Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1)

notes:

(a)

that the Pacific Highway is a State road designed, built, owned, and maintained by the New South Wales State Government;

(b)

that there have been unacceptable delays and substantial cost over-runs in the upgrade of the Pacific Highway to dual carriageway standard from Hexham to the Queensland border;

(c)

notwithstanding that the Pacific Highway is a state road, the Australian Government has made a substantial commitment to the upgrade under the Pacific Highway Reconstruction Program Agreement and Auslink;

(d)

that there have been unacceptable delays to the commencement of work on by-passing population centres along the highway;

(e)

tenders have been received for the construction of the Bonville Deviation and the State Minister for Roads, Mr Tripodi, plans to delay commencement of works until mid 2006; and

(f)

the public consultation process has failed to achieve route outcomes which are acceptable to communities along the highway; and

(2)

calls on the New South Wales Labor Government to:

(a)

exercise more stringent cost and project management control over the highway upgrade; and

(b)

accelerate progress on this upgrade with a view to completing a dual carriageway between Hexham and the Queensland border by 2016.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak in the House on the very important issue of the Pacific Highway. It is a road which has great importance to the constituents in my electorate. It is also important to many Australians living on the eastern seaboard, given the role the highway plays in the national transport task. It is a road designed, built, owned and maintained by the New South Wales state government, but due to its national importance it receives substantial funding from the federal government despite its status as a state road. Over the three years ending 30 June 2009 the federal government will contribute $480 million to the upgrade, which aims to have the highway improved to dual carriageway standard by 2016.

Sadly, despite a 10-year plan to upgrade the highway to dual carriageway standard ending this year, there is still much work to be done to complete the task. It is estimated that by 30 June 2006 there will be 252.9 kilometres duplicated, with a further 51.3km under construction. This represents approximately 44 per cent of the total task.

The story of the Pacific Highway under the management of the New South Wales state government has been one of cost overruns, endless delays and endless broken promises. The people of New South Wales deserve better. We have seen four New South Wales roads ministers in the last 18 months. Whilst the history of the three previous state roads ministers does not fill one with confidence that this dismal track record will improve, I hope that new Minister Roozendaal will be an effective agent for change. I welcome his comments that the Pacific Highway debate has become too political and that he is keen to develop better relations with the federal government. The Bonville deviation will provide new Minister Roozendaal with an opportunity to demonstrate whether he speaks with genuine concern or his words are merely empty rhetoric. He has the opportunity to accept the federal government’s offer of $30 million this financial year to fast-track the highway, to get work on the Bonville deviation started immediately, to save time on the completion of the project and, in doing so, potentially save lives.

His predecessor, Mr Tripodi, was the subject of ridicule for failing to take up this offer and allowing the New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority some six months to assess two tenders for the Bonville deviation, with the companies preparing those tenders being given only 13 weeks to prepare their bids. New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma has finally done something right. By sacking Joe Tripodi he has left the door open for a new approach to the Pacific Highway—an approach which should involve rigorous cost control, a commitment to stringent project management and delivering projects to the public on time and on budget and a focus on selecting routes which are in line with community expectations. It is generally accepted that there are three factors which contribute disproportionately to motor vehicle accidents—namely, speed, fatigue and alcohol. The people of New South Wales, particularly those who regularly travel the stretch which will be bypassed by the Bonville deviation, know there is a fourth factor—that is, inaction by former New South Wales roads minister Joe Tripodi.

New Minister Roozendaal has the opportunity to drive this project forward in a manner his predecessors were unable to achieve. The completion of the duplication of the highway in a timely manner will yield huge benefits to the state of New South Wales and the nation. A completed dual carriageway will yield increased transport efficiency and a reduction in the horrific cost of road trauma. The construction of bypasses will provide improved environmental outcomes for many communities along the route and will achieve a separation of local and through traffic. In 2006 I hope we will see the New South Wales government approach the Pacific Highway upgrade with renewed vigour. I hope they take a leaf out of the book of the federal Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, Mr Jim Lloyd, and show total commitment to the Pacific Highway, not just empty rhetoric, by starting the Bonville deviation now and taking up the offer of $30 million to fast-track these works. Time will tell whether Mr Roozendaal’s words are meaningful or nothing more than empty rhetoric.

