John Cobb (Calare, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government for the opportunity to add comment on his government’s proposal to set up Regional Development Australia. I am particularly pleased that the government will be continuing the area consultative committees network, even though there is a name change—and governments do do name changes for various reasons. It should be pointed out that the ACC network has done an excellent job on the whole in working with the previous government—and I am sure it will with this one—on behalf of local regional communities. I personally cannot speak highly enough of the committed volunteers on the 54 boards throughout our country nor of their staff, who, in the case of my own electorate—which was Parkes and is now Calare—have done an outstanding job in working with the local community.

I am very concerned, as are many members on our side of the House, that the ACCs do not now go into hibernation whilst the interim arrangements and consultations are taking place. It is vital that their work continues. Members on this side of the House are hearing daily of critical Regional Partnerships projects—which have been developed and worked on by the ACCs, by the department and by the communities who proposed them—being held up. Nothing seems to have come through since the election. I must repeat that a lot of these projects are very much health related: medical centres, dental projects, houses for doctors in regional towns. They were essential. It became a project very centred on regional health. We are hearing so much about projects where nothing is happening. I do hope, and I ask the minister to ensure, that the time in which they have to wait for something to come through is as short as possible. I have heard the time frame that he has mentioned today. But there are a lot of these projects. If the funding is not there for projects in regional Australia—no matter how good the projects are—there is not very much for them to work with. Time, effort and in many cases significant funding have already been spent on the projects, and it would not be fair if this government were to keep people hanging for an answer whilst it does another review and another round of consultation.

The interim board of Regional Development Australia will consist of the ACCs’ current chairs reference group until December this year. I would urge the minister not to allow the board of Regional Development Australia after 2008 to become a gathering place for people with affiliations who would take the place of people who reflect the very vibrant, economically progressive nature of regional Australia. The people on those boards have very much reflected their communities.

The minister has outlined the type of advice that Regional Development Australia could provide to the government. Whilst I will not repeat it here, we would broadly support the minister on those endeavours, particularly when it comes to disseminating information about Commonwealth programs. That is particularly important, as members of the House can attest. Too often constituents only become aware of government programs after they have closed. It will be doubly important, given that the government has stated it will be slashing its advertising budget.

The minister’s message to regional communities is clear: ‘This government will work with you to make your solutions work on behalf of regional Australia.’ Given all the signals that the people who have been to see the parliamentary secretary and others are hearing about what is happening to the funding that has previously been put towards regional programs—such as cutting $145 million from the Growing Regions program—we are wondering what, if anything, the ACCs or the new bodies will have to do. I think it is very important not to keep regional Australia wondering what will be there in the future.

The Prime Minister and the minister have both told this House that every one of their pre-election commitments will be delivered. That being the case, I wonder how they are going to be able to do it. The Prime Minister has already made the statement that anything that is not backed by the department will not be overridden by the minister. Yet at the same time, as we heard in question time just the other day, they are going to deliver a program that was already knocked back by the department.

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