Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Prime Minister, your government has found $660 million to develop the $93 billion fast rail to Newcastle, a 194-kilometre project promising a six-minute trip. Yet in Western Sydney, just 34 kays from the new airport to Liverpool, more than 1.2 million residents still have no East West Rail Link—a journey that takes six to seven minutes by bus. Why prioritise a high-risk fast rail over a critical link for Western Sydney, once again leaving people behind? How does that make sense?

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

I really thank the member for Fowler. I love getting questions about infrastructure. I love it. I'll be very proud later this year to open the Western Sydney airport, something that I argued for way back in my first speech in 1996—

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, coalition!

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

something that was, of course, underway, before the Howard government ripped funding out of it in the 1997 budget. Something had begun. The first sod had been turned. Nothing happened for year after year after year under the Howard government. But then we had an aviation white paper that put forward the need for a second Sydney airport, and we found once again that Badgerys Creek was the ideal site.

In addition to that, we're also funding the road and rail infrastructure that will help people have access to that airport, whether it be the east-west metro link, the Westmead to Western Sydney international metro or all of these projects. We are putting all of these projects forward. Indeed, we're investing over $13 billion in transport infrastructure across Western Sydney over the next 10 years. When you include Western Sydney airport and, of course, the wonderful Moorebank intermodal facility, our investment reaches $19 billion. Moorebank intermodal—something that was begun under the former Labor government; there was a bit of an interim period, nine years that they try to forget over there—was something we got to open as well. We got to start it, and we got to open it as we went through. The Moorebank intermodal will make such an enormous difference.

In Western Sydney, we're delivering new rail for Sydney Metro via Western Sydney International Airport—$5.25 billion. We're delivering $1.63 billion to upgrade the M12 motorway, $500 million to upgrade the Mamre Road Stage 2 and $500 million to upgrade the Liverpool and airport transport corridor, Fifteenth Avenue. In addition to that, there's $100 million for the Western Sydney Rapid Bus Infrastructure Upgrade project. That's up and running between major population centres, like Liverpool and Bonnyrigg. In addition to that, we're delivering $95 million to upgrade the Horsley Drive. All of these projects are vital, including local infrastructure projects and the upgrade to Fairfield Hospital. I thank the member for her question, and I'll continue to work across the board with people in Western Sydney to make sure they get the infrastructure— (Time expired)