about his brilliant plan to bring back the disastrous and the pointless Roe 8 project. I was so looking forward to his description of the fantastic negotiations by which we clawed back the $1.2 billion for a series of important projects in both of our electorates. I was thinking that he might come in to talk about some innovation funding for this time machine that he clearly wants to build so that he can go back and change recent history. They say that there are millions of alternate universes. There will not be an alternate universe in which you can find Roe 8 making any sense—but he's welcome to keep looking.

I would much rather work collaboratively with the member for Tangney on something sensible to benefit our state and, indeed, to benefit the adjoining communities we represent. If there's a prospect of creating a City Deal that extends south of the river, I'd be glad to work with him on achieving support from the federal government for a light-rail corridor between Fremantle and Murdoch Central that would catalyse transport-oriented development and create jobs. People in Western Australia want to see their representatives working together, and I'd be very happy to do that. But, first things first: the Abbott-Turnbull government needs to change its game, it needs to stop neglecting WA, it needs to stop the spin, it needs to stop taking the people of Western Australia for fools and it needs to stop taking our state for granted.

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

It's a pleasure to be able to speak on this motion. I must admit that, when I first saw it and saw that it was from the member for Cowan, I checked to see that it hadn't come out of a Monty Python skit or Yes, Prime Minister. It just bemused me. I must admit that I only heard the member for Fremantle's speech, because I was in the chair in the other chamber, but it was all motherhood statements and rhetoric. There was nothing about the specific claims they've made against us. There wasn't one mention of all the infrastructure that has been built.

Let's go back to 2007. Western Australia was promised $100 million a year by guess who? The federal Labor government under Kevin Rudd. It never came at all—not one cent of the $100 million per annum, as compensation for the GST, ever came. It disappeared into the ether. Again, don't listen to what Labor say; just watch what they do. There is no better example than ports and other infrastructure. They had six years to do all that, and where were they? They did nothing in Western Australia. All they gave us was a mining tax, which ruined our economy, and the carbon tax. But Labor conveniently forget all that.

We have from the member for Cowan a quick definition of neglect as not receiving proper attention and of being disregarded. The member for Cowan's motion goes on to accuse the government of failing to deliver key infrastructure funding in Western Australia. I'll just quickly remind you that there's an AFL event on tonight. It was the Abbott government that gave the West Coast Eagles $13 million for their infrastructure project at Lathlain in my electorate of Swan, with $10 million of it contributing to the $65 million building, and $3 million to the Wirrpanda Foundation—a bit of infrastructure that those on the other side forget.

It appears to me that the member for Cowan has neglected to read the news that this coalition government is building Western Australia's future by delivering the biggest infrastructure investment in Australia's history, so it is with great pleasure that I remind the member for Cowan and those on the other side of the chamber what we are doing in the great state of WA—and perhaps they can take notes for their WA state Labor colleagues. The coalition government is investing a record $75 billion in infrastructure funding and financing from 2017-18 to 2026-27 to get vital airport, road, and rail infrastructure projects underway across the country.

In my home state of WA alone the coalition is investing $6.8 billion in infrastructure, supporting jobs and growth across Australia's biggest state. In the 2016 budget WA was given $499 million GST top-up payments. Of that, $45 million was allocated to the Roe Highway and Berkshire Road grade separation within my electorate of Swan, which is now complete. The following year, in the 2016-17 budget, $490 million was allocated to build the Forrestfield Airport Link, all of which is in the electorate of Swan. The link will connect residents of Swan across Perth to the airport and CBD with three new stations: Forrestfield, Airport Central and Belmont. It's great to update the Chamber that construction is well underway, with support from the state Labor government.

A Commonwealth-state funding agreement will see the construction of another exciting project, a southbound on-ramp from Manning Road to Kwinana Freeway, finally going ahead. The project is $35 million, with a $28 million contribution from the federal government—not the state government—and $7 million from the state government. I would remind members, that Labor Senator Sue Lines spoke against the Manning Road on-ramp, which thousands of people in the Manning Road area want, and said, 'The member for Swan should take his eye off ridiculous infrastructure projects and concentrate on the people in his electorate', which I am doing. The response to the Manning Road on-ramp was enormous. I keep reminding the people who were so pleased to have it that Labor Senator Lines spoke and voted against it in the other chamber.

I welcome the Treasurer's 2017-18 budget that included funds for the grade separation of the Roe Highway and Kalamunda Road intersection and a once-in-a-generation upgrade of High Wycombe road and rail. This is a major investment in Swan, with the Roe-Kalamunda road being ranked No. 1 for crashes by Main Roads over the five years reporting period. The agreement sees our coalition government funding $68.8 million to enable the Roe Highway grade separation to proceed. I suggest the member for Cowan and those on the other side take note of what has been done by the federal coalition government in terms of infrastructure funding and that the member for Cowan also look at the two projects in her electorate and stop walking around with her eyes shut.

Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.