David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to report to the House on the significant infrastructure rollout taking place in the Lyne electorate, thanks to policies in investment by the coalition government. Last week, I was informed that the National Broadband Network will commence construction of two new facilities at Coopernook and Moorland that will expand access to faster broadband services in the Manning Valley, particularly around Coopernook, Moorland and into nearby Harrington. The nbn co has informed us that construction of the new facilities is to get underway around September and that this should come online in October.

The coalition government's changes to the NBN have seen the rollout significantly fast-tracked and at a far more economical cost than the original proposal. When we came to government, there were many parts of my electorate that were not scheduled to have access to the NBN for at least 10 years. Thankfully, with the changes that we have made, the vast majority of my electorate can now either access or will soon be able to access the NBN. Over 10,000 premises in the Lyne electorate have been connected since the election, and the 2016 work schedule includes work for a further potential 22,100 homes and businesses.

As well as that, the coalition's decision to significantly increase funding for the Roads to Recovery program, coupled with federal financial assistance grants, has seen infrastructure funding to the local councils in Lyne, namely Gloucester Shire Council, Greater Taree City Council, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council and Kempsey Shire Council, increased to more than $160 million for the period 2014 to 2018.

The coalition is investing in Bucketts Way with $17 million worth of work and there are strategic transport links in the Manning. As well, there is over $1 billion being invested in the Pacific Highway between Port Macquarie and Kempsey that has generated over 900 direct jobs and nearly 3,000 indirect jobs throughout the region. There is so much more to be done and I look forward to more projects coming online as the coalition continues to roll out our $50 billion infrastructure package. And that does not include the bridges to recovery program or the black spots mobile tower upgrades that are scheduled for the Lyne electorate as well.

Infrastructure is so important because it lasts for generations and helps all businesses and individuals alike—whether it is fast internet, fast highways, better regional roads, replacement of timber bridges or all the other things that councils can do with their federal financial assistance grants. A lot of these FAGs do not get the recognition that they deserve, and I have argued that the weighting on how they are spent has moved towards infrastructure rather than being purely population based.

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