Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to support the passage of Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2015-2016 and cognate bill. I will talk about how this $2.2 billion is a great investment in this country and particularly in my seat of Canning. Before I do that, I want to note in the House that my thoughts are with the 390 workers from South32 who have lost their jobs today at the alumina facility at Worsley in my electorate. I will be doing everything I can to ensure that we help them transition from South32 into jobs elsewhere.

As you know, Canning takes in the Peel region, which is about an hour south of Perth. The Peel region was established in 1829 by Thomas Peel with just a few hundred settlers. Of course, the Noongar people have long been the custodians of the Peel region. When we consider it today, we now have 129,000 people living in the Peel region. To give you a bit of context on how fast our growth has been in the last 10 years, we had 45,000 people move to the Peel region between 2004 and 2014, with a projected population growth predicted to reach 440,000 by 2050.

The Peel region is made up of five local government authorities. We have the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale is one of the fastest growing local governments in the country. It is full of young families who are aspirational and seek to make the most of educational opportunities in the region. We have the Shire of Murray, which has a population expected to grow 4.7 per cent annually over the next two decades. The Shire of Boddington is home to the two major resource operations of South32 and Newmont, which is Australia's largest goldmine. We have the Shire of Waroona, which is facing the challenging of meeting increased demand for rural lifestyle properties while maintaining a sense of community. I should add that Waroona was devastated by the fires in January last month. To give you sense of the damage: 3,000 kilometres of fencing was destroyed in those fires; 2½ thousand kilometres reside in Waroona. Thinking about fencing the distance from Sydney to Melbourne, that is how much fencing was destroyed. So there are a lot of farmers who are trying to recover. They have done a great job so far, but they need our continued support. Finally, the City of Mandurah sits in the heart of the Peel region and is one of Australia's largest and fastest-growing regional cities. It is full of young families and a lot of talent, and it is an exciting place to be. My wife and I live there with our son, and it is a pleasure to represent the people of Canning.

Juggling the competing demands of rapid growth, jobs, infrastructure, education and community service requires a clear vision, and I am pleased to note that the coalition government continues to deliver this for Canning.

Employment is arguably the greatest challenge in the Peel region, with overall unemployment in Mandurah at 8.6 per cent in December last year and youth unemployment currently as high as 20 per cent. To combat rising youth unemployment the federal government has implemented a number of successful Green Army programs across my electorate, including the Harvey River Restoration Taskforce, the Len Howard Conservation Park and Peel Inlet reserves, and the Birriga Brook and Darling Downs Equestrian Estate. Having attended the Len Howard team's graduation ceremony, I have witnessed firsthand the skills, knowledge and self-belief that the participants gain from their Green Army experience. It facilitates their transition from uncertain youth to asset-rich employees in a highly competitive labour market. Importantly, it teaches participants about the role of individuals in the stewardship and preserving of our environment. I am all about people self-governing and I believe that nowhere is this more important than in the area of the environment. The environment is a shared asset that cannot be sold on or squandered, so we need to preserve it for future generations. The Green Army project encourages employment for youth but also encourages individual stewardship of that precious resource.

Equipping our youth with tools for the future means we need to provide them with options, and there are a number of schools in the Canning electorate facilitating this. In November last year I had the pleasure of visiting the Dale Christian School to see their new state-of-the-art learning facility which was made possible with a $1 million contribution by the federal government under the Capital Grants Program. It was great to see the excitement among staff and students about the pathways the school can now provide thanks to its new facilities, which include a home economics kitchen, industrial arts room, soundproofed music rooms and well-equipped science labs. I was given a personal tour and it was great to see young people learning how to cook, preparing them with the skills that they will need once they finish high school.

Other schools in Canning have also received funding under this program, and I look forward to seeing the four science labs, science preparation area, general learning area, practical skills rooms, staff rooms and other amenities being built at Austin Cove Baptist College this year. That school sits in South Yunderup, which is another aspirational suburb which has seen a lot of development over the last few years.

I am also a very strong believer in vocational education, especially in an electorate where access to university education requires either a long commute or relocation for many students. Canning has the second-highest number of male tradesmen in the country and the third-highest number of Certificate III and IV holders in the nation. With over 3,000 students partaking of technical education courses this year in Canning, the future looks bright, especially when you note that construction makes up 25 per cent of business in Canning. We need every highly-skilled tradesman we can get.

Much of Canning is reliant upon primary industry such as agriculture and farming, manufacturing, construction, mining and resources and forestry. In the face of unprecedented growth, it is vitally important that we continue to boost Canning's key industries to encourage economic prosperity and sustainability whilst creating local jobs. The signing of the free trade agreements with China and Korea, the economic partnership agreement with Japan, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership with our closest regional neighbours will cement Canning businesses as key suppliers of quality produce to local and international markets. One such business example that I have already mentioned in this House is Mundella Foods in Mundijong, owned by the Hectors. This business was borne out of necessity and has since become the state's premier dairy company.

