Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

In this discussion we are having here this morning it is wonderful to see the opposition shadow minister in here pleading on behalf of councils, but what he had failed to mention is the reason why we are here. The reason why we are here is because the shadow minister as a cabinet minister in the last government saw this nation rack up levels of debt that we have never seen. We saw a government spend money at record levels like it had never been spent. What happened at the last election which the shadow minister does not seem to understand is the Australian people voted with their feet to let the reckless spending stop. They put a mature government in place to ensure that we could get the nation's finances back under control. This government has started this process.

As part of that process we have had to make some tough decisions and we have asked everyone to do their little bit. As difficult as it may be, we have had to ask local government to do their bit. I say to the shadow minister that I have explained that to all the mayors in my electorate, and they understand the mess that we have been left. They understand that everyone has to do their little bit. Sure, they would have preferred if we had not made the decisions that we have had to, but they understand that the burden needed to be shared.

But what we have also done—and this will be a benefit to local government—that the shadow minister did not mention is give them savings as a result of the abolition of the carbon tax, which also hit their budgets. Hopefully, by the end of today there will be positive news for our local governments, with the carbon tax having been abolished and savings going back to council as a result of that measure.

We also have announced payments to the most important pieces of infrastructure that we have in local government areas: our road network. They are significant announcements for our road networks, including an extra $350 million to the popular Roads to Recovery Programme. As a matter of fact, I do not think in country Australia there is a more popular program than the Roads to Recovery Programme. In 2015-16 an additional $350 million will go to local government areas.

We are also announcing an extra $100 million in both 2015-16 and 2016-17 for the Black Spot Programme. Not only are we announcing that additional $100 million in each of those financial years; there is a change in the criteria which will make it easier for those local governments in regional and rural areas to get access to that funding. The criteria had been skewed more and more to assisting those local government areas that were in outer metropolitan areas. So we have rebalanced the way we look at that program to make it more beneficial and easier for local governments in regional and rural areas to get that funding.

We have also announced $300 million in the Bridges Renewal Programme. That is an additional $300 million in this new program which will go to regional and rural local government areas to help them renew bridges—wooden bridges that need fixing to make sure that the more modern heavy transport will be able to use those bridges, which will be productivity enhancing not only for those local government areas but for the nation as a whole. So those three key mechanisms to deliver more money into local government areas for road and bridges infrastructure are absolutely vital to those local government areas.

We wish that we did not have to make the decision we had to with regard to freezing the FAGs grants, but we have done it because it was needed. All I can say to those opposite: the only reason we did it was because of your poor financial management. (Time expired)

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