APPROPRIATION BILL Transport and Public Works Committee, Report

22 Aug 2018 9:42 AMMichael Hart

APPROPRIATION (PARLIAMENT) BILL; APPROPRIATION BILL Transport and Public Works Committee, Report

We have just heard that apparently the ministers came prepared for estimates. It is rather surprising that if the ministers came prepared for estimates they were not able to in fact answer the questions that were put to them by the opposition. While I agree with the member for Chatsworth that the chair of this particular committee seemed to be quite reasonable about the amount of time that was allocated to opposition members, the same cannot be said for the responses that came from the ministers. I want to correct something that the Minister for Main Roads said in his contribution, because he has a habit of stretching the truth and he stretches it almost to breaking point. The fact is that during the LNP’s term of government we built Worongary to Mudgeeraba, and he keeps forgetting that. That is on the M1. I know the minister cannot pronounce ‘Worongary’, but that road was widened during the LNP’s term of government. Honourable members interjected.

Mr BAILEY: Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise to a point of order. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Kelly): Pause the clock. Before I take your point of order, member for Kawana, if you want to interject, you will need to be in your own seat. What is your point of order, Minister? Mr BAILEY: I can cop the member for Burleigh trying to criticise me on a range of fronts, but he is misleading the House by suggesting that the M1 upgrade to Worongary—

Ms SIMPSON: I rise to a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. That is not a point of order. Mr BAILEY:—was funded by the Newman government. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Resume your seat. Mr BAILEY: It was Bligh government money. Mr

DEPUTY SPEAKER: I will just take some advice on that. Minister, it is not appropriate to debate. If you believe that the House has been misled, there is a process to follow in relation to that. Is there a point of order, acting leader of opposition business? If not, thank you. The member for Burleigh has the call.

Mr HART: Just in case the minister missed it, I will repeat it: during the LNP’s term of government we built Worongary to Mudgeeraba. In fact, we got such a great result that we managed to widen another part of the road that was not even being built as part of that contract. If the minister ever bothers to look out the window of his limousine as he goes to the Gold Coast, he might happen to notice that one section from Mudgeeraba to Robina is three lanes and the other one is two because we were so efficient with the money that we built that. I also remind the minister that the LNP— Mr Bailey interjected.

SPEAKER: Pause the clock. Minister, your interjections are not being taken. I am having trouble hearing the member for Burleigh. Mr HART: It is exit 54. The minister might like to take credit for that, as he likes to take credit for a lot of other things, but the LNP moved those ahead. With regard to the Housing portfolio, I tried to elicit a few things from the minister responsible for that area. One of those was about the appointment of CFMEU thug Jade Ingham to the QBCC. I asked the minister if he could explain why that person does not have a federal entry permit. He failed the fit and proper test in the federal Industrial Relations Commission. The minister told us that it was his decision and his decision alone to appoint Jade Ingham to the QBCC and that he refers that decision to cabinet and cabinet ticks it off. I tried to elicit from the director-general whether a criminal history check was ever done on that person. Again, the answer was very unclear. I would have to say that around that time I went to the QBCC’s website to look at who was on the board and Jade Ingham was not listed. His name appears to be listed today. I suggest that that has changed in the past couple of days. There does not appear to be any notice in the Government Gazette of his appointment to that position. In that regard, I am not sure the minister is that proud of what he has done. I would also like to table question on notice No. 654 that I asked the minister in May this year.

Tabled paper: Question on notice No. 654, asked on Thursday 17 May 2018 [1173]. That question sought the number of people on the waiting list for public housing when we left government in 2015. The answer I received from the minister’s office—this is his answer, not mine— was that, as at 31 December 2012, there were 23,550 people on the waiting list. By the time the LNP left government in January 2015, that figure had fallen to 16,546. That figure went down by 7,000. After four years of a Labor government, where are we now? That figure has gone up to 16,761. The number of people on the waiting list has gone up by 215. The minister was not able to explain that at all. In fact, he ignored his own response in his answer to my question on notice. It is quite clear that this Labor government’s policies on public housing have been an utter and abysmal failure. The minister was unable to explain that increase. The facts are there. (Time expired)