Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you Deputy Speaker. It is good to see you in the chair—great authority and grace when you are there. I look forward to talk about the infrastructure statement and I will be more broad and talk about infrastructure in general. Obviously, one of the biggest infrastructure projects that is happening in regional Australia is the dual duplication of the Pacific Highway, and what a very important project it is. In 2013 roughly $5½ billion was needed to complete the dual duplication of the highway. We do this for three reasons, and you being a regional MP would understand this. Firstly, we do it obviously to decrease fatalities on the road. The fatalities on the highway are still far too high. They are at multi-decade lows because of the work that has already been done on the dual duplication. Where the highway has been dual duplicated the fatalities have fallen, and therefore the fatalities on the highway as a whole have dropped off. But certainly in those areas where the dual duplication has not happened, there are still far too many fatalities. They happen regularly and they are a great tragedy for the whole community.

Secondly, the other reason we do this is that it is good for jobs. At the peak in my electorate, probably in about six to 12 months, there will be close to 2,500 to 3,000 direct jobs that have been created in the building of this highway. We know that has a wider spin-on. There are roughly 2½ jobs for every job you create, so you are talking around 7,000 jobs direct and indirect in my community because of the government's commitment to this project.

Thirdly, once the highway is finished, you will see a lot more economic activity. Transport is going to be much easier for freight, but also tourism will increase because more people will find it easier to get to the region. We have already seen that in areas that now have the dual duplication. So they are the three reasons that we do it, in that order: fatalities, jobs and economic activity, with fatalities No. 1 by a long way.

But there is a story to tell about that.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 17:26 to 17:37

Mr Deputy Speaker, I will just rehash because I know you were riveted—as most of the people in the chamber were—when I was cut off in the middle of a sentence by that interruption from the House of Reps. I was talking about the Pacific Highway and the wonderful investment that it is, for three reasons. No. 1, as I said, is the decrease in fatalities—the main reason that we do these things; and then there are the jobs and the economic activity that it brought.

Deputy Speaker, you are probably saying to yourself, 'I am sure there was bipartisan support for this.' You are wrong if you are thinking that. There was not bipartisan support because, in 2013, the then Labor government made a very strategic decision. Firstly, let me compliment the previous Labor government because at one stage they did lift federal funding on the Pacific Highway, from what had historically been a 50-50 split to 80-20. But then, lo and behold, there was a change of state government in New South Wales to a Liberal-Nationals coalition government and the then federal Labor government decided that they did not want to fund it at 80 per cent anymore; they wanted to go back to 50 per cent.

The state government had not been budgeting for that, because it had been funded at 80-20 for quite some time and the completion of the highway would be delayed. The state government were not in a position to do that because that is not how it had been funded, and it all would have been delayed, but—and I compliment a previous minister for infrastructure, Warren Truss, who I had discussions with prior to the 2013 election—we got a commitment that, if the federal coalition government were to be elected in 2013, the coalition government would maintain the funding for the Pacific Highway at the 80-20 split. That meant that the over $5 billion was continued at a pace and is continuing at a pace. Just a couple of weeks ago I announced tenders for $1 billion worth of works. A lot of the highway that is left to do is actually in the federal electorate of Page. There is a 155-kilometre section between Woolgoolga in the south and Ballina in the north, all within the electorate of Page. At the moment there is work taking place on about 90 kilometres of that section. So on 90 kilometres of the highway there is work taking place, but on 65 kilometres there is yet to be any work started. We do have a 2020 completion date. I was delighted to announce tenders worth $1 billion to ensure that the work starts on the remaining 65 kilometres, and that work will be starting very shortly. I think it is in about six to 12 months when work on the highway in that section will be at a peak. As I said, there will probably be around 3,000 direct jobs created and many more thousands of indirect jobs.

I will also broaden on some other infrastructure that we are doing specifically in my electorate. As you know, Deputy Speaker, the coalition government strongly supports the National Stronger Regions Fund. I was delighted in round 2 of that fund to get five projects for my local community. There was $3½ million for the Casino saleyards, a regional saleyard that is very important. The Casino meatworks is across the road and employs over 1,00 people, and is the biggest private employer in the region for hundreds of kilometres. As a private employer the saleyard is very important to their business. This is a $7 million upgrade—the council are putting in $3½ million as well. Casino is the beef capital, Deputy Speaker, as I am sure you are aware. Rockhampton pretend, but Casino is the beef capital. That saleyard upgrade will ensure that Casino maintains its place where it belongs. There is $1 million for Toonumbar Dam in Kyogle, a great dam. I have been out there many times. It is a great tourist facility. It has an unsealed part of the road. It is important for tourism and growth in Kyogle. There is $850,000 for the Ballina Marine Rescue Tower, which is really important. The old one was literally falling over. That is important for the fishing and also for recreational boating in Ballina. There is over $4 million for the cane growers at the Harwood Sugar Mill on the Clarence. Sugar is a very important industry down there. They have great international competitors. This is going to help them with logistics and help them get their product to market a lot cheaper. Also, there is over $2 million for the Lismore Quadrangle project, which includes a regional art gallery, which is much more than an arts centre and which is going to bring a new tourism dollar to Lismore.

I only have 2½ minutes left. I wish I had another 10. I may even ask for an extension if I can get it, because I could keep going.

Wooden bridges is another program that was started. The wooden bridges program was begun under a coalition government in 2013 because we know that those wooden bridges in regional Australia are very important. They are not just important so that people who live there can get over them; they are important because a lot of wealth and a lot of product is produced in regional Australia and we need infrastructure to be able to get it out. I have been delighted, in round 2 of the Bridges Renewal Program and also with some election commitments, to give over $4 million to Kyogle Shire to ensure that they now have about 12 or 13 bridges that will be upgraded under this program. There is one that people have to drive on, so it takes them 20 kilometres more to get to the nearest centre because their wooden bridge has been closed. There are cattle, blueberries—a lot of wealth is coming out of that shire, and it has been delightful to be able to announce assistance for them.

The Roads to Recovery Program I am sure you know well, Deputy Speaker. Roads to Recovery began under John Anderson, who pushed very hard for that. He was the previous leader of the Nationals. He saw that local governments needed help with their local roads. That program began under John Anderson in that portfolio and we have tripled the money to our local governments in the last few years to help them with that program. These are all very important programs for my electorate and, indeed, for regional Australia.

There is more. In the last election campaign there was a focus on infrastructure. I do not want to go off topic, but there are things like Oaks Oval—a big sporting complex in Lismore—and over $1 million for that. There is the Riverside Precinct Plan in Maclean. Maclean is a beautiful part of the world on the Clarence river—the Scottish town of Australia. It is on the Clarence and it is just a beautiful part of the river. We are going to upgrade the riverside precinct there, which is obviously going to bring a lot more tourism dollars there. Woolgoolga is a new part of the electorate for me, and a beautiful part of the world. We are going to give a million dollars to the Woolgoolga Surf Life Saving Club as well, because of the important work that they do. Their old centre needed a bit of upgrading.

Others include in Casino an amphitheatre upgrade. Southern cross lads are going to teach young men and women to drive more safely, because we have had some horrific accidents. There was one where four young gentlemen in our community lost their lives. Unfortunately, I am going to run out of time, but infrastructure continues to abound under the coalition. (Time expired)

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