Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. I can understand how he has a great interest in decentralisation, especially after we started the process of establishing the Regional Investment Corporation in Orange, in a regional city, building on what they already have there with Paraway financial, Macquarie Bank and its rural investment unit, the National Australia Bank, and the department of agriculture. This is a belief in decentralisation. It is a belief in creating that centre of excellence in and around Orange. Our belief in decentralisation does not stop there, of course. We have the Fisheries RDC going to Adelaide. I know the member for Sturt is very interested in that. The Grains Research and Development Corporation is going to Toowoomba, Dubbo, Perth and Adelaide. The APVMA—and we hear a lot about that—is going to Armidale to make sure that we create our centre of excellence in Armidale. The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation is going to the seat of Riverina, to Wagga. With the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, we are establishing new offices there, especially in Wodonga. This is all about our belief and our vision for regional development.

We have the vision that not only is held by us but also is held by so many others. In the recent Senate inquiry we received 200 submissions—177 supported decentralisation and only four were against. One of the councils that supports decentralisation is Cessnock, in the member for Hunter's seat. This is what the Cessnock council said:

The Cessnock City Council is fully supportive, and advocates strongly for “decentralisation” of government bodies to regional areas. This includes Commonwealth entities with agricultural policy and regulatory responsibilities.

Mr Fitzgibbon interjecting —

I will take the interjection from the member for Hunter! The people who are against decentralisation, quite obviously, are the Labor Party. They do not support it. They had an inquiry into decentralisation, and guess where they held it? In Canberra! And then they had to find one town to go to, so they went to Townsville. So, Canberra and Townsville; that is their vision.

Of course, the vision for Townsville is not so good, because the member for Herbert has not come out in support of the Carmichael mine—

Opposition members interjecting—

Get the member for Maribyrnong to support it!

See this speech in context