Mark Coulton (Parkes, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Ageing and the Voluntary Sector) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2008-2009, along with related appropriation bills for the 2008-09 budget. As a new member of parliament, this is the first budget I have had the opportunity to respond to and I am delighted to do so. However, I must say that overall I found this budget to be terribly disappointing. There is very little in this budget to provide a better future for regional Australia, particularly for my electorate of Parkes, and I find that incredibly frustrating.

Firstly, I would like to put on record my extreme disappointment over the lack of funding in this budget for regional development, particularly the decision to axe the hugely beneficial Regional Partnerships program. I know that this House has seen and heard many a debate over the Regional Partnerships program, and the accusations of pork-barrelling and flawed administration in relation to this program predate my time in this House. While the current government, particularly the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, is keen to try to discredit this program, I can inform the House that many communities in my electorate have benefited beyond measure from Regional Partnerships.

Just last week I was able to see the benefits of Regional Partnerships firsthand. Last week I had the opportunity to be at the opening of the doctor’s residence in Baradine. Baradine is a small town in my electorate that has been through some very tough times of late, yet its community spirit cannot be extinguished. I do not think there is a more resilient and hardworking community in my electorate. Baradine has always had a difficult time keeping a permanent doctor in the town, so the community got together, raised some funds, received some local council support and finally put in an application under the Regional Partnerships program, an application which was successful. The community now owns a doctor’s residence, which has helped them attract a permanent doctor, who will start at the end of next month. In the past, Baradine has also received funding under the Regional Partnerships program for the rural transaction centre, which provides many essential services to a community that would otherwise go without.

Baradine is only one example of a town that has seen the significant benefits of Regional Partnerships. Other worthwhile recipients that have received funding under this program in my electorate include the Moree Plains Gallery Art Precinct development, which received $269,500 for new workshops and upgrades. I must say that the art displayed in this gallery is largely Indigenous art and the display has been a huge boost to the Indigenous community in the Moree area.

The CWA in Gunnedah has received $48,253 for an extension to its building. The Mungindi Progress Association received $14,850 towards a community bus. The Coonamble Shire Council received $27,500 to assist with the Quambone Community Shed. And in my home town of Warialda the local medical centre received $200,000 to develop a much needed walk-in, walk-out primary health care centre.

I know that the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, along with some of his colleagues, has been working hard to discredit this program. I know that there have been accusations that this program was not administered adequately and that there was not enough regulation or paperwork for the program. But I would invite the minister to come and visit some of the groups in my electorate who worked hard to put in an application, only to be told that the program is no longer operating, and so they have to simply miss out.

I might make the point in this place that the member opposite me, who represents the city of Ipswich, commented in his budget reply speech on the largesse that flowed through to his electorate. He mentioned $10 million to fix up the main street in Ipswich, and while I do not wish the residents of that wonderful city any ill I am wondering what paperwork and what processes were gone through for that project. I would like to see the application. As I have been sitting in this House, I have heard speaker after speaker from marginal Labor seats being very much appreciative of the great gifts that have come their way, and I am wondering what paperwork and processes were done before this funding came through.

I would encourage the minister to speak to some of the constituents who did comply with the guidelines and filled in pages and pages of paperwork. I suggest he speak to Tony Cole and the crew at the Coonabarabran Volunteer Rescue Association, who work tirelessly to help others during natural disasters and after accidents. These volunteers are hardworking local gentlemen—plumbers, builders and abattoir workers. They look after the carnage on the Newell Highway and at all times of day and night they are saving lives and, at worst, sometimes retrieving bodies from the accidents that we have in that area. They desperately need a new shed for their vehicle and equipment, as their current premises are far from adequate—premises, I hasten to add, that they actually constructed themselves. The local community has contributed money towards the project, and so has the New South Wales state government. The Volunteer Rescue Association were hoping the remainder of the money that they need to complete the project might be available through Regional Partnerships, but now that hope has been diminished. It will be a tough slog for these guys to try and find the money in their local community to help their service, which really is essential for the community. The Coonabarabran Volunteer Rescue Association should not be left in the lurch.

