Ken O'Dowd (Flynn, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I stand to speak on Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021, Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2020-2021 and Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021. It's certainly been a tough year for most of us in Australia. There have not been too many people who have escaped the scourge of coronavirus. Some places in my electorate have fared reasonably well. It was big industries who kept their industries open because they had to, and they kept the jobs going in most parts of Central Queensland. I'm referring to the coal industry, the gas industry, the cement industry, the chemical industry, and, of course, the ports and the rails kept on ticking over. Although the profits might have been down a little, overall they were able to keep their doors open. The real losers were, of course, the retail shops that weren't allowed to open and, as a lot of members have spoken about today, the travel agents. They've been really hit; a double whammy has hit them. They've had to try and recoup their client's money from overseas prebookings of holidays et cetera. Tourism in general has taken a big hit.

My electorate covers 133 square kilometres, and it's a mixed industry—agriculture, farming and resources. Overall, the budget has widespread support, and I have not had any complaints that I know of directly into my office re the budget. Because of the diverse economic commodities, roads, bridges and transport infrastructure is very important to my electorate. It's an important lifeline for many of our rural communities. I'm pleased that the recent 2020 budget answered the call. Our government has now secured funding for some of those critical infrastructure projects for Flynn.

There is money for the John Petersen Bridge, a narrow, one-way bridge on the Boyne River, south of Mundubbera and on the way to Durong—$20 million. That will be very much appreciated by the people who use that bridge and by the people who don't use it because it's very dangerous. For instance, car carriers do not use that bridge because it actually does damage to the cars on the carrier. That's how rough that section of road is. When it's finished, that will make a great improvement. The bridge is on the way to Wellcamp airport in Toowoomba, which is expanding nicely. We now have two plane loads a week at 45 tonnes per plane going out of Wellcamp direct into the Asian markets. So it will be greatly appreciated by those people who use that bridge: heavy vehicles, cattle trucks, timber trucks, grain trucks—and, of course, agricultural products. So that's been a great win for the electorate. It will provide a back bone for economic growth, and it will be good for our regional towns, accelerating agricultural growth and building a more resilient and agile agricultural sector and therefore creating more jobs.

Another particular road of importance is the Springsure to Tambo road, which is 250 kilometres in length. That services many properties along the way—Beauchamp, Mantuan Downs, Bucklands Road properties, Yarrai, Ian and Norma Roth's property, Wharton Creek, Albinia, Cungelella and many, many more. Goodliffe is another big property. For instance, Mantuan Downs will carry 13,000 head of cattle per year along that road. At the moment it's a dust bowl in these dry conditions. They will appreciate, no doubt, all those different properties along that road when the job is completed.

Upgrading a section of the Dawson Highway is also a blessing. It will improve the safety and reliability of the heavy traffic in that area. It not only cuts the cost to cattle producers but also reduces the bruising of the cattle on the roads. As those roads lead into the Gladstone port and the Brisbane port, it will benefit all those users—including the new intermodal hub at Yamala, just outside of Emerald.

The agricultural industry around Central Queensland continues to grow overall, although we have had dry weather and drought conditions all along the eastern coast of Australia. It's good to see from the agriculture minister that agriculture has actually grown this last year, from $60 billion to $61 billion. That is pretty good in times of drought.

The Springsure-Tambo road has been closed 21 times in the last five years. We have also had the money gazetted for the Philip Street four-lane project in Gladstone city itself; this is a section of road on Philip Street, a main carry-on road, that has lacked that four-lane highway all the way through. This $20 million will complete the road.

The Australian economy is dependent on the resource industry. The resource industry adds $290 billion to our coffers each year. It's not to be neglected and we should promote it whenever we can. Living in regional towns throws out many challenges to our people, and drought is the only thing that is stopping us from going ahead at the moment.

Our government has invested heavily in water infrastructure. It needs to, because if we want to increase our agriculture—to get that from $60 billion up to $100 billion—we need water infrastructure. I am pleased to say that the federal government has put aside another $2 billion for such good projects.

Building the Cooranga Weir on the Boyne River near Mundubbera will be a blessing for all those farmers who use and need the water. The Boyne River has a dam on it at Boondooma, but quite often this dam is insufficient to supply the people on the Boyne River. The weir will generate reliable water for good agriculture which already grows blueberries, citrus, avocados, nuts et cetera.

A new weir on the Barambah Creek close to farmers at the Coalstoun Lakes and Ban Ban Springs will also be a great addition to supplying farmers with much needed water. There is 5,000 hectares of rich agricultural land in the Coalstoun Lakes, and the average rainfall is about 30 inches a year. If we could get permanent water into those places, it is unbelievable how much product that that country will be able to produce. However, it's the lack of reliable water that stops most farming in my area. Dryland farming is mainly where the products come from. The irrigation out of the Fairbairn Dam at Emerald is a blessing and just goes to show what permanent water can do for farming in any area.

Building the Bardwell weir upstream from the Silverleaf Weir on Barambah Creek will also be a wise investment. It will benefit cotton, wheat and sorghum growers in the area. Building the Paranui Weir on the Dawson River will also have the same effect for those farmers in the Banana Shire. It will be great for that area once those weirs are built. Upgrading the Bedford Weir at Blackwater and the Claude Wharton Weir at Gayndah is something I will be fighting for in next year's budget. We must get started. We need to work with the Queensland government, whoever gets in after next weekend. We want to work with them and get these up and running as soon as possible. The money is there for water infrastructure. If they don't use it, it will go to some other state. I don't want it to go out of the area because it's needed in Flynn. It's a must for us.

As I get towards the end I'd just like to say that Rookwood Weir is finally going ahead but at a reduced volume and that the Paradise Dam is being knocked down. So the federal government is wanting to build extra dams and the state government is wanting to pull one down and reduce the water in the new weir at Rookwood. The Rookwood Weir, once we get it, will be a shot in the arm for agriculture in that area. That's what we're all planning on. I'm grateful that the federal government has put forward money for these projects.

The next big project would be building an Inland Rail line from Gladstone to Toowoomba. This would be a major project. As I see it, the Brisbane port is crowded out with rail, roads and all sorts of infrastructure. It makes perfect sense to bring the rail from Melbourne through to Gladstone, where we have the best port on the east coast. A container terminal would be a great asset to the region. Australia as a whole would benefit.

Business has been tough, but I can see a huge light at the end of the tunnel. We're going to face labour shortages, and we as a government are going to have to address that in the future. The 2PH farm in Emerald, a big citrus farm, requires up to 500 workers a year. Australians cannot or will not fill those places, so we need to work on that. It's all about jobs, jobs and jobs. I think the budget suitably enhances those criteria for getting Australia back to work.

See this speech in context