Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party, Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

What a gift it is to the government to talk about the MPI. The MPI statement says 'adequate infrastructure for Australia's needs'. With due respect to the member for Griffith, who did spend much of her time talking about water infrastructure, I will get to water infrastructure later, because we have a list of projects that I'm very happy to elaborate on that are under construction and that are well into the planning stage as well. I will deal with the water infrastructure issues that she raised.

In the context of the MPI stating 'provide adequate infrastructure for Australia's needs', I have a list of nation-changing projects for Australia that have been instigated and commenced under this government, and I'm going to run through a few of them. The three that I'm going to start with are major projects. The opposition were involved in one, but wanted to cut funding, and I don't think they ever would have funded the other two at all. The first one is the very important Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail project. This project has been spoken about for decades. I'm sure you are aware of it, Deputy Speaker O'Brien. This is a $9 billion project that has been discussed for many decades. Work has started under this government. What a very important nation-building project it is.

The other one that has been talked about that they couldn't get off the ground—excuse the pun, because I'm talking about the Western Sydney Airport. Again, a $5 billion project that's very important for Sydney. It's very important for it to keep its international city reputation. The existing Sydney Airport, as we know, is very congested. The Western Sydney Airport began, was announced and is getting built under this government.

The third one, before I go to some other projects, is the very important Pacific Highway project. The Pacific Highway project, at one stage, was the largest regional project underway throughout the country. It just happened to be that the last stage of it, the Woolgoolga to Ballina section, is completely in my electorate. That is a $5 billion project. You might be questioning yourself, Deputy Speaker. You might ask, 'Didn't Labor support that project, and weren't they funding it?' They were, actually. They were funding it at 80 per cent. Then, when there was a change in the New South Wales state government to a Liberal-Nationals government, they decided they only wanted to fund it at 50 per cent. They wanted to not fund the project as they originally were. I had discussions with Warren Truss, who was then the Leader of the Nationals—your predecessor, Deputy Speaker. We recommitted that, if we got elected in 2013, we would fund that project at 80 per cent, and we have. Six years on, a lot of that money has been spent and, weather permitting, that project will be completed by the end of this year.

Why do we do that? Why is that important? The reason that any dual duplication is so important is that it reduces fatalities—an issue that I know is very dear to your heart, Deputy Speaker. In fact, fatalities on the Pacific Highway are at a multi-decade low. When you consider the increased traffic that it has seen over the decades, the fact that fatalities are at a record low is a wonderful thing. That being said, there's still work to do. The dual duplication isn't completed, but when it is I'm sure that fatalities will decrease even further.

The importance of all of the infrastructure projects that I'm going to talk about is that they are job creating in the building of them. In this particular project there are 2,500 to 3,000 direct jobs. The number of indirect jobs is huge, so it's very important to regional economies like mine. One of the projects I'm going to mention later is the Bruce Highway—again, a project that I know is dear to your heart, Deputy Speaker. What is very important is post the build. It brings those communities closer. The tyranny of distance decreases. It brings an economic tourism boom or whatever. Your manufacturers and any businesses in your region are suddenly closer to more customers. It's very important for that as well.

I have a list. I think I'll read it. It goes through the different states. But I will, out of due respect to the member for Griffith, get to some water infrastructure projects, because she's right: water infrastructure projects are important. Water is a very valuable resource. I will get to some of those projects and what we're doing there.

But let me first go through some of the significant infrastructure projects across the states. In New South Wales there is $5.5 billion for the Pacific Highway, $3.5 billion for Westconnex and $3.3 billion for the Western Sydney Infrastructure Plan. In Victoria there is $1.75 million for the North East Link, $687 million for the Monash Freeway and $467 million for the Ballarat rail line upgrade. In Queensland, there is $10 billion for the Bruce Highway, $860 million for the Gateway Motorway and $1.1 billion for the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing. In Western Australia there is $820 million for North Link, $116 million for the Armadale Road duplication, $275 million for the Great Northern Highway. In South Australia there is $4.5 billion for the North-South Corridor, $220 million for the Gawler rail line electrification and $190 million for the Goodwood-Torrens Junctions project. In Tasmania there is $460 million for the Bridgewater Bridge, $60 million for rail freight revitalisation and $38 million for the Hobart to Sorell corridor. In the Australian Capital Territory there is $100 million for the Monaro Highway upgrade, $30 million for the Kings Highway upgrade and $20 million for the William Slim Drive duplication. In the Northern Territory there is $180 million for the Central Arnhem Road Upgrade, $62 million for the Arnhem Highway and $30 million for the Garry Miller Boulevard.

We have announced as well $100 billion—yes, you heard it right—over the 10 years. This government has had some notable achievements since it was first elected in 2013. That includes the free trade agreements that we have initiated and the lower tax regime that we have initiated. And I think the third tranche of that is infrastructure, which is why I am so pleased that infrastructure has been brought up in this MPI. And that's why we have record employment growth and unemployment levels where they are.

The member for Griffith mentioned the Urban Congestion Fund and the Roads of Strategic Importance program. One of the roads in my electorate getting an upgrade through the Roads of Strategic Importance program is the Clarence Way. Mr Deputy Speaker, if I took you there, you might say, 'Why is this road getting an upgrade?' It's quite remote. It is getting an upgrade because of the amount of employment that relies on it. There is one of the biggest cattle producers there. There is blueberry production down the road as well. So while that road is remote, it has created a lot of jobs—and a lot of jobs depend on that road.

Before I get to water, I want to mention some other significant infrastructure projects that are important—and a couple of them were initiated under this government. I'm going to go first to the one that I have listed third on my list. It is an infrastructure program that was initiated by us, not Labor—it didn't exist prior to 2013—and that is the Bridges Renewal Program. It has been very important in my region as well. This program is not about the big, sexy bridges on national highways or important state roads. In my region, there are a lot of wooden bridges that maybe only 20 or 30 properties need to drive across. Those properties are productive. Those bridges are important for them in getting to schools, shops and hospitals. They are also important because they are in productive areas—areas that are producing food and fibre. One bridge that is being built is helping a company that supplies 80 per cent of the soybeans to Vitasoy in Australia. You wouldn't believe it if you drove past. It is a great industry, a great business. That bridge is really important to the people who work in that processing plant. That's why we focus on that. Local governments have their own cost pressures. A lot of local governments don't have the resources, especially with a small ratepayer base, to keep that infrastructure up. So we as a coalition government saw that as important, and that's why we announced that program.

I'm running out of time. I really wanted to get to the water infrastructure projects as well, because there are so many. I'm certain that some of my colleagues will talk about the wonderful water infrastructure projects. In fact, I'll give them my list—which will take up their whole five minutes. Again, I think one of the great stories of ours is the infrastructure— (Time expired)

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