Transcript: Westconnex Press Conference, Sydney

ALEX HAWKE, MEMBER FOR MITCHELL: Welcome everybody, good afternoon, it is great to be here in the heart of Western Sydney in Parramatta, one of Australia’s most important cities. I am here today with Michael Beckwith who is the Liberal Candidate for Parramatta, Yvonne Keane the Liberal Candidate for Greenway – two great Western Sydney candidates fighting hard at this election for jobs and growth. Right behind us today you will see jobs and growth in action in our community thanks to a Coalition Government. We are joined today by the Minister for Major Projects, Paul Fletcher and of course the Treasurer of Australia, Scott Morrison.

They are here today to outline the Coalition’s commitment to what is improving the worse bit of road in our biggest city in the country. We are standing underneath perhaps the biggest choke point in Sydney and one of the worst roads anywhere in Australia. It is great to see the Coalition delivering and building a better motorway. First up we have got Paul Fletcher who is the Minister for Major Projects and he is going to outline our commitment to this project.

TREASURER: Thanks Alex, I will let Paul go through the details of what we are here to talk about today. If you are committed to Western Sydney, you are committed to WestConnex and whether it is Michael and Yvonne who are with us here or Russell Matheson out in Macarthur or Fiona Scott out there in Lindsay or of course Craig Laundy not far from here in Reid as well, right across Western Sydney, Ned Mannoun out in Werriwa. In all of these parts of Sydney if you are not committed to WestConnex you are not committed to Western Sydney. What the Coalition is absolutely committed to is this project. The Liberal and National Parties are committed to this project as a State Government and as a Commonwealth Government and we are working together to deliver this massive piece of infrastructure which is connecting our cities right throughout the Greater Sydney area. What we learned today is what I warned off some weeks ago when I stood with Craig Laundy and I said that the Labor party, trying to pander to the inner city Greens, is selling out the Western Sydney residents of this great city. What they would rather do is respond to the Greens agenda here in inner city Sydney rather than address the needs of Western Sydney residents. What we have learnt is that the Labor party has deliberately frustrated the development of this project during this campaign period, deliberately delaying further works here in WestConnex as a result of their agenda. So, there hasn’t even been the election yet and what we have seen is the Greens influencing the Labor Party to put the brakes on this project. Now, if that is not bad enough it is costing NSW taxpayers $750,000 we understand every single day that Mark Butler, Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese delay the critical support for this project. So, they are selling out the residents of Western Sydney by refusing to support WestConnex, walking away from it, we have seen it in other states and territories as Paul knows, we have seen it with Freight Link over in Perth and we saw it with the East West Link in Melbourne. The Greens pulling Labor’s chain and denying both taxpayers here in New South Wales and Western Sydney residents of the critical infrastructure they need. Now, I will leave it to Paul to take you through the chronology and the implications of what the Labor party has done. But know this, when you go to the polls on Saturday, by supporting your Liberal and National Party candidates and your Liberal Party candidates particularly here in Western Sydney you are voting for the infrastructure that Western Sydney needs. You are voting for the jobs and growth that Western Sydney has been delivering and a Labor Party with the Greens and the Independents will choke that investment, they will frustrate that investment because when it comes to these projects their heart just isn’t in it. Thanks Paul.

MINISTER FLETCHER: Thank you very much Scott and it is great to be here with you and Liberal colleagues. There is a very clear choice at this election. If you live in Sydney and you want to see WestConnex proceed this vital project that will deliver improved transport connectivity particularly for people in Western Sydney and South Western Sydney you must vote for your local Liberal candidate, the Turnbull Government because the Turnbull Government is strongly backing WestConnex. The Turnbull Government has committed $1.5 billion in grant funding and $2 billion in concessional loan finance, working with the Baird Government to deliver WestConnex which will extend and widen the M4 and M5 and we are standing just under the M4 right now where the first stage of WestConnex is already underway. Then in Stage 3 there will be a free flowing motorway connection between the extended M4 and M5. Now, Anthony Albanese, the man who would be transport minister if Bill Shorten and Labor wins government, told a community meeting in his own electorate just a few weeks ago that if he becomes transport Minister there would be not one dollar of federal money for WestConnex. Just this morning Mr Albanese was given the opportunity on AM on ABC radio, he was asked the question do you support the project and he failed to give a clear answer. Labor today has issued a document called positive policies for New South Wales, the infrastructure section of that document makes no mention of WestConnex and now we learn that Labor is refusing to give its agreement to environmental approval of stage two of WestConnex. Greg Hunt, the Commonwealth Environment Minister under the caretaker convention has consulted with his opposite number. He has provided the advice given by the Commonwealth Environment Department that approval of Stage Two, Commonwealth environmental approval of Stage Two, should be given. But Labor has refused to agree to that being given. So, Labor is choosing every opportunity to put a spoke in the well of WestConnex. This vital project which will particularly assist people in Western and South-Western Sydney to get around the city efficiently, to get to and from work as quickly as possible, to have freight moving around quickly and to bring our city together. WestConnex is vitally important. That is why the Turnbull Government has committed $1.5 billion of grant funding, $2 billion of concessional loans and a key point is this - almost all of the $2 billion of the concessional loans remains to flow. Some $300 million of the grants funding remains to flow to New South Wales and if Labor forms government it will be Anthony Albanese who will be deciding what to do there, the man who has said not one dollar of Federal money for WestConnex. So, there is a very clear choice at this election. If you believe as the Turnbull Government does that WestConnex is a vital project to improve transport connectivity within Sydney to bring our city together, to help people in Western Sydney and South Western Sydney connect more quickly to the rest of Sydney then you must vote for your local Liberal candidate on Saturday.