And there are other groups in my electorate who were hoping for funding through Regional Partnerships. They include the Dubbo Royal Flying Doctor Service base, whose facilities are in desperate need of expansion and upgrade. This iconic Australian service will now have to fight a little bit harder to ensure its survival due to the axing of Regional Partnerships. I might add that the local community in Dubbo have raised half a million dollars as their contribution to this base.

As I have said, while I wish the good citizens of Ipswich no harm, I hope while they are taking refuge under the pot plants in their new main street they think of the people in western New South Wales who are suffering from an inadequate service from the flying doctor base due to the axing of that program—a program in which, I might add, their application was submitted to the area consultative committee; people had been working on that for many months with community fundraising activities.

In addition to Regional Partnerships, this budget also took the razor to many other essential rural programs, including Growing Regions and agricultural training, and scrapped the OPEL contract, which was to provide fast broadband to all Australians, particularly those in rural areas such as my electorate of Parkes. In these three key areas—regional development, communications and agriculture—Labor has stripped more than $1 billion from rural and regional Australia. This budget fails to deliver any practical initiatives that will help to empower and grow our regional communities.

I am very disappointed that much of the funding allocated in this budget appears to have been diverted to honour election promises made by the Labor government during last year’s election campaign. If there are accusations of pork-barrelling being made over Regional Partnerships, then surely the funding of these election promises should be tarred with the same brush. From what I can gather, many of these election promises have been signed off with next to no administration or paperwork, and they have certainly not been subject to an intense level of scrutiny. I have also been made aware that much of the money that would appear to have been allocated in the budget for certain programs has already been spent to cover Labor’s election promises, which means there is not much left in the pot for the rest of us. From my perspective, that is perhaps the most distressing aspect of this year’s budget.

As I said in my maiden speech, I believe the greatest tool of empowerment and builder of confidence is education. I do not believe that this budget delivers on Labor’s election promise of an education revolution, particularly for school-age children. I am very disappointed by the discontinuation of the $1.2 billion Investing in Our Schools Program. Investing in Our Schools has gone a long way towards fixing some of the critical infrastructure and faculty shortfalls in many schools across my electorate of Parkes. Since becoming the federal member of parliament, I have had the pleasure of visiting many schools across my electorate that have benefited from this funding. These schools include Ilford Public School, Fairfax Public School, the GS Kidd Memorial School—which, I might add, is a school for children with disabilities—Coonabarabran High School and Moree Public School, to name but a few. These school communities have made a conscious decision to apply for funding to fix the problems that they see as the most significant in their schools. After all, no-one knows more about what is needed for these schools than the parents and teachers. Some of these schools are one- and two-teacher schools in very isolated areas. I see that the Investing in Our Schools Program has come to an end and I think that is a real shame. It is also a shame that there are no new initiatives for primary schools, with funding directed to programs specifically for secondary schools, and that the $700 literacy and numeracy tuition vouchers for struggling kids have also been scrapped.

As I said earlier, overall I found this budget to be terribly disappointing. However, there are some things in this budget that are welcome, and I am hopeful that some of the programs announced may be of benefit to my constituents in the Parkes electorate. According to the Treasurer, the decision to invest $20 billion in the new Building Australia Fund could well have some positive implications in my electorate. According to the Treasurer, this fund will be used to finance roads, rail, ports and broadband across the nation. While I have some very real concerns about the administration of this fund, particularly the fact that it appears as though it will be going through the states and that the money set aside for the next 12 months appears to be only for planning, I am still trying to see the glass half full and hope that some of the worthwhile projects in my electorate may be funded under this scheme.

I am hopeful that the inland rail line project may be financed through the Building Australia Fund. The proposed rail line would bisect the Parkes electorate and would place it at the crossroads of transport in regional Australia. It would be particularly beneficial for some of the major towns in my electorate, including Dubbo, Gilgandra, Coonamble, Walgett and Moree. I would also like to see the construction of an expressway over the Blue Mountains as one of the projects delivered by the Building Australia Fund. This road would bring with it enormous tourism and business development opportunities for my electorate, particularly for the southern towns, including Mudgee and Wellington. I am also hopeful that some of the smaller projects, such as the upgrade of the Castlereagh River bridge at Ulamambri, will be considered.

