03-October-2008
Portfolio Media Releases, Infrastructure
MARK COLVIN: The Federal Opposition is sending out some contradictory signals on the Prime Minister's multi-billion dollar plans for the nation's infrastructure.
The Government is speeding up the process for assessing what needs to be built, and the Coalition says it's taking too long for projects to get underway.
But it's not guaranteeing quick passage of the bills to set up the mechanism that'll pay for many of the public works - the Building Australia Fund.
Speaking to our Chief Political correspondent Lyndal Curtis, the Shadow Infrastructure Minister Andrew Robb, denied that the Coalition was opposed to spending money on infrastructure projects.
ANDREW ROBB: The point is that it needs to be spent wisely and we are very concerned that it's not spent and doesn't become just a Labor Party slush fund to bailout failed, incompetent state Labor governments.
LYNDAL CURTIS: But if state governments don't step up the plate on infrastructure why shouldn't the federal government if it has the money, as it has, step in and build some things? Surely infrastructure is going to be used for the benefit of people, for the benefit of business.
ANDREW ROBB: The Federal Government should step in. We're not opposed to that. The thing that worries us is how the discipline that will be applied, the management that will be applied to these projects. This is a government that came to officer nearly 12 months ago saying they had a strong plan for infrastructure, they had a detailed strong plan for infrastructure. And 12 months on nearly the Rudd Government is still talking about shuffling things off for further review.
LYNDAL CURTIS: But isn't it worth taking some time given that these spending decisions involve potentially billions of dollars of taxpayer's money? Isn't it worth taking some time to study what needs to be done, what the priorities are and how they should be done?
ANDREW ROBB: Of course it should be studied but we told for 12 months before the election last year that Labor had a plan, a detailed plan that they'd given great consideration to. We've heard endlessly from the Prime Minister since of the urgency and the plan that they've got and yet here we are, nearly 12 months into the new government, where they're saying there won't be one decision taken within 18 months of them taking office.
It just demonstrates, you know this is a government of all talk and no action. It is a government that did not come to office prepared to do the difficult things that they're expected to do and it does underscore our concern about the process that they're about to embark on and we will take a very hard-nosed view about the legislation and about the process to make sure this money is spent wisely, as it must be, on infrastructure and not squandered like we've seen so many state Labor governments over the last few years.
LYNDAL CURTIS: Do you acknowledge that the safeguards that the oversight that the government has put in for its infrastructure body, Infrastructure Australia on these projects is stronger than was seen on the regional partnerships grants under your government or the sports rorts grants under the Hawke-Keating government?
ANDREW ROBB: We've yet to see the legislation which demonstrates how they will use the considerations of the Infrastructure Australia committee. We've yet to see any of the detail really and yet they're asking us to sign a blank cheque.
I noticed Mr Albanese out there today insisting that we support legislation of which we've not seen one line.
LYNDAL CURTIS: The legislation to set up the Building Australia Fund that will come in to Parliament in the next couple of weeks; do you believe that setting up the fund is the right thing to do? Do you have any in-principle objection to it?
ANDREW ROBB: We've got certainly no in-principle objection to it. They're entitled to establish a process. What we will look at is how rigorous is the process? How transparent is the process?
LYNDAL CURTIS: So you can't guarantee your support for that legislation yet?
ANDREW ROBB: All I have said, and I won't be verballed by Anthony Albanese, all I have said is that we will take a very hard-nosed approach to the legislation to satisfy ourselves that this hard-earned surplus is not spent simply bailing out incompetent Labor states.
Media Contact: Stuart Eaton, 0433 298 620