Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I refer the Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government to this press release, where he announced the so-called $1.4 billion Regional Development Australia Fund. I note that the government has since reallocated $350 million of this money to other programs. However, if the minister's press release was honest, this should still leave $1,050 million in the Regional Development Australia Fund. Will the minister confirm that the allocation in his department's portfolio budget statements provides $301 million for the Regional Development Australia Fund all the way out to 2014-15? Minister, what happened to the missing $749 million? Where did it go? Given that only $151 million of the Regional Development Australia Fund is due to be spent before the next election, how can people living in regional Australia trust the Gillard government to deliver the $1 billion you have promised? Does the minister believe that people living in regional Australia—who were told by the Prime Minister before the last election, 'There will be no carbon tax under the government,' I believe—should have any faith in this government's ability to deliver regional funding promised in the never-never years?

I refer the minister to his comments in the press release, where he said the $1.4 billion Regional Development Australia Fund 'is a concrete demonstration of the federal government's commitment to furthering economic development in the regions'. Will the minister inform the House of just the kind of concrete he is using, given that 71 per cent of the government's commitment disappeared in just eight weeks? Can the minister share with the House details of any construction site he is familiar with where 71 per cent of the concrete has disappeared in eight weeks?

I ask the minister to clarify just how the government defines this as a regional fund. I ask the minister to refer to the standard form of regional definitions adopted by the government in the way that the Australian Standard Geographical Classification is produced by the government's Australian Bureau of Statistics. Will the minister advise the House what amount of the Regional Development Australia Fund, or what is left of it, will be allocated to the remoteness areas RA1, RA2, RA3, RA4 and RA5?

Minister, please inform the House what proportion of the Regional Development Australia Fund is subject to the passage of the government's mining tax. Does the minister believe that $151 million in regional funding is an appropriate dividend to regional communities that will be hit hard by the government's mining tax? Will the minister share with the House how previous governments have been able to provide more funding and actually deliver it in regional Australia, and without the need for a massive mining tax?

Will the minister advise the House what happened to the $800 million Priority Regional Infrastructure Program and the $573 million Regional Development Australia scheme of the Regional Infrastructure Fund? Were these two programs abolished or rolled into the Regional Development Australia Fund? Will the minister confirm that, prior to the last election, the Treasurer made an election commitment:

… Federal Labor will invest more than $2 billion in Queensland infrastructure from the Regional Infrastructure Fund …

I refer the minister to question in writing No. 104, where I asked him what allocations have been made to the states or territories in the Regional Infrastructure Fund, and the minister's answer was: 'No funds have been allocated to states or territories.' Minister, why did the government break its election commitment to provide a $2 billion allocation to Queensland and a $2 billion allocation to Western Australia from the Regional Infrastructure Fund? Does the minister think it is fair that Queensland and Western Australia are burdened with Labor's massive mining tax without their promised allocation from the Regional Infrastructure Fund? Will the minister confirm that the biggest single allocation from the Regional Infrastructure Fund is $480 million for the Perth airport roads project? Does the minister agree with Senator Sherry, who when asked, 'Is Perth airport regional,' said, 'I would not consider it to be regional, no'? Minister, if that is the case, why was this project funded from the Regional Infrastructure Fund and not other areas of funding? Minister, I ask you: why are you spending regional money on the cities?

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