Peter Lindsay (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Revenue) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That was a most disappointing contribution from the member for Cowper. When I read this motion before the House today I thought he intended to come in here and have a serious debate about a serious issue—that is, the road fatality history of the Pacific Highway and the need for all levels of government to work cooperatively to address those problems which remain outstanding on that highway. When I saw the Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads in the chamber, I assumed he was here to support such a responsible and proactive debate. But we have all been disappointed. All we get from the member for Cowper is political rhetoric. We now know that this motion is about one thing and one thing only: an opportunity to bash up on the New South Wales government not all that far out from an election in an attempt to shift the blame from the Commonwealth—where the real responsibility lies—to the New South Wales government.

I welcome the appointment of Minister Roozendaal to the roads portfolio in New South Wales, because he is a can-do man. I know he will take a responsible approach to the development of the Pacific Highway and will not spiral down to cheap political stunts like those we are seeing in this House today. There was not a serious proposition from the member for Cowper. There were no solutions from the member for Cowper. There was just an exercise in pushing the blame onto the New South Wales Labor government. I should not be surprised because I am old enough—surprisingly!—to remember all the way back to when Labor was last in government in Canberra. I recall National Party members and candidates running around the North Coast of New South Wales with petitions insisting that the Commonwealth government should have the sole responsibility for funding of the Pacific Highway. Now that they are in government, and now that they have been in government for 10 years, they want to push the responsibility back onto the New South Wales government.

I checked my facts this morning, and it seems that in the 10 years the Howard government has been in office the New South Wales government has spent some $1.6 billion on the Pacific Highway. What do members of the House think the federal government has spent on the Pacific Highway in that same time period? Some $660 million. We can see clearly who is pulling their weight on what is now a shared responsibility.

Jim Lloyd (Robertson, Liberal Party, Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a shared road.

Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Revenue) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the minister for his interjection. He just told the House that this is a road of state responsibility. I thought only a year or so ago they brought down an AusLink document which abolished this concept of a national highway and therefore abolished the idea that the Commonwealth was only responsible for the national highway network. That is an issue I want to get onto. It should not be a surprise to anyone that as the member for Hunter I should be seeking an opportunity to talk on this motion, because I have many constituents who use the Pacific Highway on a regular basis and many more who use it on a not so regular basis each Christmas when they travel up to the North Coast of New South Wales. I also have another interest—that is, an interest in something called the F3 link. That is the other reason I am very pleased to see the minister at the table. That link should have been built 10 years ago and would have been built 10 years ago if it had not been for a change in government and the funding cuts which the Howard government first imposed in 1996 and has continued to impose ever since.

There is a lot we can do on the Pacific Highway to improve the safety and efficiency of that network, but there are some other things we can do to encourage traffic movement away from the Pacific Highway—that is, to improve what was the national highway network; in other words, to improve the New England Highway and to finally get on and construct the link between the F3 Freeway at Seahampton and the New England Highway north of Branxton. That project, some 10 years ago, was worth about $180 million, but because of delays imposed by this government it is now approaching $800 million. So what does Minister Lloyd tell us now? He hasn’t got the money to pay for it. He hasn’t got the money to fund the F3 link. But, if he thought more seriously about it, we would have the F3 link, we would be taking the pressure off the Pacific Highway and we would have fewer fatalities on the Pacific Highway. All the members of this place believe that we have to strive for a greater standard on the Pacific Highway, but there are other roads begging for funding as well, like the F3 link. The New South Wales government has made a commitment. It is now up to the federal government under Minister Lloyd to come forward with some money for the F3 link and to just get on with it. (Time expired)

Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to address the House following the member for Hunter, because I believe that, when members of the Labor Party stand up and try to protect a state government simply because it is Labor, it is not much of a debate at all. When the opposition are prepared to admit that just because you are a Labor government does not mean you do not make mistakes, then we will believe that the debate is reasonable. Most people would remember that I was for seven years a minister in the Greiner and Fahey governments in New South Wales—and guess what? In those days, the Pacific Highway was a state highway, and it still is.

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You should have done it then!

Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If you listen, you will hear. If you are patient, you will hear. I recall very clearly that when we took over from the Unsworth government—and, of course, the Wran government before it was a longstanding Labor government in New South Wales—the budget for the Pacific Highway from Port Macquarie to the Queensland border was $25 million.

Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How much?

Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

$25 million. That is what was being spent on the Pacific Highway in those days. It was the Greiner government that decided to put money back into roads. Before that, it was considered that it was not very vote catching to put money into roads. In fact, it was the Greiner government that brought in the three-by-three tax, which still stands in New South Wales as a way of getting funds for roads. I say to the member for Hunter that I do remember the former member for Cowper, Garry Nehl, I think it was, pushing very hard for some money to be spent on the Pacific Highway. Why? Because, in those days, it was pretty much a goat track from Sydney to Brisbane. And we were very pleased in the New South Wales government that the federal opposition in those days came forward and said that they were prepared to put some money into the Pacific Highway, but I do believe, to be fair, that in the dying days of the Labor government there was a commitment made from that side as well to put some money into the Pacific Highway.

