Peter Hendy (Eden-Monaro, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the most recent appropriation bills. It gives me an opportunity to speak more widely about my electorate and the government's policies. I note that a large part of my electorate, and half of its name, is titled 'the Monaro'. The great Australian historian Keith Hancock wrote the history of the region in his 1972 book, Discovering Monaro. Apart from the history of the most beautiful region in the nation, Hancock also wrote one of the most influential accounts of Australia written in the 20th century. This book was appropriately entitled Australia. In this book he challenged the three core pillars of what would later be referred to as the Australian settlement: the policies of industry protection, state socialism and the white Australia policy. These three pillars, argued Hancock, worked together towards stagnation.

Much of the Australian settlement has been dismantled in the decades subsequent—and rightly so. However, not all parts of the settlement were bad. Another element of the Australian settlement was what I have labelled the country-city compact. It has now mainly disappeared. This compact supported a legitimate call on the nation on behalf of country people. From the time of Federation, our nation's founders recognised that the country needed to have a fair share of attention and resources. The country-city compact formed an integral part of the nation's economic and social fabric. It recognised the interdependence of the country and the city that was so crucial to the tremendous success of modern Australia. It recognised the mutual obligation to share the burden of the costs of living in the country. It also recognised that the country formed a critical part of our nation's character, producing much of our national narrative, collective memory and many of our heroes.

For many decades, Australia, so the saying went, 'rode on the sheep's back.' Indeed, my electorate covers a region with one of the highest concentrations of sheep in the entire country. However, Australia no longer rides on the sheep's back—this much is true—but country regions like ours remain vital to Australia. Around 93 per cent of the food consumed in Australia is grown in Australia. Almost a third of Australians live outside of our major cities. Sadly; however, there is significant social and economic inequality between country and city. This is unacceptable, and we need to do better. We need to focus our efforts on nation building, we need to focus on building capacity and we need to ensure the infrastructure and services that have been neglected in the country are rebuilt.

When I came into parliament, I dedicated myself to making the argument for a reinvigoration of the country-city compact. It is at the forefront of my mind when I talk to people about their lives all throughout Eden-Monaro. It is at the forefront of my mind when I bring those concerns here to Canberra. It is at the forefront of my mind when I make the case for this project or that. It is why I used to think differently about securing projects for Eden-Monaro. Four weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending and representing the federal government at the community open day of the South East Regional Hospital in Bega. I was joined by the Governor of New South Wales, General David Hurley, and the New South Wales Treasurer and state member for Bega, Andrew Constance. This is a project that I am very happy to say was made possible by the federal government contributing $160.1 million. The New South Wales government contributed a further $27 million. But the project should not be thought of as something necessarily special given to the Bega Valley by benevolent politicians in state and federal capitals. It is a project that should be obvious under a country-city compact.

But why should the Commonwealth spend $160 million in an area like Bega? Let us look at rural and regional health outcomes. Life expectancy can be significantly lower in remote areas, but this inequality is reflected across a range of data. Our friends and neighbours living in rural, regional and remote areas have 20 per cent higher reported rates of 'only fair' or 'poor' health. They have 10 per cent higher mortality rates. They have 24 per cent higher rates of smoking. They have 32 per cent higher rates of risky alcohol consumption. They have 20 per cent higher rates of injury and disability. The incidents of reported injury is 33 per cent higher outside major cities. Studies reported in the Medical Journal of Australia show that people diagnosed with cancer in regional areas were 35 per cent more likely to die within five years of diagnosis than patients in cities. Tragically, the further a cancer patient lives from a metropolitan centre the more likely that patient is to die within five years.

Living in the country is different. Most of us living in rural and regional areas do so for a reason. We not only understand the critical part country Australia plays in our national economy but we also enjoy the way of life. But that contribution and that freedom to live a good and productive life—or, as Thomas Jefferson famously said, 'the pursuit of happiness'—should not come at the excessive cost that it does. People in rural and regional Australia deserve the quality of life and the opportunity to pursue their goals just the same as urban Australians do. They do not just deserve that chance, they are owed it under a country-city compact.

This compact is not just the heavy hand of government bestowing bounty from above. It should be about communities and all levels of government working collaboratively to achieve optimal outcomes. It is about communities and government working collaboratively to achieve an equality of opportunity, because it is an equality of opportunity rather than an equality of outcome that country people desire. Country people do not sit back and demand the same outcomes in their lives as city people achieve. This is not the country way. What they deserve and are owed are the same opportunities to achieve. They deserve the opportunities to convert their resources, their capital and their enterprise into a meaningful and secure life for themselves and their families.

