Tony Crook (O'Connor, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government. In light of the government's decision to fund a metropolitan Perth transport project from the Regional Infrastructure Fund, will the minister rule metropolitan cities out of receiving funds for projects under the Regional Development Australia Fund due to be announced in July this year? If not, will the Minister remove the word 'regional' from this program's name, given that it is equally accessible to applicants from metropolitan areas?

Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. The simple answer is: no, I will not rule out the capitals. I will tell you the reason. The member has asked a very valid question about Perth Airport. What they have to understand, if they are serious about developing regions, is the importance of the linkage to the capital. They need to understand that Perth Airport is fundamental to the economic development of the West. It was the WA government that nominated Perth Airport for the Infrastructure Australia Fund. We have a funding partnership with the government of WA to address that point.

But just think of the regions that are around here. If we are really going to diversify the economic base—and I believe that is what this budget is all about: a patchwork economy in transition, with the patches being the regions—we have to understand there is no point urging regions to diversify their economic base, whether it is adding value to food, the mining and resource sector or the renewable energy sector and all of the things that go with it, if you cannot get the distribution change right. If what we want is to get diversification to compete on a global market, we have to get efficiency through the key hubs, and a lot of those hubs happen to be capital cities.

So I urge the member, when he looks at the question of regional development—and this is the discussion we are having with the WA government—

An opposition member: What about something for Circular Quay?

I will come to that in a minute. When we look at the question of the development of the partnership with the WA government, in the state from which the member for O'Connor comes, and the discussions I have had with Brendan Grylls about place based approaches, we clearly understand the importance of those connections to the capital hubs as well as the key regional hubs. It is for that reason that I will not rule metropolitan cities out of receiving funds for projects under the Regional Development Australia Fund. We have made the key point that our focus is going to be on better opportunity for the regions so that they can make their patches work better.

As for the interjections that come from the other side about funding something at Circular Quay, I will remind the House that, when they were in office running their regional rorts program, they even funded the lifesaving club in Bondi for the then member for Wentworth. If you call that regional development, you have to be kidding yourself.