Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to comment on the budget for 2006-07 and, more particularly, to give credit where credit is due, for this budget is the 11th successful budget delivered by a successful team that has overseen the prospering of Australia after inheriting a huge millstone from the previous government—a millstone worth $96 billion which has finally been put to bed, releasing us from the economic shackles by which we were bound. In fact, we have saved $8 billion each year in interest payments alone. This year also we celebrated the 10th anniversary of a coalition government that has delivered us from the threat of a ‘banana republic’.

Having arrived in parliament at the 1996 election, I ponder the many successes that have been realised and cast my mind back to my appropriation debate speech in 2001 which marked the half-way mark to today. It is appropriate for me to reflect now on what was said, because more often than not we tend to focus on the present rather than looking at the journey that led us here. At the time I said it was a fact that the previous government totally ignored the basic infrastructure of regional development, particularly in Gilmore, dividing families and creating a sense of dependency on government, rather than opening the doors to allow Australians to become competitive, generating needed investment and providing much-needed employment.

In the election of 1996, the people entrusted me with the job of making Gilmore a better place to do business in and to live in, creating those much-needed jobs and educational opportunities. It has also provided enormous challenges to expand our tourist industry, our manufacturing, agricultural and commercial base, not to forget one of our largest industries and employment bases and what our electorate is based on—that being defence—HMAS Albatross.

Today, Gilmore really is on the move as we, the government and the community, have certainly been getting the job done. As I look back over those years, I am impressed by what has actually been achieved: just on $2 billion worth of funding for projects in Gilmore. Some of the more notable and significant projects include: schools and education, almost $280 million; University of Wollongong school of medicine, $10 million; Main Road 92, $34 million; Princes Highway Kiama bypass, $34 million; roads and infrastructure, $250 million; Shoalhaven Cultural Convention Centre, $3.3million; Shoalhaven City Arts Centre upgrade, $440,000; Shoalhaven Youth Volunteering Initiative, $133,000; Currarong boat ramp, $100,000; the Gilmore Youth Leadership Forum; child-care upgrades; community water grants; University of Wollongong Shoalhaven Marine and Freshwater Centre for research; Nowra rugby park upgrade; HMAS Albatross upgrade; defence projects in general, including cadets, $820 million; aged care; environment; and much more.

Many of these are significant, not so much for the quantum of money they attracted but as a catalyst to build upon. For instance, the Gilmore Youth Leadership Forum brought together many future and potential leaders from 10 schools, both private and public, from across the electorate. This tied in with the Shoalhaven Youth Volunteering Initiative, with both projects creating a base from which we can build an environment to encourage a future engagement with the community by our youth. Two hundred young people each year, in cooperation with local schools, participate with the SES, bushfire brigades, National Parks and Wildlife, police, surf lifesaving clubs and other agencies.

Our role ultimately is to ensure that the generations that follow are not fettered the way we were when we took over government in 1996. That is why I have been such an ardent supporter of constructing a highway from Nowra to Canberra. I and many of my constituents could see that, unless we took steps to ensure better access to other commercial markets, we faced the danger of languishing far behind other regional centres. It has been a frustrating process, and the original deadlines have been compromised by a state government which really was not concerned with the welfare of Gilmore residents. However, I am pleased to inform the House that the Prime Minister turned the first sod to mark the beginning of the state government’s contribution to the construction of the Shoalhaven Highway. Six years it took for the New South Wales government to match funding, endangering the project owing to the depreciation effect on the original sum over that period.

I am also grateful to the Australian government for supporting educational initiatives by contributing funds for the development of the University of Wollongong Nowra campus, the medical school and the Sealab and for other contributions towards education, making this particular campus a centre of excellence. We will be working towards seeing some form of nursing training developed at the campus. Whatever contribution is made—and it has been generous—is essentially a work in progress as we continue to build on these achievements.

I would like to describe to the House some of the other projects we have running in Gilmore at this time. Firstly, there is the constant criticism over the Princes Highway. Finally the facts seem to be sinking in. People are starting to understand that the Princes Highway is a state road and it is up to the state of New South Wales to look after it. We have put millions into the road through the black spots program. It comes down to this: the state needs to have the plans in place when it approaches the Australian government for money. This is where the process has fallen down. The Southern Councils Group has a plan. The state government needs to support its plan, meet the dollar-for-dollar requirements of the program and put its money where its mouth is.

We cannot continue to be criticised for not funding a road that is not even a federal road when there is money available to the New South Wales state government and the RTA but they will not support proposed projects. On this issue, quite simply, enough is enough, and we are not going to take it any more. I will continue to fight for whatever Australian government money is available for the road, but it needs to be done knowing that the state government is prepared to meet its responsibilities.

Next, the old Anglicare Chesalon nursing home is on the market in Nowra. I believe it is the perfect facility to meet a multitude of needs in Gilmore. Under the right leaders, the facility could house respite for carers of the disabled, expanded special child-care facilities and potentially an expansion of Noah’s Ark services—and I believe it is the ideal location for the family relationship centre to be developed in Nowra. It is a large centre and one we believe can be adapted to meet the needs of such occupants. We are speaking with Anglicare to see what can be done. The early signs are positive on what shapes to be a long road, but a road well worth travelling. The Australian government has committed to improved mental health services and respite for the carers of the disabled, and the Chesalon centre looms as a logical choice.