Of course, the federal government is already working collaboratively with local communities, and across all levels of government, to provide better outcomes. In Queanbeyan, the council compiled and assessed a number of road project priorities. These were large projects that would require significant support of both the federal and New South Wales governments. As a result, the $50 million Queanbeyan bypass project is now a reality. The community articulated their priorities through council and the federal and state governments allocated funding in accordance with those priorities. This is the collaboration required under a country-city compact.

Similarly, the federal government provides funding to local governments through the Financial Assistance Grants program. In Eden-Monaro, local governments will receive a total of over of $32 million in untied funding to support communities to deliver the services and facilities they need. The grants are untied, so councils can spend the money according to local priorities. This is the collaboration required under a country-city compact. Likewise, the Roads to Recovery program allows councils across Eden-Monaro to direct local road funding to where it is needed most—$23 million of which is allocated to Eden-Monaro. For instance, the Cooma-Monaro Shire Council will receive $3 million over the next four years, the Eurobodalla Shire Council will be allocated $4.4 million and so on for the seven shires. Again, these payments allow councils to direct local road funding to where it is needed most. This is the collaboration required under a country-city compact.

We can point to bridges in our local community. These critical pieces of infrastructure provide the linkages for our community and the commerce and transport required, allowing areas to grow. But they cost money—a lot of money, not only to build but also to upgrade and maintain. The federal government's $300 million Bridges Renewal project does just that. In Bombala, an injection of nearly $250,000 allows for the upgrade of the Parsonage Creek bridge. This project will help in access for trucks to the Dongwha timber mill, which is a major economic development project. In Broulee, nearly $1.1 million in federal funding will make the Candlagan Creek bridge at Mossy Point safer and more reliable—again, a project with obvious economic development benefits for this important tourist destination. These projects are made possible by close and effective consultation between local and federal government. This is the collaboration required under a country-city compact.

Further, the $15 million Port of Eden redevelopment will proceed because of $10 million in federal funding. In Queanbeyan, $500,000 of federal funding to the council made the upgrade of Seiffert Oval possible, and I enjoyed seeing the Raiders rugby league team return home to Seiffert Oval a few weeks ago. In Moruya, the new Eurobodalla Sub-Acute Rehabilitation Unit at the District Hospital was opened a couple of weeks ago. This $11.8 million facility was funded by the federal government's COAG subacute beds program.

These projects are all made possible by cooperation and collaboration between the community and government. But there is more to be done. We will provide funding to address mobile black spots in Eden-Monaro. Further, The federal government has made a high priority of transforming Labor's fantastical promises of the NBN into a commercially viable reality.

Three weeks ago I was joined in Queanbeyan by the communications minister, the member for Wentworth, when we welcomed the era of super-fast broadband to our town. We visited one of the first businesses to switch onto the NBN in Queanbeyan, Codarra Advanced Systems. The NBN will bring multiple efficiency and productivity benefits to Codarra's operations, including providing flexibility for their workforce, allowing them to work from home, on the road or from clients' offices.

Somewhere in the order of $90 to $100 million in NBN spending is in the process of being rolled out in Eden-Monaro. Further, there are major infrastructure projects that I will continue to pursue. The Moruya and Merimbula airports have been identified by local councils as a priority to allow for increased tourism and economic growth. I strongly support these projects and will fight to secure finding.

Another project I will champion is high-speed rail or very fast train, particularly between Canberra and Sydney. I am strongly behind the high-speed rail project, because of its major implications for developing regional Australia. With respect to that project, an objective reading of the research shows that even with private-sector involvement there would be a heavy reliance on the public purse. But how is that different from the tens of billions of dollars being spent on urban infrastructure, right now, for which rural taxpayers see little commercial return to help them meet their cost-of-living pressures?

Regional Australians do not begrudge taxpayer spending on urban infrastructure but seem to cop it when it is used as an excuse for why they do not receive it in return. The high-speed rail project has genuine win-win potential. Allowing us to grow regional Australia and attract population away from the choking megacities, this is where we can see the full potential of the country-city compact realized—economic development and growth in the country, coupled with a reduction in urban stress in our cities. The country-city compact has not been fully revived. It should be something that every school child in the nation knows, as part of their understanding of how this great nation should go forward in the 21st century. Whatever makes country Australia stronger will also make Australia as a whole stronger.

The Liberal national government, through its actions, acknowledging the needs of country Australians, is doing its bit. However, more needs to be done. Deputy Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak.

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