Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I appreciate this opportunity to reflect on the progress that we have made in my home state of Tasmania since the September 2013 election. We took a plan to the last election to support Tasmania's economic recovery after 16 years of Labor and Labor-Green government in Hobart and six years of Labor and Labor-Green government in Canberra, which regrettably had left my home state of Tasmania at the very bottom of national benchmarks when it came to things like employment. I am pleased to say that, whilst there is still a lot of work to do, the trends are indeed most encouraging.

Our plan is working, as evidenced by the national figures, and our job achievements in Tasmania testify to that. In December 2015 employment data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that 427,200 jobs had been created in Australia since we came to office. That is 427,200 more Australians who are earning a living, buying from local suppliers, paying taxes and generating the revenue that government needs for public policy priorities. That is 427,200 more families that are better off today than they were at the 2013 election. I am pleased to say that in 2015 national jobs growth was 10 times what it was under Labor during their last year in office. In fact, jobs growth in 2015 was the strongest calendar year growth for a decade.

In Tasmania the jobless statistics have improved even more dramatically since the 2013 election. When I went to the 2013 election the jobless rate in Tasmania was 8.6 per cent. I am pleased to say that 2½ years later, as a result of the policies of this government, it is now 6.6 per cent and we are no longer on the bottom of the national job statistics. Ten thousand full- and part-jobs have been created. I get a sense in my community that there is purpose and optimism everywhere that I go.

A good example of that is the Sensis Business Index, which last month confirmed that business confidence in Tasmania is the highest in the nation, with confidence among small and medium businesses having more than tripled. That is why we are investing so heavily in jobs and infrastructure packages that are aimed at generating even higher confidence, growth and investment. No-one can deny that we have led a significant turnaround in Tasmania's unemployment rate. No-one can deny that the strategic investments we have made in Tasmania will enable us in the longer term to benefit from the four bilateral and multilateral trade deals negotiated by our outstanding Minister for Trade and Investment, Andrew Robb. I take this opportunity, in the aftermath of Minister Robb's recent announcement about his future, to congratulate him and to thank him for his great service to our nation.

When I talk about big investments in Tasmania, there are three things that I will mention—although there are more. There is a billion dollars for Tasmanian infrastructure. A large chunk of that, some $400 million, will be for the Midland Highway, to make sure that that is a much better highway into the future. That translates into many hundreds of small projects, including, for example, the Kings Meadows Connector in my electorate of Bass, which was completed last year and now ensures that, during busy periods of morning traffic, cars are not backed up onto the Midland Highway. It has certainly made the Kings Meadows Connector a much safer part of the road system in my electorate. A billion dollars in infrastructure is certainly a long-term strategic enabler of Tasmania's future prosperity.

There is, of course, the $203 million commitment that was made to enhance the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme and $60 million in federal funding for tranche 2 irrigation schemes. When we add a $30 million contribution from the Tasmanian state government and $30 million from the private sector—people who are buying into these irrigation schemes—what you are going to see in the areas of these schemes, including one at Scottsdale in my electorate of Bass, is 95 per cent water certainty. Tagged onto that, we have done a phase 3 power study, because, when you are talking about converting marginal farmland and marginal agricultural land to something more productive, the two key things that you need are reliable water and reliable phase 3 power. My hope is that when this tranche 2 irrigation scheme is completed at Scottsdale and the other four areas across the rest of Tasmania, we will indeed see significant growth in the productive capacity of our farms in Tasmania.

These investments that I have just mentioned are important because many of them will be located predominantly in Northern Tasmania, where we have competitive advantages like advanced manufacturing, forestry, agriculture and tourism. Tourism has been particular strong in the last couple of years. Later in my speech, I will mention some of the ways that we are trying to make northern Tasmania more of an entry point for our state. I am also actively supporting our major industries, like Bell Bay Aluminium, through reforms to the renewable energy target and repealing the damaging coastal shipping laws introduced under Labor and the Greens. That is because fixing Australia's coastal shipping collapse is becoming more and more critical each day, with two more operators recently withdrawing their Australian crewed vessels from domestic waters.

In the aftermath of Labor's disastrous 2012 coastal shipping laws, the coastal shipping fleet halved, with huge losses in the industry. The Productivity Commission received evidence from Bell Bay Aluminium, in my electorate of Bass, that their freight costs increased by 63 per cent in the aftermath of Labor's ill-considered coastal shipping laws, which—let's face it—were a gift to the MUA. The MUA said, 'Jump,' and those members opposite involved with the MUA said, 'How high?' Demurrage rates tripled. In fact, there has been a two-thirds decline in the carrying capacity of the major Australian coastal trading fleet. When the coalition left office in 2007, there were 30 major Australian trading vessels with a general licence. By 2014 the fleet had halved, to just 15 vessels. In addition, the number of vessels with a transitional general licence has dropped by more than half—from 16 to seven vessels—and, with the most recent decision by CSL, this has dropped further to six.

