Senator STERLE (Western Australia) (13:35): I rise to make my remarks in the reply to the Governor-General's speech. I listened intently to Senator Mason's contribution, most of which I found very, very interesting and agreed with. What I must make note of is that Senator Mason talked about governments in opposition working together in the best interests of the nation, whether it be economic or diplomatic, and it is so true. That would be nothing less than what the people of Australia expect from us. Probably like you, Acting Deputy President Ludlam, on a number of occasions around barbecues, at the local golf club or down at the pub a major trend has been coming in my direction in terms of what voters think of politicians. It cannot be repeated in the same words in this chamber because I would find myself on my feet defending my words and trying not to get thrown out, so I will not lower my standards. Sadly, the quality of the political debate over the last 12 months to three years has been appalling. I listened intently to the Governor-General's speech. I do hope, as most of my colleagues hope, that one day Australians will see us as people of quality and people who have dreams and visions for our nation. However, I cannot put my hand on my heart and say that that has been the case in this place over the last few years. The degree of childish behaviour is like kids in a sandpit—in fact, you can have a laugh at kids in a sandpit, because they might be blueing and two minutes later they will be all over each other sharing a lolly or an ice cream. I have to emphasise that I hope we lift our game in the debates in this chamber and the other chamber, because I am sick of trying to defend the behaviour here of the last few years. When I listened intently to the Governor-General's speech in this chamber some two weeks ago, one would have thought that the intent of the incoming Abbott government offered some things for the country, but let us look at the coalition's mantra in last couple of years. I liken the government to the dog that has caught the car—the mongrel mutt that barks and chases everything down the street. It never gets the car and may get clipped on the nose by a mudflap, but this one has caught it. The reason I say that is from hearing people say things in conversations I have had with business people who have come to my office in last two weeks or on the phone. I thought I was imagining it, but these people have asked: 'Has this government got any plans? Has this government got any visions of grandeur for our children and our children's children? Has this government got any vision of what the heck it's going to do now it is in government?' In the last two or three years in opposition, the Mr Abbott-led coalition only spoke about what it was not going to do. All we copped was what it was going to stop. 'There will be no mining tax.' Good luck to the miners; they have lined the pockets of political parties on both sides. It is no secret that they contributed a heck of a lot more to the Liberal Party than they did to the Australia Labor Party until the mining tax was announced. But the government bluffed Australians by saying what a fantastic government they would be by abolishing the mining tax. I am a supporter of the mining industry—make no mistake about that. It is not the only industry but it is an important one for Australia. I am also not scared to ask: what is wrong with a profits-based tax? If we are digging commodities out of our country and exporting them, these commodities are not renewable. What was wrong with taxing a company that had reached $50 billion in profits, so a bit more would come back to Australia? Mr Acting Deputy-President Ludlam, I know your party's stance is that $50 billion is way too generous. You have said the tax should not be limited to coal and iron ore, but it should be on every mineral dug out of the ground. There are good arguments for and against that. By Mr Abbott eliminating the mining tax and so doing a favour for the miners, without any negotiation, there will be some nasty, unfortunate consequences. In my role as chair of the Senate Rural and Regional Legislative Committee for six years, and now being on the references committee in opposition, I have made no secret that road funding is very important to me for a number of reasons. One is as a Western Australian, where we really rely on our roads. We have one railway line to the eastern states and a dilapidated wheat rail line, which gets more embarrassing each year with governments backflipping and not putting any money into that line either. Another is my background as a road train operator between Perth and Darwin. Two pet projects were to be delivered on behalf of the Gillard and Rudd governments, and one of those is funding of some $500 million for the North West Coastal Highway. Mr Acting Deputy-President Ludlam, coming from WA you would know that shocking single-lane road. We know the width of the new Shay Gap road is a nightmare. How do I know? It was a nightmare 30 years ago, when I was trucking there. I was there a couple of weeks ago and it is still a nightmare. My son does three trips a fortnight on that road to the Pilbara. It is well know that this major arterial for mining and offshore oil and gas fields carries eight-metre wide loads, at times hanging over both sides of the road. It carries a massive number of road trains daily, but when two road trains coming from opposite directions pass each other at 100 kilometres per