Mike Kelly (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

While we are talking about the Princes Highway, I do appreciate the member's question on that because it is a very significant story and one neglected by state governments. It was part of the Infrastructure Australia process. There was a bid that the New South Wales government put in. That bid made it a long way through the process and we were hopeful that it was going to get up but, of course, the Infrastructure Australia process is independent and we did not quite get there. I did do a deal with the previous New South Wales state government that, if the bid did not get up, they would pick a couple of the more dangerous spots along the highway and do Victoria Creek and Dignams Creek. To give credit to the current New South Wales government, they have maintained that commitment and that work is underway.

One of the most important elements of that project is the Bega bypass that the minister has mentioned. This particular minister for infrastructure will go down in history as the greatest friend that rural and regional Australia has ever seen in government. When I look back at the 12 years of neglect of the Howard government when services vacated the regions, this is what gave Pauline Hanson her leg-up. We saw banks, post offices and railway stations in the towns in our regions suffer.

The Bega bypass is a classic example of where judicious intervention is being exercised by this government to unlock the potential of the regions. If you look at the Bega bypass it was something that was promised 40 years ago. I was at my father's knee when they first started organising for the Bega bypass and organising the land corridor.

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