QUESTION: How long do you believe that this has been delayed for?

MINISTER FLETCHER: Look, there is a significant delay because what has happened is the Labor environment spokesman has refused to give his agreement under the caretaker conventions. It is costing the New South Wales Government $750,000 a day and what the Turnbull Government wants to see happen is we want to see WestConnex proceed. It seems that Labor has a different view. They are using this environmental approval process to try and stick a spoke in the wheel and it is largely driven by the fact that Anthony Albanese wants to go after Greens votes in his inner city electorate of Grayndler rather than looking after the interests of people all across Sydney who will benefit from WestConnex.

TREASURER: Labor Party supporters in Western Sydney have been sold out by the inner city Labor party. That is what's happened. Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek and that whole crew who really seem to be running the Labor Party now are selling out Western Sydney Labor supporters. I mean, Chris Bowen is a Western Sydney MP, he is the alternative Treasurer and he can't stand up to Anthony Albanese and Mark Butler, a member from the left in South Australia, to ensure this important project goes ahead. I mean it is already going to cost by the date of the electorate, some $20 million as a result of them delaying this project.

QUESTION: The State Government hasn't committed or denied the fact of the $750,000 a day, they’re not commenting which is where the figures would come from. Are you absolutely certain that it is costing that much?

TREASURER: That is my understanding. That is our understanding of that cost.

MINISTER FLETCHER: Just to add to that, it's cited in the exchange of letters between Environment Minister Hunt and his opposite number. It is a fact that the Commonwealth Environment Department has highlighted as a reason why approvals should proceed. They have made, that have given their substantive advice that there is no reason why environmental approval cannot be given, and they have highlighted that it is good regulatory practice to provide approvals as quickly as possible and they have specifically noted in the advice that's gone to the Minister, that has been shared in full with his opposite number, the financial exposure of the NSW Government and the NSW taxpayer.

TREASURER: Labor are burning money on this project to fuel their chase for Green votes in inner city Sydney. They are doing that at the expense of Western Sydney residents. Yesterday, I outlined again just how much Labor will drive us into deficit. Well, if it isn't bad enough that they want to do that to the Commonwealth budget, they want to do it to the NSW state budget from a distance as well.

QUESTION: So, what are the costs that have been incurred at $750,000 a day?

MINISTER FLETCHER: Well, it is under the contractual arrangements with the partners who are building the project, there is a risk allocation in terms of securing the environmental approval. But the key point is this, that the Commonwealth Environment Department has given advice to the Commonwealth Environment Minister. That has been shared with his opposite number under the caretaker convention that approval is in a position to be given, all the substantive environmental issues have been worked through and Labor is refusing to give its agreement and that is adding costs and holding up commencement of the very important Stage Two of WestConnex, this vital project.

TREASURER: We want to get on with it. The Australian people want to get on with it and most importantly Western Sydney residents want to get on with it. The only people who don't want to get on with WestConnex are Labor and the Greens. That is why it is important on Saturday that to see Western Sydney get the infrastructure it needs to vote for your Liberal candidates in all of those Western Sydney seats, and to send people like Chris Bowen a message if you live in Western Sydney, that it is about time that other Western Sydney Labor MPs, Ed Husic and others, started standing up for Western Sydney residents, rather than getting rolled every other day of the week by the inner city Labor-Greens who seem to be running the agenda for the Labor Party.

QUESTION: Mr Anthony Albanese did say on AM this morning they were sent about a thousand pages to go through. Was there a lot of documentation and in fact, it might be just be an issue of trying to get through the paperwork?

TREASURER: No. These guys just don't want to support the project. We have seen this in other places. In Melbourne we had the East West Link which the Greens forced the Labor party into opposing. That cost ultimately Victorian taxpayers over a billion dollars not to build a road in compensation payments. So, we've seen it repeated on project after project, and the people who will pay the price for this are NSW taxpayers who already are and the people of Western Sydney, like in the electorates that Michael is seeking to represent and Yvonne is seeking to respect, and of course, Alex represents up in the Hills as well and with Russell Matheson, out in Macarthur, Fiona Scott out there in Lindsay and Ned Mannoun out there in Werriwa. They are standing for getting on with the WestConnex and Paul is keen to get on with the WestConnex and if you vote for the Liberals on Saturday that is exactly what you will get. Thanks very much.