hour, the legal limit, there is a possibility that these juggernauts will hit as there is no more than 12 inches between their mirrors. When Mr Albanese, as the federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, announced this road would be upgraded along with major upgrades to widen the North West Coastal Highway north of Carnarvon, this news was welcomed by the West Australian transport industry and road users. With Mr Abbott determined to repay the mining companies for funding his 2010 and 2013 election campaigns, this is an offset as the Abbott government has said it will not guarantee these road projects. The Transport Workers Union in Perth, of which I am a lifetime member, as I was when I was a trucker—it is the worst-kept secret in Australia—is adamant about getting these projects done. Minister Albanese recognised the importance of these projects so he dedicated the funding, and should the Labor Party have been re-elected those projects would have gone ahead. Money was in the budget, as indicated on the Labor Party website and the forward estimates. Since the victory of the coalition, those projects were not forthcoming, because the Regional Infrastructure Fund, where the funding would come from, was funded by the mining tax. There is a payback for the miners but the downside is no $500 million for road widening in WA. Then we had Mr Briggs, the Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, on Radio 6PR Perth being interviewed by Paul Murray about the funding of these road projects. I listened intently to what Mr Briggs said: … as the Finance Minister said before the election, we are committed— that is, the Liberal Party— … to those projects, the Great Northern Highway and the North West Coastal because they are extremely important projects. Not being one that does not trust politicians, as that would be a little disingenuous—I would like to think they are all like you and I, Mr Acting Deputy President Ludlam—I thought I might just take the opportunity to follow up those statements in Senate estimates the week before last. As deputy chair, I asked questions to the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development and to Mr Mrdak, the secretary. I asked him clearly whether those projects were funded. I have the transcripts here. I do not need to table them, but they are here if anyone wants to see them. Mr Mrdak came out very clearly, with Senator Sinodinos at the table representing the minister, and said that these projects are not committed. They are not funded at this stage. The Abbott government will not build these projects just yet. I am putting my own words around this, but they are looking at everything and they realise some projects are far more important than others. Senator Edwards: Sterlo, we want outcomes! The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Ludlam ): Order! Senator STERLE: I do appreciate your protection, Acting Deputy President; I need it from Senator Edwards. He frightens me dearly. I will try and compose myself while I go back to telling the truth and not to making stuff up. What they clearly said was, 'Well now, we don't know now because we don't know if the money is there. We'll see and hear how much heat will come out of WA and we may well fund them.' I asked Mr Mrdak, the secretary of the department, if it would be right to say that no minister could go out there and actually make these announcements? To which he said that they cannot say that because it has not been decided. What we are leading to here is that the government Australia voted for on September 7 is not the government they thought they were going to get. Apart from the road funding in WA, there are other massively important road-funding projects that are not going to be delivered. It clearly came out at Senate estimates again that the Melbourne Metro Rail project, worth about $3 billion, will now not go ahead. The Brisbane Cross River Rail project will not be going ahead. The Perth urban rail public transport project, worth $100 million, and previously worth $500 million, is not going ahead. I know that would rile you, Mr Acting Deputy President, because you have been very vocal on public transport and rail infrastructure in WA, as we have. For the South Australians, Tonsley Park public rail transport project is a no-go. There was $4½ billion worth of projects but Mr Abbott made it very clear before and after the election that he will not be building public transport or rail. Apart from road-funding projects that a lot of people do not know about yet that will not be going ahead, we saw last week one of the biggest backflips—I cannot think of another term—or bulldust statements we have ever seen from Mr Pyne on education. Prior to the last election, I think every Australian was well aware that I thought the Liberals were using the terminology— Senator Edwards interjecting— The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Order! Senator STERLE: Senator Edwards from South Australia just threw a line out there along the lines of 'you cannot fix everything with money'. I tell my kids that all the time too. I do not condone going out before the election and saying you will throw a lot of money at something but once you get elected changing your mind. Those opposite now blatantly go out there and lie. Look at Mr Pyne's form on education. Senator Kroger: Don't you remember what you have done for the last few years? The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Order! Senator Sterle, please