Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It dismays me immensely that I have for the second time to move a motion of this nature in relation to the Torres Strait seawalls. Last year in March I had a motion prepared and I was ready to have it submitted to this place for debate. I was asked directly by the Minister Crean's office not to put it up, that the government had made a decision that they were inclined to support that motion but they needed more time. They could not take the money out of the RDA funds because it was totally inappropriate and the minister was looking for an opportunity to identify funds from another source. In the interest of bipartisan support, I agreed to delay putting the motion up until August to assist the minister in his endeavours to locate the money.

In August, I still had not heard from the minister and I advised him that it was my intention, as per our agreement, to put the motion up. The motion was put up and the government supported it. The motion asked that the issue of seawalls be addressed immediately, that infrastructure be put in place so that we do not start to lose existing infrastructure. We have $1 billion worth of infrastructure that is being damaged every single year. We had lost over half the Saibai Island's cemetery which had been washed out to sea. I was pleased that the government supported the motion. In fact in August I wrote to the minister and congratulated him, thanking him on behalf of the Torres Strait Islands community because he was prepared to support us.

I then asked when the money could be expected to flow and where the money would come from. I had to wait until December, and, after many subsequent follow-ups was told by the minister that he was no longer going to support it, that it was not really a federal government issue but an issue for the state and for the local council. Why didn't he tell me that back in March when I was putting that motion up?

In that period, I have to say, more graves were lost; more graves were washed out to sea. I ask you, Mr Deputy Speaker Georganas, how would anybody in this place, whose mother or father, brother or sister, grandparents or whomever was interred in a cemetery, feel when they went there the next day to visit them to find that they had been washed out to sea, never to be found. Anywhere else in the country it would be absolutely outrageous and the matter would be fixed immediately, but up there, it seems, from this minister's perspective, it really does not matter. Like many other things in Indigenous issues, it is all about the politics. It is not about finding real solutions.

But it is also a very, very stupid decision. There is $1 billion worth of infrastructure on the six affected islands and every year there is a couple of million dollars worth of damage. Yet every year they are prepared to fix up that damage but not to fix the cause of the problem. It is not about climate change, it is not about rising sea levels, it is about failing, ageing, 50-year-old infrastructure. That is the problem, and it is easily fixed. It is a $22 million to $24 million fix. This government can find $240 million to give to the UN to give to micro-Pacific nations to address issues pertaining to climate change. They can give that money—$240 million; it is not much when you say it fast—to these countries to build their sea walls. But they will not give $22 million to fix a small Pacific community that just happens to be in Australia. You have to pose the statement: maybe it is about buying a place on the UN for a thorn in this government's side, rather than trying to address the genuine issues that are facing this community every year. We are right on the front line of Papua New Guinea. A couple of kilometres away there is tuberculosis, HIV, meningitis, Japanese encephalitis, cholera. I recently came back from Daru, and when you walk past the cemetery you see grave after grave of people that have just died of cholera. You understand just how real it is, but this mob down here does not give a damn.

More recently the RDA funding came out—this is the second round we have had—and the only money to be given north of Mackay was $5 million that was going to the sea walls in the Torres Strait. Lo and behold: $5 million for a $24-million fix. That is the only RDA money that was given over two rounds, and that $5 million is for a $24-million job. They go up there—Senator McLucas, Minister Macklin, Minister Crean—patting themselves on the back and saying: 'Hallelujah, we've found a solution, but there is a catch. We are going to put another $7 million in, but we don't know where we are going to find that yet. But the whole lot—the whole $12 million or so that we are going to put up—is conditional on the state government finding the money.'

