Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Once again, it is short memories—I have been banging on about the GST since 2009. I was banging on to your Prime Minister about it, and I still did not get a reaction from him. Thank you, the member for Melbourne Ports, for reminding me about what I have been doing.

Mr Danby interjecting—

I do not recall Labor fixing anything, to be honest. The Opposition Leader said:

I understand why West Australians are so outraged. This is a matter which is partly dealt with the independent Commonwealth Grants Commission.

But, again, no offer of any sort of resolution and no guarantee that he will fix the problem if he ever becomes Prime Minister. Instead, we WA Liberals have consistently advocated for a better share of GST in WA—in fact, our federal Treasurer is so sick of me banging on about those three particular letters that he runs away every time I go near him! But, being the great politician that he is, he has listened to the issues at hand. He has got on with the job and announced that the Productivity Commission is to conduct a review into how the GST distribution among states and territories impacts national productivity and growth. The commission is due to report back to the government in January next year. I am sure that there is no member in this place who would have ever envisaged that the distribution of GST in Australia was designed so that any state would get as low as 30 cents in the dollar on the return of the GST. This is a massive step in the right direction in rectifying WA's share of GST.

In the interim, I would like to take this opportunity to remind the House about how the coalition government has continued to deliver for WA through GST top-up payments. In the 2015-16 budget, WA was given $499 million in GST top-up payments. Of that, $45 million was allocated to the Roe Highway and Berkshire Road grade separation, within my electorate of Swan, which has now been completed. The following year, 2016-17, a GST top-up payment of $490 million was allocated to build the Forrestfield Airport Link, all of which falls within the Swan electorate. I remember hearing the member for Grayndler say—and I am sure the member for Perth, who has just walked into the chamber, will agree with me—that there is no new funding for rail by any coalition government in Australia, but in the 2016-17 budget we allocated $490 million to a railway line and a railway airport link, all of which falls within the Swan electorate.

The rail link will connect residents to the airport and the Perth CBD, with three new stations—Forrestfield, Airport Central and Belmont—all within the electorate of Swan. I know that the member for Perth actually congratulated me recently for being so successful in getting so much funding for the electorate of Swan. He reminded all of the constituents in Western Australia. I'm pleased to update the House on this project, as it is now well underway. Subsequently, $676 million was invested in the Gateway project, which has also since been completed. I am proud to be part of a coalition government that continues to deliver for all Australians, and, of course, to Western Australia. I would like to remind those opposite of these top-up payments when they are waffling on about inaction. I have always enjoyed the saying, 'When you point your finger, three fingers are pointing back.'

The infrastructure this government has delivered and continues to deliver has been an integral part of this government's national economic plan. I welcome the Treasurer's announcement that the 2017-18 budget will fund the $86 million grade separation of the Roe Highway and Kalamunda Road intersection to crown a once-in-a-generation upgrade of High Wycombe road and rail. The agreement will see our coalition government fund $68.8 million to enable the Roe Highway grade separation to proceed, and the investment adds to the other major transport works funded in High Wycombe, including those I mentioned earlier. This is an important investment within the electorate, with Roe-Kalamunda currently being ranked No. 1 for crashes by Main Roads over the five-year reporting period, some of which have been very serious incidents.

In addition to this, a Commonwealth state funding agreement will see construction of a southbound on-ramp at Manning Road and Kwinana Freeway go ahead at last. This is a project that has universal support of the community in Manning and will have a positive impact on road safety and congestion along the Manning Road corridor and across the Canning Bridge. As I am sure those in the chamber are well aware, the Manning Road on-ramp is something I have been advocating for for more than nine years. In fact, it is a project that has been discussed since the 1980s. When I first became the federal member for Swan in 2007, constituents began to voice their frustration at the lack of an on-ramp at Manning Road to take the traffic south on Kwinana Freeway. In 2009, I put out a survey and received more than 1,000 responses, with almost unanimous support.

The project has become even more pressing over the years, as Perth has continued to grow. It is a key road to Curtin University within my electorate, which boasts more than 40,000 students at the Bentley campus. It is also an essential project to ensure ease of access to the new Fiona Stanley Hospital, with an increased demand from patients and even ambulances needing to head south to attend the hospital or emergency department. By way of background, Manning Road connects Albany Highway to the Kwinana Freeway in the southern part of my electorate. It is frequented not only by my constituents but by the broader population of Perth as well. It is currently a very difficult stretch of road. Drivers need to navigate a complex stretch and do a circle around the freeway, which involves heading north, and then drivers are required to merge and change lanes back across the Canning Bridge. Subsequently, you have to merge with the traffic coming off the freeway, only to get back on. It is not only frustrating but very dangerous, which is why I have been consistent in my advocacy for such a project. I even managed to take the Prime Minister en route around that particular drive, and he said: 'This is ridiculous. There is no reason why we shouldn't be funding something to fix this.'