direct your comments through the chair. On my right, Senator Sterle is entitled to be heard in silence. Senator STERLE: It is always amazing that when the truth comes out and Senators or politicians get caught talking out the side of their head, don't they get vocal? Don't they jump up and find every excuse why it is all right to lie to the Australian people? The opposition at the time could not wait to tell everyone that if they got in, the grown-ups would be in charge and that they are open for business. Let us look at those two lines. First, 'the grown-ups are in charge'. Let us look at the debacle off our shores to the north, the embarrassing situation. If we do not have anyone who is capable of sorting out the issues with Indonesia, I tell you what I will do: I will shout myself brand-new pairs of Havis and boardies and I will go over and sort it out because I will do a damn better job than what is going on at the moment. Senator Kroger interjecting— The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Order! On my right. Senator STERLE: So, for crying out loud, if you do not have any grown-ups, can you just find one—pay one? Find an ex-bureaucrat or someone who can be a grown-up, who can get over there and who cannot carry on like this. Let us talk about the north while we are at it. What about the shadow immigration minister at the time, Mr Scott Morrison? Between Mr Morrison and Mr Abbott, I am trying to think of the lines that I used to hear all the time. First it was 'stop the boats' then it was 'turn back the boats', 'turn back the boats when safe', 'buy back the boats', 'deny the boats', 'hide the boats' and 'what boats?' Watching the Prime Minister and the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection is like a scene from South Park, with Officer Barbrady: 'nothing to see, move along'. This is just incredible. I just wish that the grown-ups were in the building, because they are certainly lacking in the coalition party room. Let us go back to education. Let us look at the footage of the COAG meeting the other day with the state education ministers. This is a government that has been in for 10 weeks. I am not expecting miracles. No-one expects miracles. You have to find your way. They have to sort out labour and staffing issues; they have to have an internal fight about who gets promotions and who gets the bigger office. I know, I understand. After 10 weeks we had Mr Pyne, the Minister for Education, tell the Australian people he was on a unity ticket, that the coalition were on a unity ticket with Labor on public school funding and that no school would be worse off. Then we have Mr Pyne publically slapping down state education ministers from both persuasions, Labor and Liberal, and refusing to honour agreements with New South Wales and other states that were agreed to before the election. In the footage of the wound-up state ministers, there is Mr Pyne in the corner with the most silly of smirks on his face; to him it was just a big joke. I know I am running out of time so I will move on to one of the other clangers: 'We are open for business.' Oh my goodness, I think that might have come from the Prime Minister talking about foreign investment and attracting foreign investment to Australia. We all know this great nation was built on foreign investment. Coming from Western Australia, if we did not have foreign investment where would we be, not just in agriculture but in mining? When I tour the Ord stage 2 development, the sugar—Senator Eggleston was talking about it proudly earlier on today, and I was agreeing with him—thank goodness for the Chinese; they are pumping in nearly a billion dollars. But it is not only the Chinese up on the Ord River. There are the Brits, the Americans, the Indians; they are all up there. They are 'open for business'. I recall another clanger while we were talking about foreign investment, while it was a hot topic, and it was in relation to the sale of GrainCorp to the American conglomerate ADM. I saw another comedy sketch where the Treasurer, Mr Hockey, came out, breaking into one of those famous sweats, and saying that he would not be bullied—the Libs have to repeat everything twice—about foreign investment. As chair of the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee, I can tell you that tonight was set aside to continue our inquiry. It was ably supported by Senator Gallacher and I from Labor; we wanted to hear more and talk more about GrainCorp. We wanted to talk more to ADM. Guess what? The panic hit the room. Senator Heffernan, you old dog—you sly old dog! Great work behind the scenes, fantastic; knocked the Treasurer right between the eyes, blew him out of the game. So we find that we are not really open for business. We might be open for business but we just have to run that past the Nationals first and make sure that they are happy with that. A government senator interjecting— Senator STERLE: As for the grown-ups: we just have to try and find some grown-ups, because we do not have any grown-ups over there. If we had grown-ups we would not have the foreign minister out there—where was she? In Cambodia or Myanmar or somewhere—telling them the Japanese were our best friends while insulting the Indonesians. Now she is trying to pick a fight with the Chinese. That is her latest one. For crying out loud, as I said, I am happy to chuck on a new pair of Havis, a new pair of boardies, I will go over. I could not do a worse job than what is going on with that lot over there.