One of the problems here has always been the overruns that have occurred on many of these projects, and I think this is something that the new agreements are trying to address. It is a great piece of road between Chinderah and Billinudgel, but in fact there was a 20 to 30 per cent overrun on that particular project. We have been trying to rein in these overruns to make sure we get more for the dollars that are being spent.

In that first 10-year program, which was a commitment of over $600 million from the federal government, there was a promise for the Ballina bypass. It was part of the agreement that we would have a Ballina bypass where there is a huge bottleneck on the Pacific Highway at the present time. But of course we did not get very far with that because there were no funds available, so the New South Wales government said, even though they had committed to the Ballina bypass.

I often muse over this, because, in the last budget we had in New South Wales in 1995, $25 billion was available from the taxes that were collected in New South Wales. In the last NSW budget, 10 years down the track, New South Wales had $44 billion available, yet there is no money for health, no money for schools and no money for roads. Is it any wonder that people are asking: where is the management in New South Wales and where is the money going to? We do not seem to be getting any value at all from the extra money that has been collected.

I have often been critical of some of the planning processes because I think that they waste a lot of money, quite frankly. I dare say that, in fact, a good example of that is in my electorate and the member for Cowper’s electorate, from Dirty Creek Range through to the Harwood Bridge. In the planning process, they have done a lot of survey work, a lot of costing—they have three or four different options—and then they have gone out to the public for comment. I would have thought that the RTA would have a pretty good idea of where they thought the route should go. Instead of wasting all this money, they could have identified the route, then let us have the discussion later. But I think it is a divide and conquer process, quite frankly, and they do not care how much money they spend with it. Naturally, people do not like to see their properties divided. They should be well compensated, because it is in the national interest, but there are a lot of things that need to be tidied up.

I congratulate the Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, Mr Lloyd, on eventually getting an agreement with New South Wales on this highway. We just hope that there are some better results in the years ahead, to see that this great highway is upgraded. Let me remind you that it was the Greiner government that had Motorway Pacific. If the Carr government had taken that option, we would have a tollway from Brisbane to Sydney now.

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion that has been moved by the member opposite. Clearly there are some different views as to who should be funding particular transport routes, but it is not surprising that members of The Nationals here today would be focusing upon complaints they have against the New South Wales government, because, in this place, they are not really defending their constituents on federal matters. There is no doubt in my mind—and, indeed, in the minds of many constituents of their electorates—that when it comes to things that really matter that are within their purview, within their federal jurisdiction, they are letting down their constituents. We saw that with the failure by The Nationals to oppose the sale of Telstra. We saw that indeed, I think, with the awful scandal of the regional rorts that were clearly directing Commonwealth money for the wrong purposes and the wrong motives. So I rise today to talk about this particular motion, but also to remind members that there is no point trying to defend your local constituents by becoming the quasi opposition of New South Wales. Your job here is to defend and advance the interests of your constituents by supporting Commonwealth initiatives that matter—and I say to the mover of this motion that selling Telstra was not one of them. Your role in voting for the sale of Telstra was not something that your constituents will be proud of.

The Pacific Highway is of course a strategic interstate route. It is an essential route for the transportation of many goods between Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. In the last 10 years the New South Wales government has invested $1,660 million in the highway, while the federal government has put in only $660 million. That is $160 million a year from New South Wales compared with $60 million from the federal government. That means that the New South Wales government is contributing 72 per cent of the funding for the Pacific Highway between Hexham and the Queensland border. The Pacific Highway is a full member of the federal government’s AusLink National Network. Under the AusLink funding agreement, the federal government’s funding falls woefully short of the $8 billion that is needed to complete a high-standard dual-carriage motorway between Hexham and the Queensland border.

Jim Lloyd (Robertson, Liberal Party, Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Lloyd interjecting

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I notice that the Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads who is responsible for these decisions at the federal level is here in the chamber. I welcome his attendance in the debate. Clearly it is important for him to know of members’ concerns.