Put simply, the system that Bill Shorten brought in at the behest of his MUA masters is a disastrous failure that is hurting my home state of Tasmania. It is a disgrace that the coalition's coastal shipping reforms are being blocked in the Senate. Cargo is stuck on wharves, threatening Australian jobs in sectors that use shipping and disrupting entire communities. The Australian shipping industry is simply not competitive, and it is costing Australian jobs. That is why we will be bringing the coastal shipping legislation back into the parliament this year, and crossbench senators need to consider why they should continue to back a system which has seen such a marked decline in Australia's coastal shipping.

The coalition not only has articulated a vision about more local jobs and strategic investment for our future but also has good results to show from it. I am pleased to inform the House that much-needed resources have been won for my electorate of Bass so far. There is $34 million for north-east freight routes, including the widening of Bridport Main Road from Dalrymple Road to the East Tamar Highway. Works will be undertaken on Emily Street, Edward Street and Waterhouse Road to facilitate the increasing number of heavy vehicles which will be accessing Bridport Main Road in this area. This region caters for substantial agricultural traffic, so these works are vital to improving the safety and productivity performance of the road network. Improving freight outcomes is important for existing Tasmanian businesses to remain competitive and to attract new business investments to our state.

There is so much other good news to highlight for my community. There is $19 million in grants to the Launceston campus of the University of Tasmania. It is worth noting in particular a strengthening partnership between the university, the DSTO facility at Scottsdale and the Centre for Food Innovation, in particular in securing a microwave assisted thermal sterilisation machine for Scottsdale. That is something that I am advocating for very strongly.

There has been $17 million in financial assistance grants provided to councils in my electorate. There has been a $23 million funding injection for elective surgery, improving access to elective surgery in my electorate of Bass. There has been $10 million to save the John L Grove rehabilitation centre. This cleaned up a Labor mess, because this centre was opened with much fanfare in August 2013 just before the 2013 election but no provision was made in the Tasmanian state budget by the Giddings government for the ongoing operation of this centre. I was very pleased in May last year to announce that we had secured $10 million to stop the John L Grove centre from closing and give the Tasmanian government time to make sure they could integrate the centre's operation into the broader Tasmanian health system.

There has been $9 million in Bass from the Tasmanian Jobs and Growth Package; $6 million for North Bank redevelopment, turning an unattractive industrial site into something that is much more family friendly; $5.7 million provided for Roads to Recovery funding; $3 million in innovation and investment grants to local business to expand their productive capacity and create more local jobs; $3 million for Dorset Renewable Industries to establish an integrated timber-processing facility at the Ling Siding site at Scottsdale; and $2.7 million to establish the Major Projects Approval Agency, which will be focused on enabling investment. I understand that the agency is talking to proponents with hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in mind for my home state of Tasmania. There has been $2½ million for Tamar River silt removal; $2.45 million to establish the Blue Derby mountain bike trails, where two Australian championships will be held and new businesses are opening, which is great for Derby and the north-east; an estimated $2 million for Green Army projects, which focuses our environmental improvement strategies on the projects that are most important to local communities and local people; and $1.47 million for the North East Rail Trail project, building infrastructure that enables other investment and, as I said, helps make northern Tasmania more of an entry point for our state.

I am the patron of cycling in Tasmania. When you think about the infrastructure that is being established—the Hollybank mountain bike trails in my electorate, the Trevallyn mountain bike trails, the Blue Derby mountain bike trails and, in the last budget, the funding we secured to build a rail trail between Launceston and Scottsdale—we are establishing backbone infrastructure for cycling tourism which will be beneficial for so many other businesses establishing themselves within my electorate.

I had great pride in opening the $1.25 million Invermay Park redevelopment, rejuvenating the home of the Mowbray Cricket Club, where champion cricketer Ricky Ponting first made his mark. There was $1.15 million for the Flinders Island airport upgrade, to deal with long-overdue maintenance issues, and I am working with the council to make sure that we address the longer term needs of Flinders Island airfield. There was $850,000 in capital grants for non-government schools; $790,000 to save St Giles speech pathology services; $500,000 to fix a traffic black spot outside the Prospect Vale Marketplace on Westbury Road; $500,000 to look into Launceston's sewerage and stormwater problem and find out how we can turn the seven archaic, inefficient sewage treatment plants into something that is more First World; $134,000 in Anzac Centenary grants; $71,500 to support the Ravenswood Neighbourhood House and the outstanding work the centre does; $70,000 to upgrade the Launceston Police and Citizens Youth Clubs; $66,000 in grants to local sporting champions; and $21,000 for Men's Sheds in Riverside, Norwood, Rocherlea and Flinders Island. There is the Tamar River Recovery Plan, which is making a real difference to the health of our river and will do so into the future. There is a lot more that I could say.

It is an honour to represent the people of Bass in the federal parliament, and I want to continue building on the momentum achieved to date so northern Tasmanians can look to the future with even greater confidence. We have made some great progress, but there is more to do. Growth is up, jobs are up, and I am working with my state colleagues to make sure that our policy is joined up and coherent. In this election year, I will be asking the people of northern Tasmania for their continuing support. I thank the House.

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