Damian Hale (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

No worries. I appreciate that. I rise today to speak on the Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2008-2009 and the Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2008-2009. These additional estimates bills are presented during a crisis that is unprecedented in our lifetime, a time where strong and decisive action to support jobs and the economy is required. The additional estimates bills seek appropriation authority from parliament for additional expenditure from the Consolidated Revenue Fund in order to meet requirements that have arisen since the last budget. I will outline some of the major appropriations processed in the bill that are particularly significant to the people in my electorate of Solomon.

This bill provides the Department of Defence with an additional $87.8 million to reimburse it for the cost of extending Australia’s military participation in stabilisation and reconstruction activities in Iraq to 30 June 2009. The Department of Defence will also be provided with $153 million to meet additional costs arising from movements in the exchange rate; $29.4 million will also go to the Department of Defence to cover unavoidable overspends on operations in the previous financial year, which are funded by the government on a no win, no loss basis.

Very importantly, the Department of Defence will be provided with $307 million to address pressures in a number of areas, including the graded other ranks pay structure review, superannuation, rental allowances and higher fuel costs. Well over 5,000 ADF men and women are based in Solomon at HMAS Coonawarra, Darwin Naval Base and Headquarters Northern Command located at Larrakeyah Barracks. The Australian Army has a large presence at Robertson Barracks and NORFORCE is at Larrakeyah Barracks, and of course there is the Royal Australian Air Force at RAAF Base Darwin.

Defence personnel and their families are an integral part of our vibrant city in the north. I must say that both during the campaign and since being elected I have been extremely fortunate in meeting so many members of our Australian Defence Force community. I know these commitments by the Rudd Labor government deliver for the Australian Defence Force community. These bills demonstrate our government’s strong commitment to the Defence Force and, through a significant military presence, they also build the economy of Solomon. On 19 February, we will remember the bombing of Darwin, a significant event in the history of Australia. These measures show that the Australian Defence Force and their families are front and centre with the Rudd Labor government. They build on the existing funding programs, from child care to health care to housing.

It was fantastic to hear the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel reply to my question regarding the role Defence Housing Australia will play in yesterday’s announcement in parliament of the $42 billion Nation Building and Jobs Plan. As a result of our package, the government will provide $251.6 million to the Defence Housing Authority to construct 802 dwellings in metropolitan and regional centres. Importantly, these new houses will not be built in just one or two areas of the country. Seventeen different regions across Australia will benefit from the initiative, including 185 new houses to be built in Darwin.

Not only will this ensure Australian Defence Force personnel have appropriate, quality housing available to them but it will also mean a huge boost to the local construction industry across all 17 regions. Building will commence in April this year and continue until mid-2011. The government will continue to support employment initiatives for spouses, assistance with housing, relocation, childcare programs, health care, the transition to civilian life at the end of a military career and a number of other support services. As many of my colleagues often say, it is ‘recruit the member, retain the family’. I know these types of initiatives are of great benefit to the fantastic Defence Force personnel and their families who live and work in Solomon.

Back in December the government brought all the mayors and shire presidents from around the country to Canberra. It was a historic moment and one I was proud to be involved in. Not only were partnerships between federal and local government strengthened but also it was about setting local infrastructure projects that would be federally funded. The two lord mayors in my electorate—Graham Sawyer, the Lord Mayor of Darwin, and Robert McLeod, the very enthusiastic Lord Mayor of Palmerston—had a fantastic time. This bill appropriates $300 million to local councils and shires across Australia, including $250 million to be allocated between all councils through the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program.

As we heard yesterday, the government will provide an additional $500 million over two years to expand the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program. These are fantastic initiatives by the Prime Minister and the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, bringing the federal government to a greater understanding of and being of greater assistance to local government. These are grassroots projects. They help local businesses to create local jobs at the grassroots level. As the member for Riverina touched on, it brings local pride and builds community. That is what we are all about. We have gone so much away from building community in the last 12 years.

In Solomon, councils have been allocated $661,000. This money would never have been allocated under the previous government; it would not have happened. They would never have brought all the lord mayors to Canberra to talk to them about how federal government could assist local government. There was $313,000 to the Darwin City Council and $196,000 to the Palmerston City Council. I know the money was extremely well received. Both my lord mayors, Graeme Sawyer and Robert Mcleod, are very passionate about their patch and what they can do. It is just the shot in the arm that both councils and local contractors needed and something that I know that the people of Darwin and Palmerston are particularly happy about.

This bill provides funding for local projects—things like community centres, swimming pools and sports grounds—projects that will need to meet the program’s guidelines and be approved by the government before funding can be provided. I have been working with, and will continue to work with, councils and shires in my electorate to put forward projects that our community really needs. This means worthwhile projects that stimulate our local economy and support jobs in our communities during this global financial crisis. The Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program is yet another example of our government taking decisive action at a local level to support our local economy through these types of initiatives. These are unprecedented times. Many countries around the world have already slipped into, or are slipping into, recession. We have two options. We can either sit on our hands and do nothing or we can act swiftly and decisively to continue to grow Australia’s economy and to continue to save Australian jobs.

This bill will also provide almost $100 million to establish a global institute to speed up the development of carbon capture and storage technology. Through this institute the Rudd government will work cooperatively with other countries to help reduce the amount of CO released into the atmosphere. The government has offered to host the institute in Australia and would continue to contribute up to $100 million per annum towards its operation. Developing and commercialising this technology is vital for Australia’s future. In fact, CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Geoff Garrett said that the initiative would significantly reduce the time frames currently projected to develop and deploy critical carbon capture and storage technologies on a commercial scale. Australia has already held informal consultations with industry and foreign governments over a possible model for the institute. This will pave the way for its commercial deployment across the world by the end of the next decade. It is an initiative that proves once again that we on this side of the House are serious about climate change. The commitment was again apparent yesterday with the second stimulus package initiative and the Energy Efficient Homes Program, for instance, which will assist in the insulation of homes and the rebate for solar panels to assist in reducing our power consumption.

This is an unprecedented financial crisis, a crisis of a magnitude never seen before. Australia is not immune to it. It will be a hard year, a hard fight. However, it is a fight we will win. The decisive action in this crisis by the Rudd Labor government will enable us to fight through these uncertain times. I commend these bills to the House.

Debate (on motion by Mr Laming) adjourned.

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