Now we know that the Bligh government left the Campbell Newman state government with a debt that is going to rise to $100 billion. Where are they going to suddenly draw $12 million out to put in there for something that should have been fixed by this government several years ago? This is a problem that has been going on now for six years. It is all smoke and mirrors. You have people up there in the community thinking, 'Wow, it is going to happen.' I have news for them—it is not going to happen. The reason that they did it this way is that it is a guaranteed way that they do not spend a cracker. I was talking to Ron Enosa, the chairman of the Saibai community. He knows that it is a lie. He knows that it is not going to happen. He is bitterly disappointed.

I was talking to Fred Gela, the Chair of the Torres Strait Island Regional Council, only yesterday. He said, 'I would love to give them the benefit of the doubt, but the more I speak to them, the more I realise that this is never going to be a reality, because $5 million is not going to fix it and it is conditional on the state government putting $12 million up that they do not have and they did not budget for, and another $7 million that is going to materialise out of thin air; Simon Crean has not yet decided where it is going to come from.' It really made me wonder if the criteria for being a cabinet minister in this government is the ability to continue to mislead the Australian public, the same as the Prime Minister has done—

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, I would ask the member for Leichhardt to withdraw that suggestion about the cabinet. I find it unparliamentary and offensive.

Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Leichhardt, to assist the chamber—

Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, I also find it unparliamentary and offensive that—

Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Leichhardt will resume his seat. The member for Leichhardt will withdraw that statement for the resumption of the debate to take place.

Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw, but I find it offensive that I was promised—call it what you like—in March that Simon Crean, the minister, would support it. It took till August. I complied 100 percent and it took till August, and the government came out and voted and supported it. There was no argument about it. Now we find, almost a year later, that we are no closer to having it happen. What they have done is totally inappropriate. They have definitely misled me. There is no question about it. They have misled me and they have misled the Torres Strait people, who are sitting there waiting for the next king tide, which is in a couple of months time, when more of the cemetery is going to be washed away and more of their ancestors are going to disappear into the sea. More infrastructure is going to be destroyed, and it is going to raise the risk of cholera, dysentery, meningitis and Japanese encephalitis.

It is a cruel hoax. It is a disgusting trick on the Torres Strait people. The minister and this government should stand condemned for their appalling treatment of these people in their deliberate attempts to avoid, in any way they can, fulfilling their obligations and responsibilities. These people are Australians. They may live in the Torres Strait, but they are very, very proud Australians and they are entitled to have a government that steps up to its responsibilities and takes the appropriate action to ensure that they have security of their own communities.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to oppose the member for Leichhardt's motion on the flooding of communities in the Torres Strait. My electorate is a long way away from the Torres Strait, and I would particularly like to acknowledge the passion of the member for Leichhardt about this topic. I know he has got credibility and the respect of his community for representing the needs of his constituents. However, I will point out a couple of things in response to his speech. This problem did not begin on election night 24 November 2007—as the member for Leichhardt acknowledged. He indicated that it had been a problem confronted by the Howard government beforehand. He said that it had been going on for six years, and obviously we have only been in power for less than five years. So this has been an ongoing issue for a long time. It did not commence on 24 November 2007. That is the first thing that anyone with common sense would understand.

There is another thing that we need to understand—and I say this with a little bit of knowledge, as the Chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs; and I note that the member for Bonner is in the chamber. We have a bit of familiarity with the Constitution. When I look through the Constitution, I cannot see a reference to the Commonwealth government having responsibility for local graves. That is not in any way to take away from the heartbreak that it must be to experience the graves of your ancestors and loved ones being washed out to sea. I am not in any way minimising the heartache that is associated with that. But, when I read the Constitution, I cannot find a Commonwealth constitutional head of power to look after every single grave in Australia. For Commonwealth war graves, whether they be in Gaza or Thailand or Flanders, we do have a responsibility. However, the 720 local councils in Australia have a responsibility to look after their local graves. That is the first bit of law that I am sure the member for Leichhardt would agree with.

I remind the member opposite that there is actually another level of government between the local government and the Commonwealth government, and that is the state government. The Queensland state government has some additional oversight over local governments and their ability to look after the tasks that they do. As the member knows, with the DOGIT lands in his part of the world, state government and local government interaction is much closer than the interaction between the Commonwealth government and local government. These are some of the facts that we need to get out there.