One of the more significant initiatives, launched in March this year, is Blueprint Shoalhaven, which has been a series of minisummits addressing key sectors in the Shoalhaven economy. This local initiative came about as a result of confronting the prospect of a number of job losses that had to be faced earlier this year—job losses that came about as a result of businesses winding up or reducing their operations. Gates Rubber closed, Manildra had to cut jobs because of the anti-ethanol campaign that was being waged, the paper mill rationalised its operations, and the local Dairy Farmers milk factory ceased operations.

Then there has been the predictable downstream effect of supporting industries—reducing their participation as a result of their dependency on these large local enterprises. The effect is quite profound, so I needed to ensure that other initiatives were available to fill the gap. Blueprint Shoalhaven is an independent and bipartisan forum made up of industry and community leaders. They are working towards a solution—a practical and non-political solution—and I commend them for their dedication to breathing life into the local economy, upon which so many people rely. Tourism, health and ageing, public service, general industry and defence have all been addressed. Under the chairmanship of Noel Rosskelly, from Tyco flow systems in Nowra, Blueprint has brought together a team of professionals and people from across the region to put together action plans to build on the region’s successes and identify the success stories of the future.

The final plans will be presented on 26 June at a major function at the Nowra Anglican College. It will be the culmination of the first stage of Blueprint Shoalhaven, and once the plans are delivered they need to be acted upon. The project has won the support of the three levels of government, and those three levels of government will look closely at the plans to see where assistance can be offered. From the start, Blueprint Shoalhaven was a project for the people and by the people. It has been embraced and each of the minisummits has been a great success. I look forward to seeing the action plans produced and to doing all I can to assist in the next exciting stage.

Among the more successful programs introduced by this government is the Regional Partnerships program. At this point, I want to acknowledge the work of the Shoalhaven Area Consultative Committee and its chief executive officer, Milton Lay. Milton and his colleague Alan Mulley have been instrumental in delivering many projects, two of which I have already mentioned. The committee broke new ground in a number of projects, particularly the civilian cadets. The spin-off was a successful first-aid course, which was offered not only to the cadets but also to senior high school students from the region. It was a weekend program, and over 775 students and teachers participated. The net result is that there are another 775 individuals in the electorate who can render effective first aid if called upon.

Another issue of immense interest to the Gilmore electorate is the matter of biofuels and, more specifically, ethanol production. One of the largest ethanol producers in Australia is Manildra, which has a plant in Bomaderry, in the Gilmore electorate. The need to support such an industry has not been made any clearer than by today’s skyrocketing price of fuel, yet consumers continue to shy away from taking up ethanol-supplemented fuel. The Prime Minister’s recent intervention with the oil companies was a timely and necessary initiative, but the reality is that, until such a time as more outlets selling ethanol come into the market, the take-up rate will continue to lag.

I am of the view that the times are right to now pursue and develop alternative technologies rather than just talk about them. Federal members have fuel cards, which are able to be used to source ethanol based fuel. While that might be a token gesture, at least it is an action that sets an example. If the oil companies do not become more committed to promoting ethanol based fuel fairly soon, I will again be pushing to have ethanol mandated.

The Prime Minister has raised the issue of considering nuclear energy as part of the debate, and he is correct in putting it on the table. Even before the sun had gone down, there were people saying that they did not want a nuclear reactor in their backyard. There is no shortage of nimbys—those who say, ‘Not in my backyard’—and so passionate are they in protecting their self-interests that they lose sight of the big picture. In some way that reflects the response to ethanol. Who remembers the campaign to discredit the uptake of ethanol and Labor’s pathetic role in promoting a fear campaign? It was based largely, I would suggest, on their animosity towards Manildra’s owner. The prime fear tactic was the claim that ethanol would burn your engine out; many people were convinced without even bothering to check the facts. They neglected to say that it was in fact kerosene that was the culprit.

Suddenly, with the price of fuel escalating dramatically, ethanol is now more acceptable—exactly the proposition we were advocating based on overseas experiences. Even state Labor has come to the party, with the state government saying it will be putting ethanol in its fleet vehicles. The Labor aspirant for the seat of Kiama, the new boundaries of which will take in Manildra, has had an epiphany. He was always an ardent supporter of ethanol, or so he says, yet just recently he voted against the bill that would have mandated the use of ethanol in New South Wales. And why should I be surprised, particularly when the state government’s approach to water resources, as an example, sees them simply robbing the regional areas of the Shoalhaven and the Southern Highlands of their water? The only initiatives that they have come up with are water restrictions on domestic use in the Sydney metropolitan area, which affects a miniscule two per cent of water usage in the Sydney region, and plans for a desalination plant, which have now been shelved. The point I am trying to make is that, in preparing for future contingencies, planning has to start earlier rather than later, and short-term benefits may have to be compromised for long-term gain. It might be expedient to put aside the politically unpalatable, but that is not a responsible approach to governing.

This government has made a lot of tough decisions, often against the tide of prevailing opinion, but in persisting and standing firm in its resolve, we can now point to the benefits that eventually flowed. Good economic management has given us the wherewithal to build a strong foundation for future prosperity. In the future, I can envisage a modern boat harbour for the region, one that will attract businesses to it and that can capitalise on a new tourist market. I envisage a dedicated respite centre for the disabled and not just extra beds in an aged care home. I envisage an Australian technical college to train our young people so that they can look forward to better job prospects and, so that they can take advantage of what information technology has to offer, a complete broadband service throughout the Gilmore electorate. I can also envisage a school of nursing, much needed by our older Australians. These are my dreams for the next term, and I will be working hard with the assistance of government to realise them for the people of Gilmore.

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