Anthony Albanese has vowed to “bring some maturity” to the transport and infrastructure portfolio if Labor is successful at the forthcoming federal election.
The shadow minister addressed the Australian Logistics Council’s 2019 Forum in Melbourne on Wednesday morning, saying Labor would work to de-politicise infrastructure spending if it was elected in the coming months.
“I intend to make an enormous difference across the portfolio,” Albanese said, “if I have the honour of being re-appointed under a Labor Government.”
Albanese told the forum the long-term nature of infrastructure development is what has kept him interested in the portfolio, which he has fulfilled for Labor in either a ministerial or shadow role since 2006. He said true vision on infrastructure includes making choices that may not be popular in the short-term but will form a long-term benefit.
“Vision is about imagining a better future and understanding how to take the steps to achieve it,” he said. “It’s about playing the long game. Having a view that politics isn’t about the 24-hour media cycle, not even about one political cycle. It’s about putting in place a reform that makes a long-term difference.”
Albanese said the establishment of Infrastructure Australia under his oversight when Labor was in power in 2008, was a case in point for the party’s commitment to bipartisan approach to spending.
While he was pleasantly surprised Infrastructure Australia wasn’t scrapped when the Coalition won the 2013 election, he said its advice was ignored by the new Government.
“It’s unfortunate that projects that were listed [by Infrastructure Australia] were cancelled when the Liberals came into power,” Albanese said, citing the Metro Tunnel in Melbourne and the Cross River Rail project in Brisbane, both of which are now under construction by state governments.
He said Labor would continue its commitment to bipartisanship by building on the National Freight & Supply Chain Strategy, rather than scrap it on political grounds. “This country will be stuck if it’s ground zero after every election,” he said. “We need a bit of maturity … I intend to bring that to the portfolio.”