Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As a regional MP and someone who will benefit significantly from it, I am very proud to be supporting theNation Building Program (National Land Transport) Amendment Bill 2009. I think we have again had from the member for Riverina a lack of reality about what happened to regional areas under the Howard government. Under the Howard government there were regions, and there were National Party regions. That is the reality of what happened under the Howard government. So if you were not a National Party region the reality is that you rarely benefited from any of that government’s largesse. What this government has done is ensure that all regions will benefit. The $800 million local and community infrastructure funds, the funds that come in under this bill, the funds that will go directly to local government, the funds that will go to our school programs mean that all regions will benefit, not just if you are a regional National Party member.

This bill is absolutely vital in delivering the government’s Nation Building Program for road and rail and is worth some $26 billion. In my home state of Victoria, the government is investing $4.3 billion through the Nation Building Program. I would like to touch on two projects in my electorate: the realignment of Anthony’s Cutting on the Western Highway and the duplication from Ballarat to Stawell of the Western Highway, both in country Victoria. Both of these projects are coming on the back of the completion of the Deer Park Bypass opened in April. The bypass has already delivered real benefits to the Ballarat community by cutting down on commute times and making Ballarat even more accessible by freight.

As part of the federal government’s budget, we also announced that the realignment of the Western Highway at Anthony’s Cutting is scheduled to be delivered in 2012. It delivers on my election commitment to the people across the Ballarat district. This $200 million project is jointly funded by the federal government and the Victorian government. The realignment of the Western Highway will see drivers diverted around the steep hills and dangerous curves at Anthony’s Cutting. Motorists who have travelled along this five-kilometre strip of road know firsthand the dangers that exist in this area. There were 21 casualty crashes recorded over Anthony’s Cutting between 2003 and 2008 and, of these, 15 were run-off-the-road crashes—more than double the state average. A report in the Moorabool Leader on 15 May highlights just how bad this road is, with Ambulance Victoria having to attend the third car rollover at the cutting in just a five-day period. This funding will support some 500 jobs. The project was always slated to begin mid-2010 under the former AusLink and AusLink 2 programs and now, with the project having been brought forward and with all the planning work now being done, it is anticipated that the tender will be let by the end of the year and work started shortly after. In 2012 this project, combined with the Deer Park Bypass, will considerably improve the connection between Melbourne, Ballarat and western Victoria and will certainly make Ballarat a regional hub for western Victoria.

In the north-west of the Ballarat electorate, we are also duplicating the road from Ballarat to Stawell. As part of the federal budget, we announced that the duplication of the Western Highway between Ballarat and Stawell is scheduled to be delivered to Victoria by 2015. The project costs some $520 million and is also jointly funded by the federal government and the Victorian government. In mid-April, the federal government brought forward $500 million to ensure swift commencement of the planning study and, once again, we are keen to deliver this project early. By starting the necessary planning work sooner, we are in a position to start construction on this vital project earlier than previously anticipated and planning of the project has already commenced. As with Anthony’s Cutting, construction is to begin early next year.

This bill also makes improvements in the eligibility under the black spot funding to sites that are on the national land transport network. These changes will ensure effective delivery of the Black Spots program and will also assist the release of funds from the $150 million boost to the Black Spots program announced previously by the government. In only late April I announced that our government was investing some $5.3 million to fix 18 dangerous black spots in my electorate. Time does not permit me to talk about all of these, but I particularly want to mention some $1 million going to Moorabool shire for road works east of Ballan, for street lighting in Hopetoun Park in the city of Ballarat, installation of traffic lights at the Sturt and Armstrong streets intersection, installation of roundabouts at the intersection of Bell and Ripon streets and more roundabouts at Armstrong and Market streets. These are all extremely dangerous areas for people traversing my electorate. Hepburn shire is also to benefit with funding going to Clunes and also to Back Hepburn Road.

The government is absolutely committed to delivering on road safety and the projects that have been announced by this government in the electorate of Ballarat will save lives and provide real benefits, both economically and socially, to people across my electorate. On top of investing in major nation-building infrastructure like the Western Highway, realignment of Anthony’s Cutting, the duplication from Ballarat to Stawell and the Black Spots program, the government has also increased investments in Roads to Recovery, a large proportion of which goes to regional local councils, and to boom gates for rail crossings programs, again many of which are in regional towns. As I have noted today, these projects are all crucial in building infrastructure across my electorate. Since being elected, the Rudd government has shown that it is the party of nation building. The coalition has voted against every nation-building bill that we have put to this parliament. In direct contrast, the Rudd government is committed to delivering road and rail infrastructure projects, and I commend this bill to the House.

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