Another prime example of a local business adapting to a competitive international market is Capogreco Farm in Hamel. This is a family-owned business that was started in 1988 and exports broccoli, melons and other fruit to the Middle East and Asia on a daily basis.    Last week I visited Charlie, Dane and Bruno Capogreco to learn more about how they employ 60 staff. I saw 60 backpackers at work and we spoke about the potential impact of the backpacker tax. I stated my opposition and I state it now in the House publicly. Every year Capogreco Farm employ up to 60 backpackers. They house them in facilities that were purpose-built to make the most of this international labour, and I have also spoken to the Hills Orchard Improvement Group and they have expressed their concern. Capogreco Farm and all the orchardists in Canning stand to suffer if we hurt the backpacker labour market that comes each year.

Increased economic expansion, market base and international competitiveness of the region's agribusiness sector through innovation in production methods and renewable water and energy supplies is the key to moving forward. No-one knows this better than K8 Wealth Creations in the Shire of Boddington. This small business, specialising in the domestic and international distribution of home-grown gourmet olive oil products, has just been granted a payment of $1,387 for the owner to undertake permaculture design study. This course, funded by the federal government through the Industry Skills Fund, will allow the owner to establish sustainable, water-wise and integrated growing systems to improve the overall business model. Upskilling employees is just one way the government is contributing to sustainable growth in the Peel region.

The coalition government has also invested heavily in local infrastructure. Through the government's Community Development Grants Program, the City of Mandurah received $10 million to complete the redevelopment of its aquatic and recreation centre. I had the pleasure of attending the official opening of the Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre, alongside Australian legends Dawn Fraser and Betty Cuthbert, and saw for myself the importance of this facility to the local community and how it provides a world-class space for school children and community groups to make the most of sport and staying fit. These grants have also been put to good use for the redevelopment of the Port Bouvard Surf Life Saving and Recreation Centre and the repairs on the Darminning Room at the Boddington Community Resource Centre.

Given the region's increasing popularity and proximity to Perth, investment in roads is vital for maintaining the arterial trucking and tourist routes to, from and within Canning. It is arguable that no-one knows the importance of safe, reliable local roads better than John Mitchell, owner of Mitchell's Transport in Waroona. John's team transports more than 550,000 cattle to over 1,500 delivery pick-up and delivery locations in any given year. Thankfully for John, the coalition government also recognises the importance of safe and reliable roads.

Through the Community Development Grants Program, the federal government has provided $380,000 for the Coronation Road bridge project in the Shire of Waroona. In addition, we have committed over $15 million worth of funding under the Roads to Recovery Program to the Canning electorate to link Coolup to the Perth Bunbury highway, upgrade pedestrian and vehicle pathways in Mandurah and upgrade local roads in Boddington and Waroona.

Funding has also been received under the Bridges Renewal Program to replace the decks of two bridges in Byford, a town with a rapidly expanding population.    And let us not forget the Mandurah pedestrian bridge, a project which the federal government committed $5.4 million to under the Building Better Regional Cities Program. This bridge will form a vital link between Mandurah's transport hub and the new residential and commercial developments already underway opposite in the greenfields site where a new Woolworths will be put in.

This brings me to my final point.    There is no point in the coalition government investing in jobs, education and infrastructure in the Peel region if it does not also invest in helping to create a safe and vibrant community for local residents. I am proud to say that, through a number of remarkable grassroots initiatives, this government is making a positive impact in local Canning communities.    Thanks to the government's Safer Streets Program, the City of Mandurah has been able to implement its family friendly foreshore project, which involves the installation of five CCTV cameras and 16 light poles in the western foreshore precinct to improve community safety and security, and deter criminal and antisocial behaviour.    I recently went down to the foreshore to launch another part of this project, the urban art mural, designed by local Peel artist Steve Browne. I am glad to report back to the House that the project is money well spent. He has done a beautiful mural on the wall, which incorporates the history of Peel with both European and Indigenous intersecting over a number of very colourful paintings. It looks great.

Another initiative vital to Canning is the National Stronger Regions Fund. I cannot stress enough the importance of this funding program to my electorate. Given the rapid growth across the vast majority of Canning, local governments can find themselves struggling to keep up with the demand for better services. Under round 1 of this program, the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale was recently awarded over $5 million for the Byford town centre access and safety improvement project, designed to improve road user safety and accessibility to the new town centre by way of upgrading Abernethy Road. This is a significant part of the shire's Byford town centre redevelopment project and I know they are thrilled to be able to deliver better services for their local community.

I will be advocating strongly for the other great projects being submitted under round 2 of this program and hope to deliver more great news for Canning after those decisions have been made.

Finally, I applaud the government for the Stronger Communities Program, aimed at helping not-for-profit community groups and local governments deliver small capital works projects that benefit the wider community. In Canning, we have already had one of our round 1 projects approved: $20,000 to the shire of Murray for the Don Sparks Reserve play space project. This project will enable the creation of a social meeting place and safe playground for parents and families in Coolup, as well as providing currently nonexistent services for locals and tourists alike such as shelters, barbeques, tables and benches. This is a great outcome for the Shire of Murray. Without the Stronger Communities Program, the shire would have faced considerable difficulty in allocating money to this project, given the pressure it is under to provide for a rising population.

With that, I reiterate that the coalition government has a proven record of delivering for the people and communities in Canning, and I look forward to continuing this legacy in 2016 and beyond.

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