It is wrong for the mover of this motion, the member for Cowper, and the seconder, the member for Page, to sheet home the blame to the New South Wales government. I am quite happy to criticise state governments, Labor or governments of any other colour, if I think they have done the wrong thing. But it is critically important, Minister Lloyd, that you attend to your needs—you attend to the responsibilities that the Commonwealth has invested in you as a minister of the Crown. I have to say, Minister, that as for your incapacity to properly fund this road, people in the New South Wales are quite rightly disappointed.

Jim Lloyd (Robertson, Liberal Party, Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Get your facts right!

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As a Victorian member of this place, Minister, can I say that your will record is woeful when it comes to funding the Calder Highway. The member for Bendigo and others have noted that the only reason why some of those funding areas have been sorted is the focus put on that issue by the member for Bendigo and others. Between the area of Sunbury and Tullamarine intersection fatalities occur on a monthly basis. I hate to use such examples to underline the point, but these deaths should not be occurring. They are happening because there are three at-ground intersections with the freeway. The Victorian government minister has said that Victoria will provide half the funding, even though it is purely the responsibility of the Commonwealth, if you match it with the other half. If you match it with the other half, it would mean that we would have fewer fatalities and certainly less congestion on the Calder Highway and we would see more of the money being provided to the Victorian areas that are deficient in funding.

There is no doubt that Victoria does not get its fair share of the transport funding cake of the Commonwealth. In terms of the Calder Highway, it is a disgrace that so close to the CBD we have at-ground intersections onto a freeway, with fatalities occurring as a result. I ask you, Minister, to think about that when you are listening to the motion being debated here today. (Time expired)

Ken Ticehurst (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a great pleasure to rise to support my coalition colleagues in such an important motion on the Pacific Highway. The Pacific Highway runs through my electorate of Dobell from Wyoming in the south to Bluehaven in the north. It is a very important arterial feeder for the many commuters who live in my electorate and work in Sydney. The state government has been well aware of the importance of this road for many years, yet the only significant improvement in this important area was a dual carriageway in the Wyoming area funded by the Howard government’s Roads to Recovery program—the program specifically created to address the state’s long-term negligence of our roads.

Despite the member for Hunter raising the issue of the F3, last August the state government promised to increase the speed limit in the area of the Hawkesbury River from 90 kilometres to 100 kilometres per hour. I wrote to the minister at the time and he said, ‘Well, we were going to do that, but we need some electricity there to power some signs.’ The real truth is that they have not got the speed camera working and until it is working it appears they will not change the speed limit.

The only mentionable contribution to this road by the New South Wales government has been the costly installation of concrete medium strips, which has been detrimental to the passing trade of many local small businesses in that area. Many have contacted my office to express their dismay. Notwithstanding that the Pacific Highway is a state road, built, owned and managed by the state government, the Australian government has made a substantial commitment to upgrading it under the Pacific Highway Reconstruction Program Agreement and AusLink.

The Australian government entered a 10-year agreement with New South Wales in 1996 to fund the Pacific Highway upgrading program. Under the program, the Australian government has contributed $60 million per annum—indexed—while the New South Wales government matched this funding and provided a further $100 million per annum—not indexed—for upgrading and maintenance of the highway. As the member for Gorton mentioned, the New South Wales government has indeed contributed $1.6 billion and the Australian government $656 million. But this is their road to maintain and upgrade.

This followed previous Australian government funding for such projects as the Tweed Heads and Raymond Terrace bypasses. At that time, nine per cent or 64.6 kilometres of the 658 kilometre length of the highway had been duplicated. We will have duplicated 44 per cent once we finish the projects that are under construction at the moment. The Australian government is making significant progress. We will have delivered an estimated travel time saving of 80 minutes on this trip.

The Australian government is committed to better and safer roads. Unfortunately, in my electorate, the Central Coast’s roads are not keeping pace with the region’s needs. The Central Coast has lagged behind in the future planning for roads and faces a huge influx in population over the next few years. Provision has to be made. This is not a testament to the Australian government, but it has contributed over and above what it should on our local roads programs like Roads to Recovery and the Black Spot program. The Black Spot program, which was scrapped under Labor, has invested $3.9 million to fix 22 Dobell black spots. This includes $230,000 for traffic lights at the corner of The Entrance Road and Tuggerah Parade, Long Jetty; $150,000 for signs and an island at the intersection of Maidens Brush Road and Jarrett Street, Wyoming; and $200,000 for traffic lights at the corner of Bay Village Road and Eastern Road, Bateau Bay. This is just to name a few.

