James Bidgood (Dawson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in favour of the bills before us: the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2009-2010 and the Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2009-2010. The member for Calare asked: ‘What do you get for the money?’ He needs to remember that we are $210 billion short in revenue income. Even the member for North Sydney has said that, if they were in charge, their budget would be just $25 billion less. This is the worst global financial crisis in 75 years. Those on the other side were in government with massive surpluses from the minerals boom. And what did they do for infrastructure? They did nothing—absolutely nothing. We, the Rudd Labor government, are putting people to work in jobs, building the infrastructure for tomorrow. We are nation building, because that is what they did not do. We are having to fix up 11 years of appalling neglect for the core, basic long-term infrastructure of this nation. That will create greater productivity in all of our exports through, rail, road and ports. That is what these bills seek to address.

The member for Calare asks: ‘What did it the budget do for regional communities?’ I will tell you what it did for regional communities. There has been massive investment through Building the Education Revolution. Every single school across the nation, whether they are in the cities, in the regions or in remote rural areas—wherever there is a school there is a benefit to that community. That is what you get for your money. That is what you get when you get clear, decisive leadership with a vision to build this nation; to build the infrastructure for tomorrow which will last up to 50 years into the future, looking after the nation and its productivity, looking after the educational needs of our students; to build the intellect of this nation; and to build up in our young people, our students, the sciences, the languages, the physical activities that they need. We are building a smarter and more intellectual nation because we truly do believe in educating our students. We do not give it lip-service. We make real promises backed with real dollars, real investment. That is why I am speaking in favour of these appropriation bills tonight.

With a total of $75.7 million delivered to my seat of Dawson, I can truly say that the Rudd Labor government is delivering for the people of Dawson. The Rudd Labor government is delivering where the opposition over there, when they were in government for 11 years, delivered nothing. They delivered nothing like this. This is a real commitment to the roads: $150 million on the Bruce Highway committed; $95 million to the Townsville Port Access Road in southern Townsville in my electorate; the Flinders Highway connection to the Bruce Highway, $110 million; $345 million invested, promised, in the first year. That is delivering for Dawson.

I would like to table and have included a graph I happened to obtain showing the figures of 2006-07 and 2007-08, the last Howard government years. I would like this incorporated, if possible, in my speech. It shows the Howard government investment in infrastructure as just being, on average, $3 billion. This is the Labor projection. May I incorporate that in my speech?

Leave granted.

The graph read as follows—

Thank you very much. It shows clearly that the Rudd Labor government is committed to double what the previous government put into the infrastructure of this nation. I am proud to stand here tonight and to back these appropriation bills, to invest in the people of Dawson in Mackay, Proserpine, the Whitsundays, Bowen, Burdekin, Ayr, Stuart in southern Townsville and Oonoonba. All these communities deserve government that supports them and a government that is prepared to invest in them. The Rudd Labor government has also delivered $1.3 million for the Harrup Park Country Club in the 2009-10 financial year to contribute towards improved facilities for both spectators and players, including a new building with international standard changing rooms, media facilities, administration offices and improved amenities. This is fantastic for sports tourism in the region and it really is the icing on the cake, because it is not just sports but sporting tourism, which is a very big earner in the city of Mackay.

This goes hand in hand with the $8.8 million funding to construct the Mackay rugby league stadium in the last budget. So now we have a sporting hub which is being invested in by this government. They promised for two previous elections to build the rugby league stadium, but what did they deliver? Nothing. We, the Rudd Labor government, have delivered. People in our communities are beginning to see firsthand that under a Rudd Labor government important community infrastructure is being funded and delivered in their communities.

Included in the budget is a total of six nation-building program projects worth $62.7 million just for the seat of Dawson. These are including two new projects: $30 million for maintenance work on the Bruce Highway between Sarina and Cairns in 2009-10 and also $10 million for safety enhancement works in known accident zones, also between Sarina and Cairns in the 2009-10 year. These two projects alone will total $40 million in 2009-10 and a total, by 2014, of $255 million. This is truly delivering for the people of Dawson when it comes to the Bruce Highway.

The budget also includes the continuation of the strategic corridor program in Townsville. As I mentioned, the port access road worth $95 million, the Burdekin bridge maintenance and rehabilitation worth $50 million and the Bruce Highway total, all up, $150 million, which also includes the southern approach to Mackay making up all the remainder. They are valuable projects all funded and all delivered by the Rudd Labor government.

In the seat of Dawson, we also received funding for five Roads to Recovery projects worth over $2.63 million, including $1,438, 473 for Mackay Regional Council, $738,955 for Whitsunday Regional Council and $457,561 for the Burdekin Shire Council. We have funding for three projects under the Black Spot Program worth $152,000, one at Alligator Creek on the Bruce Highway which is worth $100,000, one in the town of Ayr, at Ivory Road, worth $40,000, and one in the town of Seaforth, where the Cape Hillsborough Road gets $12,000. But let us not forget the funding in this budget for boom gates at rail crossings, including at Maraju-Yakapari Road in Mackay, Gorman Street in Mackay and Drysdale Street in Ayr.

What is also exciting, and great news, is the increased health funding in the budget for my electorate, with Farleigh, Mackay, Nindaroo and Walkerston now eligible for rural incentive grant payments for the very first time. There is additional federal funding for the Mackay Division of General Practice to deliver primary health care to the Mackay community. The Mackay Division of General Practice’s case for funding was heard loud and clear at the Community Cabinet meeting in Mackay, which took place in June 2008—grassroots democracy getting grassroots outcomes delivered by the Rudd Labor government, which actually listens to people on the ground. The Mackay Division of General Practice media release informs us that they received a total of $552,666 in this 2009-10 budget, an increase of 18 per cent. The CEO, Mr Christian Grieves, says:

For the first time, GPs relocating to Mackay from one of Australia’s capital cities will be rewarded by a grant of up to $15,000. This should make it much more attractive for family doctors to move to Mackay. The budget initiatives, which include the new general practice rural incentives program, will mean that GPs relocating to Sarina, Proserpine, Moranbah, Airlie Beach and Mirani will be eligible for a relocation grant of $30,000.

He then goes on to say:

This is really great news for the people of Mackay. Local medical centres will find it easier to attract GPs to work in Mackay. Until now, only doctors working outside of Mackay were eligible for retention payments. So, when it comes to recruiting locum GPs for the Mackay division in the medical centres, we have been finding it difficult to meet the financial expectations of doctors looking to move to region. The cost of moving to Mackay from another country to work as a GP has increased substantially over the last two years. The division now believes these financial incentives will make Mackay a more attractive place for overseas doctors to work.

The Rudd Labor government is delivering when it comes to rural health needs. This is good news for the people of Dawson.

Also, very importantly, there are 16,277 pensioners in the electorate that will benefit from the government’s pension reform program, providing an additional $32 for single pensioners on the full rate of pension and $10.14 a week for pensioner couples combined on the full rate of pension. This budget is good news for the people of Dawson. The Rudd Labor government is delivering for Dawson, and I commend this bill to the House.

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