Senator KROGER (Victoria—Chief Opposition Whip in the Senate) (23:46): I rise tonight, as a Victorian senator to once again express my dismay at the policy failings of this Labor government. The list of these failings could otherwise be described as impressive, were it not such a litany of disaster—the collapse of border security, rising cost of living due to the carbon tax, the increased cost of doing business that is driving more and more business offshore; the list, as we know, goes on and on. But tonight I will speak on an issue closer to home to many of the Victorians that I represent. It is an issue that, whilst perhaps not rivalling in sheer scale the collapse of our border security, nonetheless does have a significant local impact on many Victorians, particularly in and around Melbourne, and one that the federal Labor government refuses to address. The issue I will speak about is the construction of the East West Link. The East West Link Project will, at its heart, address the serious issue of chronic traffic congestion on the Eastern Freeway, and relieve traffic pressure on the Monash-CityLink-West Gate corridor. Now the reasons for doing this may seem self-evident. Less traffic congestion in, and of itself, is always a good thing, but it is important to actually spell out what the benefits are. This is not for the benefit of the people living in seats such as Deakin and Chisholm—they already clearly understand them—but more for the federal Labor government, which refuses to address them, obsessed as it is with its own internal machinations. The first issue revolves around the impact on business of the chronic traffic congestion that the East West Link Project will address. Anyone involved in running a business impacted by this congestion can tell you that the movement of freight along the Eastern Freeway adds to the costs of them doing business, as more time in transit means delays in delivery of products to their customers and higher freight costs due to increased fuel consumption and time lost, amongst other factors. The increased cost for the distribution of products from suppliers to manufacturers and other businesses adds increased pressure to manufacturers already under strain, and will lead to increased costs to consumers, or, worse still, business closures and the consequent loss of jobs. Beyond the distribution of freight, however, the movement of tradesmen to jobs is impacted by the traffic congestion that would be solved by building the East West Link. Increased time spent by tradesmen caught in traffic means less time spent on the job. Quite aside from the impact this has on people who need their services, less work means less income, which impacts not only directly on the tradesmen themselves and their families, but also on those employed by these small businesses, such as their assistants and apprentices. So not only is the effect immediate, but an apprentice who is not trained today equals one less tradesman in the future. This is particularly relevant given the skills shortages that Australia faces today and into the future. But, of course, no-one really expects the federal Labor government to understand, let alone care about, the needs of business. The raft of anti-business and pro-union policies is one testament to this. But you would think that a party that purports to represent the interests of ordinary Australians would understand the impact of traffic congestion on the day-to-day lives of the people in seats such as Chisholm and Deakin. More time spent commuting to and from the workplace means less time that busy parents have to spend at home with their children. More time spent stuck in traffic means greater fuel consumption and wear and tear on the family car, and therefore more pressure on already strained household budgets. There simply is no upside to the traffic congestion that the East West Link project will address. The issue of this project clearly demonstrates how out of touch the government is with the concerns of ordinary Australians. I understand these concerns because, on a daily basis, constituents contact my electorate office in Burwood East to voice them. I understand them because of the strong representations made on behalf of many of these constituents, and particularly the representations made to the excellent Liberal candidate Michael Sukkar in Deakin. He is giving a clear voice to the people of Deakin and is providing a stark contrast to the current member for Deakin, Mike Symon, who remains very silent on this particular issue. Even when, I hesitate to say, this issue was raised in the House only in the last sitting period, he chose not to enter the debate on the issue. Now you would think that Mr Symon, being in a marginal seat, would be doing everything he could to represent the interests of the people of his electorate. I hate to suggest that it may be easier for him to ignore them and stand shoulder to shoulder with the Greens, who have strongly criticised the construction of the East West Link project, than to commit the funding required to deliver this critical piece of infrastructure. Perhaps the same conclusion or suggestion could be made for the Labor member for Corio, Richard Marles, or the Labor member for McEwen, Rob Mitchell, who both recognise the need for a solution to this congestion but oppose the East West Link project. Finally, you might even think that the member for Chisholm, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ms Anna Burke, would take time out to fight for her constituents on this particular issue and obtain an undertaking from her government to help fund the East West Link project. But we already know where her priorities lie in the electorate. Surprisingly, it in not with issues such as the impact of chronic traffic congestion on the lives of the families of Chisholm, nor the impacts it has on the cost of doing business. According to her, the No. 1 concern for the people of Chisholm is ‘ending the live cattle trade and animal cruelty’. Now I do not