Our local community will also benefit from $2.5 million in funding towards the construction of a two-lane link off the Pacific Highway from Britannia Drive at Watanobbi to Sparks Road at Warnervale and around $80 million to widen the F3 Freeway between Calga and the Hawkesbury River. The Howard government has committed a further $50 million to commence widening the freeway to six lanes between Mount Colah and Cowan. Central Coast roads also benefit from around $14 million allocated to Gosford and Wyong councils every year under Roads to Recovery.

The Pacific Highway is probably one of the most high-profile roads in Australia, and far too many people have died on this road. With Central Coast traffic expected to increase by around 63,000 vehicles a day by 2026, according to an NRMA audit, the urgent upgrading of this road is paramount. The NRMA audit of Central Coast roads found major congestion points around Ourimbah Primary School, the Wyong Road-SH 10 roundabout and the Church Street intersection at Wyong. The NRMA recommended Ourimbah road upgrades to reduce the crossing distance and time required for the pedestrian cycle and allow more time for through vehicles. (Time expired)

Martin Ferguson (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Primary Industries, Resources, Forestry and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to this motion on the Pacific Highway and, in doing so, reject the proposition by the member for Cowper. The facts are that from 1996 to June 2006 the New South Wales government will have invested $1.6 billion in the Pacific Highway, while the federal government, of which he is a member, has invested only $660 million. That is a $160 million a year commitment by the New South Wales government, compared with a $60 million a year commitment by the federal government. This means that the New South Wales government is contributing 72 per cent of the funding for the Pacific Highway between Hexham and the Queensland border.

In terms of responsibility, the Pacific Highway has now changed as a result of the federal government’s AusLink national network. Under the AusLink funding agreement, the federal government’s funding falls woefully short of the $8 billion that is now needed to complete a high-standard, dual-carriageway motorway between Hexham and the Queensland border. Under the approach used by the Australian government for other roads in the national AusLink network, the federal government should either fully fund projects or contribute at least 80 per cent of the cost. Too much of the federal government’s AusLink agreement is about robbing Peter to pay Paul, a sleight of hand designed to make it look as though the federal government is contributing more in some areas. But it is taking away funding in other areas.

The good news for all of us—and this is what the debate ought to be about—is that the job is now getting done, even if the federal government is underfunding New South Wales roads. Since 1996 a total of 44 projects have opened to traffic, with motorists now benefiting from 229 kilometres of four-lane dual carriageway, and people should not forget that this joint approach was initiated prior to the 1996 election by the then federal minister for transport Laurie Brereton, a Labor minister for transport. A further eight projects are under construction or have been approved and are awaiting the start of construction. A further 17 upgrading projects are in the planning stage.

By the end of this financial year—let us deal with the facts—approximately 44 per cent of the 677-kilometre highway, the length from Hexham to the Queensland border, will either be completed dual carriageway or under construction. It could have been better if the federal government had put more in over the last decade. The travel time for both light and heavy vehicles on the Pacific Highway has also decreased by more than one hour over the last 10 years.

On 23 December last year, the New South Wales government signed a memorandum of understanding—the original proposition came from the opposition in the lead-up to the federal election, and the government followed—which requires the government to explore funding options to accelerate the completion of the Pacific Highway to dual carriageway. The Bonville bypass is included as part of this program.

Work is proceeding on a new stretch of the Pacific Highway at Bonville. Tenders to design, build and maintain the bypass closed on 23 December 2005. The Roads and Traffic Authority expects to award the contract before June 2006, with construction to commence soon after. To date, $12 million has been spent on the upgrade, including project development, geotechnical investigations, an environmental impact statement and property acquisition.

On the same day, both the New South Wales and federal governments announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding for a program of around $960 million to upgrade a further 64 kilometres of highway to dual carriageway by mid-2009. In the interim, safety improvement works involving installation of a central median barrier through Pine Creek and shoulder widening will be completed by June 2006—and it goes on. Since December 2005, two speed cameras have been in operation to cover both directions of the highway in Bonville, and the speed limits have been reduced.

The New South Wales government remains committed to completing the upgrade of the Pacific Highway as quickly as possible. It is about time the Howard government recognised this and, in essence, pulled its finger out and put more money on the table so that we can overcome road safety problems on this highway. The Pacific Highway agreement between the federal government and the New South Wales government was a Labor initiative when Labor was in government, prior to 1996. The New South Wales government is looking to the federal government to do more, because, for example, the Pacific Highway between here and the Albury border is a deathtrap because of the failure of the federal government to do its job. The federal government has been more concerned about cherry-picking projects for short-term political advantage, with no regard to the safety of Australian motorists. (Time expired)

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It being nearly 1.45 pm, the debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 34. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.