Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lyons for his question. Indeed, just before Christmas the government opened the largest-ever road project in Tasmania, the Brighton Bypass. Work is continuing on the $200 million revitalisation of the Tasmanian freight rail network to take trucks off the road and put freight onto rail. Our Nation Building Program is fully costed, fully funded and is being delivered.

I am asked about other proposals, and in Tasmania there have been some other proposals recently. The Leader of the Opposition went to Tasmania just a couple of weeks ago and repeated his promise that they would fully duplicate the Midland Highway. He was asked how much money they had, and he said, '$400 million'. He was asked where he got that from and he said he had had informal discussions with road engineers. Unfortunately, it is a $2.7 billion project. His was done on the back of an envelope, and indeed I am advised that $400 million will not get you from Brighton to the Mood Food servo in Kempton. Perhaps that is where he did the maths for this project?

But then when it came up in Senate estimates yesterday, having gone from being fully-funded, Senator Eric Abetz now says that a Liberal government would assist with the upgrading, and that it was always going to be a combined project. This commitment did not last two weeks. It is not surprising. Last week we began construction on the Majura Parkway and we also began construction on the WA Gateway project in Perth, the biggest road project ever in Western Australia. In 2010 those opposite said they would give it consideration for some time after 2014-15. It did not appear in their forwards and did not appear in their costings. Construction is now underway as a result of the funding, as a result of real money being delivered. They go and bag our progress, but they are happy to turn up. In this photo, there is myself, Smithy, the member for Perth, the proud local member. And there is the member for Swan. Hard hat on—

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