Despite this, it has been knocked by Labor again and again. In fact, when the former member for Perth, Alannah MacTiernan ,was the WA minister for planning and infrastructure, she outright rejected the need for an on-ramp. Similarly, in the Senate, Senator Sue Lines has continued to criticise my campaign for the on-ramp. In fact, it was only last year that she suggested that I should have 'a good look at my electorate and start to focus on the issues that really matter'. Again, the 'three fingers pointing back at you' saying comes to mind. But we have done it, despite ongoing obstacles put in the way by Labor. The government has committed $28 million of the $35 million project, with the state government funding the residual $7 million.

As the member for Swan, the on-ramp was a priority which I have continued to raise with the federal Treasurer, which saw him include the project in negotiations with the new state government on the $2.3 billion infrastructure package for WA that was announced on budget night. I would like to thank the residents of Swan for completing my surveys and providing ongoing support, which has allowed me to put this issue forward in our parliament and deliver the funding. I would also like to acknowledge and thank John McGrath MLA, the member for South Perth, who put this matter on the state government's agenda and secured a funding commitment from the previous Barnett government at the last election. I assure you, my focus is now on ensuring that construction gets underway as soon as possible.

But it is not only the large investments that contribute to our electorates. On this side of the House, we know it is at the grassroots level that great things grow. That is why it is fantastic that, in this year's budget, the government has committed $22.5 million for a third round of the Stronger Communities Program for the 150 electorates across Australia. Within my electorate of Swan, a range of sporting clubs, not-for-profits and community groups have received more funding, between $5,000 and $20,000, to contribute towards capital purchases and activities, towards an improvement in local community participation and cohesion and to the vibrancy of our communities. Each electorate is allocated $150,000 each round, so I am very proud to have almost reached the full allocation over the last two funding rounds, with $298,087 provided to more than 20 community groups in Swan. I would like to thank my staff for the efforts they put in to making sure that all of the community groups were given notice that this funding was available.

This funding has included $20,000 for the Curtin University Boat Club, which was used to purchase a scull trolley and a trailer to hold even more boats for their new members. This also saw Manna Incorporated receive more than $16,000, which went towards the purchase of a transport van so they can continue to provide meals to disadvantaged individuals, families and children. It was great to see the local member for Victoria Park turn up to help me present the cheque to Manna Inc. in Victoria Park. There was another $16,914 allowed for Connect Victoria Park to complete their homestead project. These are only three of more than 20 projects which have helped build stronger communities within Swan alone. It is great to know that every single electorate across Australia is able to provide funding for community groups, which provide for clubs and not-for-profits to further participation and cohesion.

Similarly, the Volunteer Grants program is supporting the efforts of Australian volunteers working hand in hand with stronger communities to deliver for organisations giving back to their communities. The Volunteer Grants program provides small amounts of money to organisations, clubs and community groups, which can be used to help their volunteers. The program offers grants of between $1,000 and $5,000, which can contribute towards the purchase of much-needed equipment, volunteers' fuel costs or even training. In 2015, there were 20 successful applicants, who received a total of $77,382. That is $77,382 that went directly to supporting the very important work of our volunteers in Swan. In the last round, which was the Volunteer Grants 2016 program, there were a further 13 successful applicants, who received more than $45,000. In fact, the Minister for Social Services joined me in my electorate office last week for an afternoon tea to present successful recipients with their grants. It was a fantastic opportunity for the organisations to network and share their experiences as volunteers over a wide range of sectors.

I am proud to be part of a government that is supporting grassroots clubs within our community and supporting hardworking Australians, not only in Swan but across the country, and of a government that is investing in infrastructure, is driving jobs and is committed to our national economic plan, which delivers for all Australians. The bills before the House are honest; they do not skirt around the issues ahead of us. The government sure does not pretend to do things with money we do not have, nor does it make grand promises for cheap political points. These bills are clear.

I wish I had more time; I am running out of time. There is so much exciting news in the budget for the constituents of Swan. I support the budget and I support the appropriation bills.

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