doubt for a moment the compassionate and caring nature of the vast majority of people in Chisholm, but it beggars belief that they would rate that issue above the health and wellbeing of their families. Finally, there is the ‘environmental dividend’ that will result from the removal of chronic traffic congestion as a result of the construction of the East West Link. Quite simply, moving traffic pollutes less than traffic that is forced to stop and start as a result of congestion; fewer pollution particles will enter the atmosphere and less CO2 will be emitted. Again, you would think that this would be something that the Gillard Labor government would support, but the record stands for itself. This is a party that attempts to sell itself as committed to the environment, albeit through the recklessly irresponsible carbon tax, so you would think that it would welcome this—but, no. In fact it is the coalition that, in addition to standing up for the people of Victoria, is also prepared to face up to the environmental impacts of traffic congestion by taking concrete action to deal with it. So where does the coalition stand on the construction of the East West Link project? I have to say that, unlike the Labor government, we understand the needs of ordinary Australians, including those affected by the chronic traffic congestion on the Eastern Freeway. And we have listened, not only to the people who have made representations but also to the Victorian government, who has made the East West Link the No. 1 priority project for the state, with the Napthine government already committing $294 million towards stage 1 in its budget handed down on 7 May. We have listened to the RACV, who have made the East West Link their top priority infrastructure project that they believe should be invested in. Ordinary Australians know and understand what is important for the quality of their lives. The Victorian government knows and understands the importance of key infrastructure programs, such as this project, to the lives of Victorians and to the future development of the state of Victoria. The RACV know and understand the issues affecting Victorian motorists and how to address these issues. The coalition have listened and we clearly understand the need for this project to go ahead as a matter of priority. Why doesn’t the federal Labor government? It is one thing to listen—that is very much the easy part, even if federal Labor seems to have difficulty with doing just that. But it is quite another thing to act—and act we have, and we will continue to do so. In order to make this crucial project a reality, the federal coalition have agreed to work with the Victorian government to progress it and pledged $1.5 billion to help to do so, should we be elected to office. This is in stark contrast with the federal Labor government’s refusal to commit funding to the project, which will not only ease local chronic traffic congestion but will also complete the overall Melbourne ring road. The coalition have listened to the community and key stakeholders, considered the issues and made a clear decision to address a significant issue, and we are committed to significant funding to address this. The federal Labor government could use this as a template of how a competent, well-managed government could conduct itself, if only it could drag itself away from its own internal navel gazing. And now the lights are going off at this time—but I will continue, Mr President. The East West Link project will do far more than simply address chronic traffic congestion, as important as this is in itself. I am very determined here, before the lights all go down! Not only will it improve the lives of families who are stuck in traffic for hours each day, ease the pressure on businesses, particularly small business, and help address environmental concerns; in an increasingly uncertain economic environment, with a slowing construction sector, the project will create around 3,200 new jobs in Melbourne, particularly in the construction industry. Again, you might be forgiven for thinking that the Labor Party, a political party that styles itself as representing workers, would jump at the opportunity to help create thousands of new jobs over the years it takes to construct such a project—but, no. In fact it is the coalition who continues to stand up for workers and for those who would benefit from the jobs that such a project would create. Whilst the Labor government remains focused on leadership issues this week—and has continued to do so for some months—and is continually looking inwards, it does so at the expense of good, strong and competent government for all Australians. The coalition remains committed to building critical infrastructure and to providing and creating the new jobs needed for all Australians to share in the benefits of this great nation. Enough is enough. When the Prime Minister announced the 14 September election date back in January, she stated that there would be days for governing and days for campaigning and that the Australian people would be clear on which was which. Unfortunately for this great nation, the days of governing have been few and far between and those days have been chaotic and plagued by policy failures. The Australian people deserve much better. The people of Victoria deserve much better. Labor could go some small way in addressing this by joining the coalition and pledge federal funding to the East-West Link project immediately. Every indication is that this may well be a bridge too far. Labor would rather stand side by side with its Greens alliance partners in ignoring yet another vital infrastructure project. For the people of Chisholm and Deakin—and for so many other electorates in Victoria—I hope that is not the case. It is time to act. It is time to get things done to improve the lives of the people of Victoria. If the federal Labor government cannot or will not do this, then it is time they stood aside for a government that will. Wednesday, 19 June 2013