Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

If you ask any constituent of mine for the No. 1 issue that affects them in the electorate, 90 per cent will say, 'Roads.' So it is very important when the government spends money that that money is targeted and targeted well. The benefits to my community of targeted spending are numerous, but I would like to focus on two key areas today. Both, in their own way, concern the health, safety, prosperity and wellbeing of the people of McMillan.

I represent a party that, among its ranks, counts the greatest number of rural representatives—the Liberal Party. Federal political parties can often be accused of neglecting the needs of their rural constituents. Fortunately, the coalition government is reversing the damaging trend set by previous governments by reinvesting in rural and country Victoria and Australia. While the previous government's spending in the bush all but dried to a trickle, this government has been responsible for helping to pump life back into rural electorates through targeted spending. Through those targeted spending initiatives in my electorate of McMillan, some $62.5 million has been committed to targeted programs, particularly on roads and infrastructure. The Roads to Recovery Program is a prime example of a spending measure that meets these goals. Three hundred and eighty-five million dollars to the budget of the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, primarily to extend the reach of this program, is money well spent. In saying that, I record my appreciation of the former minister, Warren Truss, for his diligence in this area, his work to build regional Australia and his commitment and outstanding contribution to this parliament.

As just about any McMillan resident will tell you, at the top of their priority list is: 'Roads, roads, roads.' In an electorate like McMillan, where the distances from home to work, home to school, home to weekend sport and home to family—where we will all be going tonight, with a bit of luck—can be vast. The importance of roads is paramount. Mr Deputy Speaker Mitchell, as you know, the Roads to Recovery Program targets those roads maintained by our local councils. Believe me, as you would know in your electorate of McEwen, as a local federal member I know only too well how desperate local governments have been for extra funding to channel into road maintenance and difficult areas. In McMillan, the condition of narrow dirt roads, which are often battered by extreme weather and, nowadays, large, heavy vehicles, has become of particular concern in recent years. As one example of the benefit to local government and the local community, the coalition's record $3.2 billion investment will deliver the Baw Baw Shire Council $11.5 million over five years. That is a $4.9 million increase to that provided under previous programs. In 2015-16, the Baw Baw Shire Council will receive $3.6 million to repair and improve local roads. That is a 286 per cent increase in 2015-16. In 2016-17, the Baw Baw Shire Council's Roads to Recovery allocation will go up again to $4.1 million, a 330 per cent increase.

There are similar stories in McMillan. The Bass Coast Shire Council is set to receive more than $6 million; the Cardinia Shire Council more than $10.7 million; the Latrobe City Council $10.9 million; and the South Gippsland Shire Council a whopping $15.3 million under this impressive program. Under the government's expanded black spot program the Baw Baw Shire Council will also benefit from almost $2.5 million in 2015-16, up from $103,000 in 2013-14, to fix dangerous and accident-prone sections of local roads. That is an amazing increase. Across the electorate the total cut in black spot funding for local councils has risen from $1.8 million in 2013-14 to $5.3 million in 2015-16. That is not just money to help the flow of traffic or to move somebody more quickly down a country road; it is money to save lives. The black spot program is specifically designed to address the safety issues surrounding our most dangerous roads. That is a direct investment by this government to ensure that mum, dad and the kids, not to mention the bus drivers, delivery drivers and milk truck drivers, all get home safely and are able to do their jobs. The black spot program will fix accident hot spots at 33 separate locations.

Elsewhere, this government has made major investments in the region's main thoroughfares: $22.5 million on the Princes Freeway East, particularly the Sand Road interchange; $157,500 on the planning for the South Gippsland Highway Koonwarra realignment; and $3.8 million on the South Gippsland Highway Leongatha heavy vehicle alternate route. Again, these three projects are all about keeping motorists and pedestrians safe and making sure that the wheels of commerce and community keep turning.

Elsewhere in these appropriation bills $108 million has been allocated to the National Disability Insurance Agency for the transition to the full National Disability Insurance Scheme, something that will be welcomed across the electorate of McMillan and across the nation. As a life governor of Minibah, now called Outlook Disability Services, it has been extremely important to my life's activity. I have said that the NDIS is very close to my heart, my efforts and my inspiration, and I have always said that while this program is important it must be monitored to the point where we are able to pay for the words that come out of our mouths.

I have long been an advocate for people with disability and I know well the difficulties families face when deciding what will happen with loved ones when mum and dad are no longer around. According to the most recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 7,389 people in my electorate of McMillan have been declared as having a disability. Given the amazing population growth in the electorate since the census was taken and knowing that 19 per cent of the general population has some sort of disability, I believe this figure would be much higher now.

I support this government's and the previous government's practical commitment to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Speaking recently to Outlook's CEO, Tony Fitzgerald—a man I have known since 1989—I have been buoyed by the prospect of the NDIS's full implementation. Recently Outlook held a major event for people with a disability and their families, with 105 people attending. Discussions were centred around what the NDIS would offer those who had waited so long for help. Much of the discussion at the event was about what was happening with the Barwon NDIS trial. Tony was happy to tell the people that the Barwon trial was a resounding success. It moved a lot of people who had been waiting for disability services off the current waiting list and, almost as importantly, gave them hope for the future. He told me:

It's the greatest social reform since Medicare. The trials have been absolutely life changing. The trials have been fulfilling the outcomes promised and meeting all targets. It has had a significant impact for people with disabilities and their families.

What Tony also told me about suicide, marriage breakdowns and the despair of people who need more care than they can afford tells me that not a lot has changed in recent years for people with disabilities. There will always be more that we can do.

But I am hopeful that when the NDIS comes to McMillan in 2018 a lot of these problems that we have today will be rectified. I have said in the past that the NDIS will not solve all problems in the disability area, but I certainly hope it will bring the kinds of changes Tony has spoken about. As Tony also said, lack of transport and lack of employment options remain major stumbling blocks for people with a disability in Outlook's service area. Again, these issues are ones that have stubbornly hung around for years. It is worth noting that the relative income of people with disabilities is approximately 70 per cent that of those without a disability, and 45 per cent of people with a disability live in poverty or near poverty, a situation that has worsened since the mid-1990s.

Tony said he had spoken to people with severe disabilities in the Barwon trial area who had lived through the most dire situations, in some cases unable to clean themselves after going to the toilet but unable to do anything because their care package had run out. He said:

People have told me their lives have changed because now they have a care package that is meeting their needs. People who had all but given up hope are now looking towards employment. For many people with a disability there are no employment prospects because they simply can't afford the clothes that would be suitable for a job interview or working. They lose confidence.

Tony said carers in the Barwon trial region are now going to work, because families are finally getting the right level of support to enable that to happen.

In McMillan there are many groups and individuals like Outlook, like Tony, like the clients of Outlook and their families, who have fought long and hard to see the NDIS come to fruition. They will soon have their day. In the end, if we can improve the lives of people with a disability, bring them out of poverty, see them attend essential doctor appointments, see them enjoying life without loneliness and see their families living without the stress of wondering where the money will come from to look after them, we will have achieved something that this nation can be very proud of. To this end, I commend the $108 million that has been allocated to the National Disability Insurance Agency as another important step forward in this process. A government must be judged on its achievements—those things implemented, those projects launched, those pieces of infrastructure built or repaired. On that score, this government has many things to be proud of. However, other achievements, like inspiring hope and giving people control of their lives and a sense of belonging, are harder to measure.

I know that this government, whether investing in people or projects, is on the right track. We are spending money well and achieving results. My electorate is perfect proof of that.

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