Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As Dorothea Mackellar said, we're a land of drought and flooding rains. There is no doubt that the harsh weather has had an impact on our road network. The Hunter has been impacted by that weather as much as any other area. Less than a month after I was declared the member for Hunter, my electorate was smashed by floods that cut a swathe of damage throughout the Hunter. Roads right across the Hunter electorate, from Lake Macquarie to Muswellbrook, were severely damaged. Unlike those opposite, who did nothing to help following the bushfires that ravaged parts of the Hunter in 2019 and 2020, the Albanese government stepped up and delivered to the areas impacted by these weather events. We provided councils with 100 per cent of the 2023-24 financial assistance grants—that is $3.1 billion—in advance, which was paid to the states and territories in June 2023. We also joined the NSW government to provide $200 million as part of the Infrastructure Betterment Fund to help recovery efforts focus on rebuilding damaged and destroyed infrastructure, such as bridges and stormwater drainage, in a more resilient way. In a further show of bipartisanship, the NSW government and the federal government provided $312½ million to target road- and transport-related infrastructure through the Regional Roads and Transport Recovery Package.

In times of need, the community don't want politics; they just want help. The former NSW Liberal National government should have put politics aside and helped impact the communities with the funds they needed to rebuild. Public infrastructure can literally save lives during emergencies, whether it's roads and bridges being used as evacuation routes or stormwater drainage better managing the large volume of water during floods. But those opposite showed how pathetic they are with their grubby political games. There is work to do, and the Albanese government is getting on with the job by strengthening its commitment to regional roads, with significant increase in funding and changes to programs to reduce the administrative burden on local councils. In my electorate, we have committed $560 million to the Singleton Bypass, which is underway and expected to be open to traffic late 2026.

Likewise, we have committed $270 million to the Muswellbrook bypass, which has seen early works get underway, and work to announce the contractor is also underway. The Putty Road, which was damaged in 2022, has also received significant funding to repair multiple large landslips and for stabilisation works. Let's not forget the joint funding of $4.5 million between state and federal governments to raise the Kilfoyles Bridge at Lambs Valley. If you listened to those opposite, you would think nothing is happening—that not a single bit of roadworks has been undertaken. It is like the little boy who cried wolf. They have told so many fake stories about road funding that they are beginning to believe their own lies.

The Albanese Labor government continues to deliver on its commitment to improve road safety in the Hunter by significantly increasing funding available to local councils to maintain and upgrade their road networks. The Roads to Recovery funding will rise gradually from $500 million to $1 billion per year. Black spot funding will also increase from the current annual commitment of $110 million to $150 million. The Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program and the Bridges Renewal Program will be merged into a new Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program. The amount of funding for the new program will also gradually increase such that $200 million will be available per year, up from the current $150 million total annual investment in the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program and the Bridges Renewal Program.

These programs are already having a significant impact on road quality and safety in New South Wales communities, with millions of dollars flowing to local councils under Roads to Recovery funding. In addition, a combined total of more than $440 million has been provided to New South Wales across the life of the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program and the Bridges Renewal Program. Those opposite want to play petty political games and are so miserable about the great work that we are doing that, if you gave them a straw, they would suck the fun out of someone else's day. This motion is a perfect example of that.

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