Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Urban Infrastructure) Share this | Hansard source

As the member for Grayndler knows full well from his time as the minister with responsibility for NBN, it is well-established practice for the Commonwealth to make equity investments into substantial infrastructure projects. And I do not recall the member for Grayndler describing that funding method as being corrupt—or as any of the other extravagant flourishes of language he has used now. What we have seen from the member for Grayndler, in his claims about total levels of infrastructure funding in this budget, is that he has looked at one part, a very substantial part, a very large part, of the funding that is being provided—namely, grants to states—but he has completely ignored another equally large part of the infrastructure funding in this budget, and that is the multibillion dollar commitments of equity going into inland Rail, Western Sydney Airport and, of course, Moorebank. And, indeed, we also have loan financing going from the Commonwealth government to Sydney Motorway Corporation to underpin WestConnex.

This reflects a clear policy approach from the Turnbull government. We are providing funding and financing in a range of ways, and the total amount that we are putting into infrastructure is greater than ever before. In fact, over the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years, average spending was a little over $6 billion. Between 2013-14 and 2020-21, the figure, as we have informed the community, will be around $8 billion. We are seeing very significant financial commitments to infrastructure by the Turnbull government. It really does not advance the cause when somebody as experienced in infrastructure policy as the shadow minister wilfully turns his eyes away from one significant part of the form in which that funding and financing is provided.

Let me now respond to the contributions made by the members for Mackellar and Fisher, who expressed significant interest in the National Rail Program—and for very good reason. This is a commitment by the Turnbull government to commit $10 billion to funding rail programs and rail assets around the country. We know that major rail lines are city shaping. They are transformational. They have an enormous impact on the functioning of our cities and on the functioning of the regional areas around our cities, which, of course, form part of an integrated economy with our major cities. We have people living in Geelong or in Ballarat commuting into Melbourne. We have people living in the Blue Mountains or on the Central Coast commuting to Sydney. We have people on the Sunshine Coast or the Gold Coast commuting to Brisbane. Our $10 billion National Rail Program is available to fund transformational rail investment within our major cities and also to deliver improved connections between our major cities and surrounding regional areas.

I want to commend both the member for Fisher and the member for Mackellar for their strong interest in these programs, their strong advocacy and the encouragement which they are already expressing for their respective state governments to come forward with proposals under this program. We want to encourage proposals coming forward so that we can allocate this funding in the most effective way possible to encourage the provision of transformational rail infrastructure in our major cities and between our major cities and surrounding regional areas. I commend those members for their advocacy in relation to their areas. It is exactly the kind of competitive energy that we want to encourage through this program. We want to see the best ideas coming forward. We have included a $20 million commitment to co-fund up to three business cases in relation to faster rail links between our cities and surrounding regional areas, part of an overall integrated approach to infrastructure in this budget, which involves record financial commitments for nation-building infrastructure all around the country, in the cities and in the regions, providing support from the federal government for the delivery of vitally needed infrastructure.

Proposed expenditure agreed to.

Communications and the Arts Portfolio

Proposed expenditure $2,427,440,000

I am pleased to rise in this consideration-in-detail debate regarding the budget appropriation bills in the communications portfolio. The Turnbull government's 2017-18 budget contains great outcomes for the Australian broadcasting sector, for those who love Australian arts, entertainment and sport, and for Australian families. Funding measures and policy announcements outlined in the May budget will further augment innovation and competition in our communications sector. They will provide much needed reform of the media and broadcasting industry, and they will continue to support participation in Australia's artistic and cultural life.

The government will provide the portfolio with $13.2 billion to deliver its priorities through the 2017-18 appropriations bills, combined with prior year appropriations for the NBN. In 2017-18, funding will contribute equity and a short-term loan, totalling $10.7 billion, to take the National Broadband Network rollout to 75 per cent completion by the end of the financial year. A combined total of $1.3 billion in funds will also be appropriated for our national broadcasters—the ABC and the SBS. Close to half a billion dollars will be provided to our national collecting and cultural institutions to engage, educate and inspire the hundreds of thousands of local and international visitors who will flock to our galleries, museums and archives in the coming year. And $664 million will be appropriated for the Department of Communications and the Arts and the Australian Communications and Media Authority to make our communications and media sectors work in Australia's interest, to ensure access to diverse Australian content and to foster Australian arts and culture.

Funding will continue to flow to rounds 1 and 2 of our highly successful Mobile Black Spot Program—of course, an area that saw egregious, complete, continuing, absolute and shameful neglect by Labor for six years. How much money did Labor spend on mobile blackspots in their six years in government?

They spent zero. And why is that? It is because the Labor government and the Labor Party have no interest in regional Australia. They are utterly and completely shamelessly indifferent to the communications needs of regional and remote Australia. There has not been one dollar for mobile blackspot communications from the Labor Party in six years in government. What a shameful record, but it is a record that, by contrast, we have been working to correct. We have been working to roll out, with great success, new mobile base stations around the country.

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