Andrew Gee (Calare, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Since the days of the gold rush, our communities have been fighting for a crossing over the Macquarie River at Dixons Long Point between Mudgee and Orange. There was $27.8 million of allocated funding sitting in the kitty, and the project had gone out to tender, before your government roadblocked it.

Today I met with the relevant state minister, and there's no immediate contribution for this federal initiative. Will your government support the people of our region by building this game-changing bridge? And why can't the $27.8 million be spent on improving the existing road?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Calare for his question, and I thank him also for raising it with me, as he has made representations on behalf of his constituents. I have also had discussions with—I've raised it with—the New South Wales government. I know I've raised it with the transport minister as well, and I'd ask the transport minister to also make some comments.

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I also thank the member for Calare for the question. I know he's a strong advocate of this project. And you're right: the former government did make some provision for this road. However, it was at least $20 million short of what was required to actually build the road—and that was before we had to do some further work. The project also involved a number of significant delivery challenges, which were not met.

It, again, goes to the point of the problems that we saw with the infrastructure investment pipeline, from those opposite making promises before there was any proper planning work or any proper understanding of the cost. So we've got a pipeline that is billions and billions and billions of dollars short of what is actually required to deliver these projects.

Now, as you're aware, the October budget last year did deliver a substantial investment in infrastructure in New South Wales, and we're getting on with the job of building over 300 projects, currently, across the country—$21 billion invested in New South Wales alone. We'll continue to work closely with the New South Wales government. They're undertaking a review of their infrastructure pipeline as well, because they are experiencing exactly the same problems, because the Liberal and National parties have form when it comes to this sort of project. I've certainly made some representations to the New South Wales government in relation to this project, and we'll have more to say about the infrastructure investment pipeline review in the coming weeks.