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

I thank the honourable member for her question and note her hard work in making sure that such projects as the Yeppen flood improvement for the Bruce Highway, an upgrade which is worth about $170 million, have been completed. In the floods last year in April, we saw that it was well at work, with the traffic still flowing. That supported about 200 jobs. I remember it very well because, back in the Senate estimates on 12 February 2013, I asked:

Is there any funding for the construction of the Yeppen Floodplain in the forward estimates?

I asked that of a Labor government, and the answer that came back was quite direct: 'No, there isn't, Senator.' So it was the coalition—Warren Truss—who went to work and made sure that that vital upgrade on the Bruce Highway came about.

In Central Queensland, in the member for Herbert's electorate and also that of the member for Flynn, we've also had further major investments. Notable amongst them would be the in excess of $190 million that the Commonwealth put towards defence spending there in addition to the $2 billion that our allies the Singaporean government invested in Rockhampton. This shows substantial investment in Central Queensland. There's more work to do. The Rocky ring road corridor upgrade is $65 million, and we're well underway with that, making sure that that vital piece of infrastructure, which takes the traffic around the airport, is part of the planning for the great city of Rockhampton into the future.

Of course we have to have a vision for our nation, and of course the vision for our nation is quite closely attached to the money that our nation can earn. We see the revitalisation of the sale of chickpeas in Central Queensland, as well as beef and cotton. This is also bringing money into Central Queensland and underpinning the economic growth of Central Queensland. What would be of great assistance to Central and Northern Queensland would be the further opening of the Galilee Basin. The Galilee Basin is a vital precinct and helps the wealth of the nation.

Today we are talking about closing the gap, and the best way to close the gap is for people to have a job.

The member for Lindsay thinks that people having a job is 'boring'. But people don't find it boring in Townsville, where the member for Herbert's from, where youth unemployment is in excess of 20 per cent. They don't find having a job boring at all. They find having a job essential. So we need the Labor Party, in the current Batman by-election, to stand behind the coal workers of the Galilee Basin, to stand behind the coalminers of Central Queensland and to stand up for their core constituents. We need the Labor Party to not announce to workers that their lives are 'boring'. And we need the Labor Party to not support the member for Lindsay when she says the prospect of them getting a job is 'boring'. We have to make sure that we get the vital infrastructure so they get a job. (Time expired)

See this speech in context