Louise Markus (Greenway, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, Indian giving. If this Labor government had not extended Roads to Recovery, they would have yet again let the people of Australia down. It was the coalition who worked to address the problem that faced local roads in our nation. It was the coalition government who also recognised the need not only to maintain the current road network but also to ensure that our sealed road network expanded. It was in fact the coalition government who introduced Roads to Recovery in November 2000 and invested $1.2 billion over five years.

As of June 2005, less than 43 per cent of New South Wales roads were sealed, and let me run through what is happening with other states. In Victoria, 41.8 per cent of roads are sealed; in Queensland, only 28.7 per cent of roads are sealed; in Western Australia, only 27.2 per cent of roads are sealed; in South Australia, only 21.8 per cent of roads are sealed; and, in Tasmania, 48.8 per cent of roads are sealed. Imagine these numbers if Roads to Recovery had not been introduced some four years earlier. What is interesting is the link between these appalling unsealed roads—they are all run by Labor. This means the combined effort of all these Labor states, as of June 2005, was their ability to seal only 33.7 per cent of Australia’s roads.

The impact that Roads to Recovery has had on regional roads since it was introduced in November 2000 is significant. DOTARS states:

Local roads are important to national transport safety, efficiency and overall economic performance. They provide basic access from farms, factories and homes to schools, hospitals, work, shopping and to families and friends.

So for this Labor government not to extend this funding would have been criminal, and I welcome the extension to 30 June 2014. I wish to note that Labor has taken the coalition’s plan to increase Roads to Recovery funding to $350 million, effective in 2009-10. On 8 May 2007, the coalition government announced that they planned to extend the Roads to Recovery program to June 2014. Of course, that planned increase was to $350 million.

I would also like to take the opportunity to raise the issue of the financial strain that the New South Wales local councils experience in their efforts to maintain local roads. They feel this strain as a result of a reclassification that took place in 1995. This reclassification meant that many regional roads in New South Wales were reclassified as local roads. The New South Wales Labor government reclassified 18,600 kilometres of state roads and transferred ownership to local councils. This meant that these regional roads suddenly became the responsibility of local councils rather than the state government, which meant an additional financial responsibility for local councils. Local councils receive some annual grants; however, this is nowhere near enough to cover the rising costs of road maintenance, such as resurfacing. It is estimated that 80 per cent of Australia’s public roads are now classified as local.

This is another example of state Labor governments shifting responsibility—in this case, to local councils. Local councils such as the Hawkesbury City Council, in my electorate of Greenway, could not have maintained many of their reclassified local roads without Roads to Recovery. The projects that have been assisted include Commercial Road, Vineyard, for which the council received $128,796; Valder Avenue, Richmond, at a cost of $121,591; Chapman Road, Vineyard, at a cost of $126,936; Slopes Road, North Richmond, at a cost of $169,576; Church Street, South Windsor, at a cost of $108,270; East Kurrajong Road, at a cost of $196,885; Lennox Street, Richmond, costing $260,220; Tennyson Road, Tennyson, costing $175,356; Kurmond Road, Kurmond, costing $197,587; and Old Bells Line of Road, Kurrajong, at a cost of $188,814.

The coalition believes in empowering communities, and the purpose of the Roads to Recovery program was to give councils the opportunity to decide what the priorities were for their community. Programs such as Roads to Recovery empower local councils to decide what roads have the greatest need for upgrades and sealing. Roads to Recovery has enabled councils to receive direct funding without bureaucratic red tape. This also means that the council receives all the funding. Money does not get lost in administration through states and territories. Roads to Recovery is a very successful program. The coalition initiative has delivered over 25,000 local projects across Australia. The Australian Local Government Association also believe that the program is essential, and they describe the program as being:

… an essential element in local government’s ability to maintain and upgrade the local roads network.

I would like to conclude by saying that the Rudd Labor government cannot continue their spin for long before their shine fades. Our country’s truck drivers deserve support with no strings attached, and everyday Australians deserve a decent road system. For this reason, I commend the bill to the House.

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