David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's great to talk about infrastructure when we've been through this amazing period of infrastructure being rolled out by the Liberals and Nationals in a coalition government since 2013. In fact, $32.8 billion has rolled down from Canberra out into regional Australia, and that is roads, bridges, water infrastructure, Roads to Recovery, the Black Spot Program and councils. In particular, in the Lyne electorate we have had an infrastructure bonanza.

Before the election was called, I had the pleasure of announcing over $8.5 million from the federal coalition's community development grants fund for public infrastructure that will trigger the development of a $455 million construction project: a master plan aged-care living complex, to kick it all off, on the banks of the Manning River in Taree. At the moment we've got the Forster Civic Precinct build, courtesy of a $6 million grant from the coalition government, which is leading to a massive public works and then a seniors-living complex on the banks of the waterways of Forster—real game changing commitments.

We have the major Pacific Highway upgrade, all the way up between Newcastle and the Queensland border, and that continues apace. There has been over $1 billion worth of work delivered in the time I've been in this parliament on the Pacific Highway upgrade in the Lyne electorate. We have also got other social infrastructure rolling out: new MRI licences for health facilities and funds towards radiotherapy services. We have got amazing expansion of aged-care facilities. Whether in Wauchope, the Manning Valley, the Tea Gardens Precinct or the Lorn-Largs-Bolwarra complex, it goes apace because we have social and physical infrastructure.

I might add that we've had 30 bridges funded and mostly completed in the Lyne electorate, courtesy of our Bridges Renewal Program. In the run-up to the last election I announced $8.6 million for the Brig O'Johnston Bridge replacement, near Clarence Town. That will be a real game changer and lead to the development of a whole new suburban region on the banks of the Williams River in Clarence Town. We have also got $5 million from the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program going into the Bucketts Way upgrade. We announced another $20 million from the Roads of Strategic Importance initiative for the Bucketts Way upgrade. The list goes on. We have got infrastructure in roads and bridges going ahead in leaps and bounds across the Lyne electorate.

Across broader areas, my area and the whole of the North Coast is serviced by the M1 Pacific Motorway. It was really pleasing to see $1.6 billion announced for a 16-kilometre section going from Black Hill, across the Hunter River, over to Raymond Terrace. Those on the other side are criticising it because it's not happening for a couple of years. That is because we don't actually build all these infrastructure projects; we partner with local and state governments. State governments have got to get on board with this. You see the debacle in Victoria, where the Victorian Labor government is blocking all the infrastructure build. You've got the same thing happening in Queensland—again, a Labor government. We are building this massive inland rail—$9 billion worth of work. Where is the hold-up? It's not at the New South Wales or the Victorian end of the build; it's in Queensland. You've got the Second Range Crossing being delivered in Queensland. Around the country there is so much happening.

In the water infrastructure space, we have just passed the Future Drought Fund. We've got over $3.3 billion in funding already being used for a national water infrastructure program and a loan facility, to give extra money to state governments and other private builders of water supplies. Councils have also benefited from extra funds from the Roads to Recovery Program and the Black Spot Program. When you add the sum total of all these extra builds across regional Australia, they are making amazing changes to road safety and to transport, allowing bigger freight and more efficient freight to happen, letting tourism get into the regions, and it's a whole lot safer. (Time expired)

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