Mr RICHARD AMERY: My question is addressed to the Minister for Roads.

Mr Andrew Stoner: Your face is red for a reason.

Mr RICHARD AMERY: You should know. I got this question off your copier, and I wish you would write a bit better.

The SPEAKER: Order! Members will cease interjecting.

Mr RICHARD AMERY: What is the Government's response to community concerns about recent licensing and congestion proposals?

Mr DAVID BORGER: I thank the member for his question—wherever it came from! In the past 10 days, we have seen a dribble of policy suggestions or thought bubbles emerging from the office of the State's would-be Deputy Premier. We have witnessed calls to give rebates to more than two million licence holders as well as calls to adopt the Coalition's free learner-driver programs, and who could forget the bold plan to place a massive congestion tax on all Sydney drivers?

The SPEAKER: Order! Members will cease interjecting.

Mr DAVID BORGER: I was very surprised when I woke up on 11 October 2010 to read a headline, "Coalition puts congestion toll on 'fair deal for motorists' agenda". The article referred to a brand-new big, bold plan from the shadow Minister for Roads and Ports, but, unfortunately, he ruled out his policy only moments after the public got wind of it. The policy did not even last until the end of the morning peak period.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Murrumbidgee will resume his seat.

Mr DAVID BORGER: He very quickly became a bit like Bart Simpson when he said, "Hey, I didn't do it. It wasn't me. Someone else must have done it. It wasn't my policy." For five years he has been the shadow Minister for Roads and his first foray into policymaking was abandoned before breakfast had finished.

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Coffs Harbour to order for the third time.

Mr DAVID BORGER: To be absolutely fair, I should add that he said he was misrepresented. Part of an article in the Sydney Morning Herald states:

... the leader of the Nationals and the opposition spokesman on roads, Andrew Stoner, said he supported uniform congestion tolling to create a fairer deal for motorists. ''My view is it should be a per-kilometre basis and there should be some time-of-day aspect to it,'' he said.

It is a difficult to see how those words were misinterpreted. He went further and said:

All of the entrances and egresses from the city ought to be part of the equation as well.

I am a great fan of Ken Livingstone, a former socialist Lord Mayor of London, and obviously the shadow Minister is a great fan and that is where the policies are coming from! To any fair-minded listener or reader, that means a big, fat congestion tax on Sydney at major entry points. The Coalition will charge motorists $5 each per day to get into the city. The New South Wales Government is combating congestion through its $100 million pinch points program that will lengthen turn bays and convert roundabouts to control by traffic lights, widen intersections and adopt other practical measures to deal with congestion.

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for South Coast to order. I call the member for Kiama to order.

Mr DAVID BORGER: I draw to the attention of the House the Government's fully funded program that contrasts nicely with the novel approach adopted by the member for Oxley. Yesterday we saw something new—a proposal for training 250,000 learner drivers for free. The idea is up there with the water-powered car. I may be a little bit dry economically, but I seriously question the concept of delivering free professional driver training to a quarter of a million young people who are trying to get their drivers licences. Fortunately, as is normally the case, the member for Oxley backed away from his policy on the morning he announced it.

On that morning, he encouraged the insurance industry to foot the bill. Good luck with that one! I wish him well. Later in the morning on ABC radio, he downgraded encouragement to hope. I have a very open mind about the benevolence of the insurance industry, but I would be very surprised if one day insurance industry representatives walked into Mr Stoner's office and said that they would be more than happy to pick up the tab. The question for everyone is: How much will the thought bubble cost? I am advised that it will cost a mere $187 million over four years. By 10.30 a.m. that day, he had shifted to a third position on his own policy.

The SPEAKER: Order! Members will come to order. Government members will come to order.

Mr DAVID BORGER: Perhaps a fourth position is being developed.

The SPEAKER: Order! Government members will come to order.

Mr DAVID BORGER: As people started to question the free driver training promise, on ABC radio the Leader of The Nationals said:

We would hope that insurance companies get on board with this and as part of a comprehensive insurance package for a young driver they cover the cost of the course or at least contribute to it.

He moved from free training for all learner drivers to signing up to comprehensive car insurance policies costing thousands of dollars a year so that they could quality for a $150 driver training course. Not so free!

Mr Adrian Piccoli: Point of order: I refer to Standing Order 129. I do not recall the question being about Opposition policy, although we would be happy to debate it. Mr Speaker, I draw your attention to the length of the Minister's answer. Question time has been going for an hour and I think we still have a couple of questions to ask.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Murrumbidgee will resume his seat. I draw the Minister's attention to the length of his answer.

Mr DAVID BORGER: We now come to the Coalition's driver discounts policy. In a media release on 11 October the shadow Minister said—

Mr Adrian Piccoli: Point of order: I refer again to Standing Order 129. I do not recall the question being about Coalition policy.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Murrumbidgee will resume his seat.

Mr Adrian Piccoli: He's flouting your ruling.

The SPEAKER: Order! He is not flouting my ruling. I will hear further from the Minister.

Mr DAVID BORGER: I thought members opposite wanted everyone to know about their new policies. Obviously that is not the case. The shadow Minister said that it is estimated that a little under half of the State's four million licence holders would be eligible for the new discount.

Mr Adrian Piccoli: Point of order: I refer to Standing Order 129. Mr Speaker, if you allow such a question you must ensure that the answer is relevant. Clearly the question was provocative, in the same way that Opposition questions are sometimes provocative. The Minister's answer must be directly relevant to the question.

The SPEAKER: Order! Under Standing Order 129 an answer must be relevant to the question asked. I remind the Minister of the question before the House.

Mr DAVID BORGER: I am advised that the potential pool of people available for this discount is exactly 2.84 million drivers with no demerit points. I have had this costed. A conservative estimate of the cost is $220 million over five years.

Mr Chris Hartcher: Point of order: The Minister's answer is going well beyond the question. On several occasions he has been reminded of the question. It is now appropriate for him to either address the question or conclude his answer.

Mr Richard Amery: To the point of order: My question was: What is the Government's response? The Minister for Roads, and Minister for Western Sydney is representing the Government. The second part of the question is about recent licensing and congestion proposals.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Mount Druitt will resume his seat. I am sure the Minister is concluding his remarks.

Mr DAVID BORGER: I will be brief. The $220 million cost of that policy would come out of the Roads budget. No wonder these characters do not want independent scrutiny of their policies. Maybe Joe Hockey can cost it for them.

Mr Chris Hartcher: Point of order: The question does not relate to costings or policies.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Terrigal will resume his seat. I draw the Minister's attention to the length of his answer.

Mr DAVID BORGER: With the Leader of The Nationals, we always get the cover of the book but never the contents.