Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

The numbers mentioned by the government are typical of the rhetoric but are a long way from the fact. Indeed some of the numbers being referred to are about expenditure which is not scheduled to happen for more than 10 years. This is typical of the way in which the government try to promote their activities. For instance, in relation to roads the government said on 21 November 2007 that they would complete the duplication of the Pacific Highway by 2016. They are over $3 billion short in funding to deliver that objective. They promised us that there would be work done on the Northern Sydney rail freight corridor—$840 million. That has turned into a $15 million study. What about the Gateway Motorway at Nudgee, a 16-kilometre section from Nudgee Road to Gympie Arterial Road? A study was to be completed by June 2009, but the study has not even been done, let alone the road built. So, much of this is rhetoric rather than fact, and that is typical of the way in which the government have approached their task.

A number of speakers want to speak, so let me raise just a couple of other issues. I would like to refer to Regional Development Australia, which in its short time is already showing signs of failure. Certainly there is a lot of discord and disappointment at local committee level because they have simply got nothing to do. The government’s rhetoric has again failed to be delivered in reality. This was supposed to be a shared partnership arrangement between the Commonwealth and the states, but it is obvious that no state is paying its way. Even though they have been given the opportunity to select committee members, none of the states are contributing much. Some states are contributing nothing at all. In most states a bit of unused office space and a little bit of so-called in-kind support are being provided. This scheme is doing nothing to make a connection between the regions and the Commonwealth. In fact it is using up millions of dollars of administration funds without actually delivering anything to the people of regional Australia. The dialogue is not happening. The committees are being asked to prepare plans. This will be the third set of plans that the regional development committees have been asked to prepare since this government was elected. How about some action rather than spending their time just on bureaucratic activity?

The other odd thing of course is the way in which the committees are set up. It is supposed to be a regional development organisation. In Victoria there are nine regional development committees and four of them are in Melbourne. On the other hand, New South Wales has 14 and there is only one in Sydney. So in reality what we have got, essentially, is an organisation that is supposed to be about regions but is in fact mainly about cities. Indeed most of the state offices have been closed by this government, and money has been diverted to a new better cities unit in Sydney. This is where this government’s priorities are in relation to this issue.

One other matter I would like to raise is the question of the funding for security at regional airports. The government has announced $32 million in the budget to assist with security in the airports which are now going to have to provide full screening—the airports of those towns that have the larger, Dash 8, aircraft coming to them. The government said in Senate estimates that there are 19 such airports that will require upgrading. Most of them will need expenditure of $2 million, $3 million, $4 million or $5 million in capital works just to be able to meet the requirements. Then, of course, there are the operational costs as well. So $32 million is only going to go a small part of the way.

I have raised with the minister previously the concerns of towns like Barcaldine and Blackall that have only three services a week. They carry out less than perhaps 50 passengers a week. It is being done in a triangle service with Longreach, and so they have Dash 8 aircraft. These little places are going to have to spend something like $3 million to $5 million on upgrading their terminal buildings. They will need about six staff to be employed for a minimum of four hours every time a plane comes in to land. It has been estimated that the cost of the passengers going out of towns like Blackall and Barcaldine will be at least $1,000 a ticket to provide this security.

I believe in security. We need to do the right things. But it is madness to put these kinds of costs onto small airports like Barcaldine and Blackall. And I ask the government: who is going to fund the balance, beyond the $32 million? The government seems to want to deny these small communities the opportunity to have an air service. This is really bureaucracy gone wild.

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