Mark Speakman
NSW Leader of the Opposition
Natalie Ward
Shadow Minister for Transport and Roads
Shadow Minister for Infrastructure
The Minns Labor Government is the only government in Australia without a Minister for Infrastructure. It shows they have no infrastructure vision and no real plan for the future. Infrastructure is not a luxury. It is the foundation of a growing, modern state. Yet under Labor, it is treated like an afterthought.
Today's Metro West update is just another reminder that real progress in NSW still relies on projects conceived, funded, and started by the NSW Liberals and Nationals. Labor is standing on our shoulders and pretending they built the ladder.
In 2012, just one year after coming to Government and ending 16 years of Labor chaos and cancelled commitments, the NSW Liberals and Nationals launched a bold infrastructure blueprint. We announced more than 700 major projects as part of a 20-year plan.
By 2018, more than 430 of those were completed. Two hundred were under construction. The rest were being advanced through planning.
Back then, then NSW Labor Leader Luke Foley and his big red bus sneered and said we had the wrong priorities. But here we are. Labor still does not have a long-term infrastructure plan. They do not have a Minister for Infrastructure because they do not have the courage to build a vision for 2032. They have a Minister for Building, but building what is a question for Chris Minns and Anoulack Chanthivong.
The Coalition foresaw a better NSW. We backed it with funding and delivery. Labor inherited the plans and is now trying to claim the progress.
NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said the progress on Metro West is only happening because the NSW Liberals and Nationals had the vision and commitment to get it started.
"We know how to plan and deliver. Labor only knows how to announce and take credit. NSW is the only state without a Minister for Infrastructure. That speaks volumes. If Labor cannot even appoint someone to shape the future, how can they be trusted to deliver it," Mr Speakman said.
Shadow Minister for Transport and Roads and Shadow Minister for Infrastructure Natalie Ward said the Coalition built new metros, reshaped train travel, built better roads, more schools and hospitals.
"Labor is performing announcements on projects they did not plan and did not start. The people of NSW deserve a government that takes infrastructure seriously, not one that treats it as a political prop," Ms Ward said.
