Road and Rail Infrastructure

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-105250

Hansard session: Fifty-Seventh Parliament, First Session (57-1)

Road and Rail Infrastructure

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (15:17:43):

I address my question to the Minister for Transport and Roads. How is the Government delivering on its plan for roads and rail across New South Wales?

Mr ANDREW CONSTANCE (BegaMinister for Transport and Roads) (15:18:02):

— I thank the member for Oatley for his question. The member for Oatley came to me before question time and advised that he had a question. I thanked him. He wanted me to reference the huge swing in his electorate and I do so now. I congratulate him on the massive swing in his electorate. I say to those opposite they should enjoy the next four years and the four years after that too. There is no doubt that if we look at what happened in the election campaign in relation to Labor's cancellation plans, the community made it crystal clear that they want to see this State continue to build road and rail projects in the way that it has. Very pleasingly in the next two years the M4 East tunnel will open in the next couple of months, a Metro train will be up and running within three weeks, a new section of WestConnex will open next year, a light rail project will open and NorthConnex will open.

The SPEAKER:

The member for Strathfield will contain herself.

Mr ANDREW CONSTANCE:

I am glad those opposite mentioned light rail because I want to talk about Newcastle Light Rail. What a cracking project. It has gone off like a cracker. We opened it in February and there were 47,000 trips, but it gets better: the number of trips doubled to 118,000 in March. We have now had 250,000 people catch Newcastle Light Rail in the first two months of operation. I hope that the member for Newcastle has been on it. Have you been on it? Up went the eyebrows. Come on Crackers, tell us whether you went on it.

Mr Tim Crakanthorp:

Point of order: I refer to Standing Order 75. Ministers must refer to members by their correct title.

The SPEAKER:

The point of order is upheld.

Mr ANDREW CONSTANCE:

I think that is a yes. I take it he has caught it 250,000 times as well.

Mr Clayton Barr:

Point of order: My point of order is Standing Order 129, relevance around the line of attack by the Minister now. He told budget estimates last year that Labor was not allowed to catch the train—

The SPEAKER:

The Minister is being relevant. The member for Cessnock will resume his seat.

Mr ANDREW CONSTANCE:

Newcastle Light Rail is an absolute cracker and there is no doubt that as we continue to see other projects being delivered the clear message is "Get on and build", and that is what we will continue to do. I note those opposite decided to make a few announcements during the election campaign cancelling projects to pay for Metro West. They said that they would build it quicker than the Government. They did not say when they were going to start. They did not say when they were going to finish. There was no indication of how much would be spent, no allocation of funds, and no indication of where they would put the stations or how many stations they would build. We know in relation to Metro West that they first announced it under Bob Carr in 1995.

Mr Jihad Dib:

He was a visionary, Bob.

Mr ANDREW CONSTANCE:HansardExtension of time

Visionary Bob—I will have that recorded in . This Government is going to get on with the job and get those tunnel boring machines in the ground for Metro West by 2021. []

There is no doubt that this Government will continue to deliver projects not only in the city but also in the regions. As outlined in the election campaign the Government's focus on investing in regional roads will continue in a very credible way. Minister Toole and I will work very closely on the duplication of the Princes Highway and the Great Western Highway, and that will save lives. We will continue to see the delivery of the duplication of the Pacific Highway and a myriad major road upgrades right across the bush. At the same time we will invest in making sure that we can deliver faster rail. I particularly acknowledge the member for Goulburn, who has been advocating hard for improved rail services and faster rail through her electorate.

I have to say this: It is unbelievable that we do not have a Leader of the Opposition here to argue transport policy and roads policy. The protection racket of Bill Shorten of not having a NSW Labor leader is absolutely appalling. There is no doubt that the Labor Party will have leadership Tinder in the next three months. It will be quite easy. For Strathfield, swipe left. For Maroubra, definitely swipe left. I reckon the member for Kogarah should definitely swipe left. But let us swipe right for the member for Keira. He has done an excellent job this week. We really wish him well when he announces that he is running.