Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

  That this House:

(1) recognises the importance of well-developed transport links in regional Australia and the role they play in linking rural and regional communities;

(2) acknowledges the significant role that the Government has played in funding road and rail projects around Australia, especially in the electoral division of Durack;

(3) recognises that the Government is building our future by delivering over $50 billion in critical road and rail infrastructure in 2013-14 to 2019-20; and

(4) congratulates the Government for having national economic plan that backs growth in our cities and regions.

I am very pleased today to speak to my private member's business motion highlighting the Turnbull government's extensive work in boosting Australia's transport links throughout our vast country, but particularly in regional and rural areas. This federal government is investing a record $50 billion—yes, $50 billion—in our country's land transport infrastructure, which not only links regional and rural communities to each other and to metropolitan areas but also creates jobs along the way throughout the country. And let's not forget this is the biggest infrastructure investment program in Australian history. It is worth underlining that very important point.

Earlier this month, I was very pleased to announce that I am building on the road improvements which I have delivered since I was elected some three years ago with the announcement of 11 upgrades of roads through round 5 of the Turnbull government's Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program. Over $1.9 million will go towards constructing the Port Hedland road train assembly area, which is adjacent to the town of Port Hedland's zoned area for heavy vehicle industries. It is a much-needed addition to Port Hedland, I can assure you, Madam Deputy Speaker Wicks. In the Wheatbelt, there are a plethora of road upgrades, including the upgrade of the Northam-Pithara Road, which includes a 23-kilometre widening stretch of the Ballidu-Pithara carriageway—again, a great boost for not only that town but also the surrounding towns. The government is constructing six truck bays on the Great Northern Highway between Wubin in the Wheatbelt and Kumarina in the Mid West.

In April this year I announced that eight road black spots in Durack would be fixed, with over $3.3 million worth of federal funding through the Black Spot Program, including the upgrade of the Hamersley Street and Napier Terrace, in Broome, which is an incredibly dangerous intersection in the Kimberley.

I did note the front page story of the Broome Advertiserwhich is a great local paper in the Kimberley—from the week of this announcement, which highlighted the importance of this particular upgrade and I quote:

The Hamersley Street and Napier Terrace junction was the site of four injury vehicle crashes in the five years to 2014.

And what one senior journalist, Glenn Cordingley, noted as 'many near misses'.

This government's commitment to creating better transport links throughout regional Australia goes beyond increased and improved roads. We are creating safer regional communities for all Australians to live in.

In this financial year alone, in Durack, this government is spending—and it is a very long list—$3.3 million on safer roads through the Black Spot Program, $35 million in Roads to Recovery payments for local councils, over $8 million in safer roads for heavy vehicles through the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program, over $408 million on upgrades to the Great Northern Highway—Muchea to Wubin—the North West Coastal Highway—Minilya to Barradale—and new bridges between Barradale and Nanutarra. Finally, there is over $32 million through the National Highway Upgrade Program for the New Norcia Bypass, which I am particularly excited about, and floodways between Meekatharra and Newman.

Earlier this month, on this side of the chamber, we illustrated our commitment to jobs and small businesses by introducing legislation which will support the 3.2 million small businesses who employ around 5.5 million Australians. The Turnbull government is getting on with the job. We are implementing part of our policy platform—the coalition's 10-year enterprise tax plan—which saw the government re-elected in July. This bill will assist with building jobs and growth in regional, rural and remote areas—reducing the corporate tax rate to 27½ per cent from 1 July this year for 870, 000 incorporated businesses with a turnover of less than $10 million.

Our record infrastructure investment is creating tens of thousands of jobs across Australia, supporting those small businesses I just referred to, reducing congestion in our regional cities and towns and increasing the economic capacity of our freight routes, not to mention improving safety for road users and supporting tourism.

I commend to the House the work that the Turnbull government is doing to boost transport across Australia: improving links for the safety of the people who live in regional Australia, increasing opportunities for tourism and supporting those small businesses which are the lifeblood of regional Australia.

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