I also believe that the productivity of an area should be considered when allocating road funding. Many areas in my electorate have black soil roads that may not have a high enough level of passenger usage to be considered for funding under the existing road funding guidelines but are frequently used to haul large quantities of grain and agricultural produce. I will be pushing for productivity to be a factor to be taken into account when roads are considered for funding under the Building Australia Fund, whenever that may be.

I am pleased the Labor government decided to continue with the Roads to Recovery program. Roads to Recovery has been a real boon to regional roads in Australia, particularly in my electorate, and I know that many of my local councils will be pleased that they are still able to access it.

The announcement that the government will invest $10 billion in the new Health and Hospitals Fund to finance improvements to hospitals and the healthcare system could also be a plus for my constituents. While I have some serious doubts over the administration of this money, I will be pushing for some major health infrastructure projects in my electorate to be funded. I am particularly keen to see the Gunnedah medical centre up and running. There are many people who have been working tirelessly on this initiative, and I have recently met with some of the instigators, including Dr Grahame Deane, Kate Perrett, Fiona Strang and Penny Crawford. The Gunnedah medical centre concept is a superclinic that is ready to go. Not only will it provide essential health services for the residents of Gunnedah and the surrounding areas but it will also provide training facilities for medical students. This project should be funded through the Health and Hospitals Fund, and I will be working hard to ensure that it is not overlooked.

I welcome the announcement of the $11 billion Education Investment Fund, again with some apprehension over the administration. This money is supposed to be used to finance skills—TAFE colleges and universities across Australia. Through this fund, I would like to see the implementation of a thorough, community based learning program, similar to the Gwydir Learning Region that operates in my electorate. My involvement with the Gwydir Learning Region opened my eyes to how a community changes when it values education. The provision of educational opportunities that are relevant for individual communities must be a priority for the Education Investment Fund.

I would like to mention a few other budget announcements that are relevant to my electorate of Parkes. The Labor government’s announcement that it will provide all four-year-olds with access to early childhood education for 15 hours a week, 40 weeks a year, by 2013 sounds like a good idea in theory, but I have some concerns as to how it may be implemented when there are areas in my electorate that do not have an existing preschool or childcare facility. I believe the key to delivering this promise in rural areas is increasing the funding given to the many mobile preschools, including the Tharawanga and Gwydir mobile schools, which operate in my electorate. I have already raised this issue with the relevant minister and I am hopeful that, when it comes to early childhood education, the needs of kids in rural and remote areas will be considered.

The decision to continue to provide some funding for volunteers may also have positive implications in my electorate. I know that many volunteer groups in Parkes—whether they be the PRAMS groups in Gunnedah, working to improve the paediatric and maternity services at the local hospital, or the Walgett District Historical Society, working on a celebration of 100 years of rail to Walgett, to be held later this year—will be interested in the Volunteer Grants program announced in the budget. I will be doing all I can to ensure that as many local volunteer groups as possible from my electorate get a slice of this funding.

Another big issue in my electorate is the provision of supported accommodation for disabled people to allow them to age in place. The budget did outline some measures that are meant to increase the availability of these services, and I will be pushing the case of a few extremely worthwhile disability housing projects in my electorate, especially the supported accommodation earmarked for Narrabri and the Westhaven Association’s project in Dubbo.

Overall, I would say that this budget does not provide for regional communities and that we have been severely short-changed. However, in the interests of remaining positive, I can say that I will be fighting tooth and nail to ensure that every project in my electorate receives every possible dollar of funding that we can access. Despite not having much to draw from, I will not see the good people of the Parkes electorate go without.

In conclusion, I would also like to place on the record my support for the budget reply speech delivered by the Leader of the Opposition, Brendan Nelson. Dr Nelson’s speech gave the people of Australia an opportunity to see what the coalition stands for and how we will achieve our goals. It was a real indication of the high standard of the coalition as an alternative government, and I hope his words are firmly engraved in the minds of Australian voters.

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