The member for Leichhardt seemed a little bit ungrateful about the federal government's announcement of $12 million to help fund coastal protection works in the Torres Strait, but it seemed to be more about the delivery rather than the actual policy. This is a complex issue that has required extensive consultation. I am not shying away from the Commonwealth responsibility for that. It has been part of the Labor Party's responsibility since election night 2007. But, I am sure if I look through the member for Leichhardt's webpage, I will see his great press releases commending the Labor government for delivering for the Torres Strait Islander community in all those other areas.

Mr Entsch interjecting—

I will take that interjection that, no, I will not! The member for Leichhardt said: 'It is all about the politics, not about finding solutions.' They were his words. He said that the cause of the problem has nothing to do with climate change. I also think he seemed to be drifting away from the bipartisan support of the parliament for our aid policy in looking after Pacific nations. I am not sure if that was a frolic of his own or a new departure in foreign policy. I will have to explore that later.

The reality is that the Labor government has invested $12 million through this $5 million grant to the Torres Strait Island Regional Council because we know that the Torres Strait has particular problems with their funding base. The nation turned its eyes to the Torres Strait recently on the 20th anniversary of Mabo. We looked at the member for Leichardt's area and the contribution that people there have made. We know about the connection of Torres Strait Islander communities to their land and how, from that, the High Court was able to extrapolate that the mainland Indigenous community also has a longstanding commitment to their land. The $12 million investment will be provided to the Torres Strait Island Regional Council and the Torres Strait Regional Authority to work in partnership to deliver seawalls in six island communities and repair the damaged infrastructure. As Commonwealth parliamentarians we well know that the local government area is where the rubber meets the road, where the shovel meets the road. The local people know the concerns of their community, and the opposition's suggestion that climate change has not had an impact on rising sea levels flies in the face of 99.9 per cent of scientists. Most right-thinking people understand. They can see the tracking. If we look at the Keeling curve and the rise in parts per million of CO2 recorded scientifically around the world, we know that there is a greater cause and that it did not somehow, magically, become a problem on 24 November 2007.

On this side of the House we are a lot more serious about taking out the politics and finding the solutions. We are investing $200 million in projects right across Australia in the second stage of a five-year regional funding program. In Queensland alone, eight projects have been funded under the RDAF round 2, with the Australian government contributing $33.67 million to projects worth more than $134 million. I note the member for Leichardt stood up and said—I assume with some authority, after consultation with his state member and his LNP premier—that the Queensland state government would not give a single dollar to this project. I am not sure whether that was what he was suggesting and whether he had the authority to say that the state government will not match the Commonwealth. Or was he saying that it is too hard? I thought the member for Leichardt had been meeting with Premier Newman. I wish he had talked about his meetings with Premier Newman to request that the Queensland government match the federal government's contribution of $12 million to build seawalls in the Torres Strait. I would hate to remind the member for Leichardt that if Premier Newman cannot even commit to protecting permanent workers in the Australian government after the election, as he did before the election, he might shy away from committing any funding to protect seawalls in the Torres Strait. I ask all Queensland federal members of the LNP to call on Premier Newman to match this $12 million funding commitment by the federal government and to make a commitment to provide coastal infrastructure to protect people in the Torres Strait from destructive tides. Premier Newman has been the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, but I hope he will be the Premier for all of Queensland and make sure that we are looking after these people, who are a long way away from George Street.

The member for Leichardt is very proficient in describing problems, but I would suggest that he is not necessarily being part of the solution. I seem to recall that he was the member of parliament responsible for the Torres Strait for about 12 years. I do not think that these tides magically appeared at midnight on 24 November 2007. If we go back to 3 March 1996, when he became responsible for the Torres Strait, the reality is that king tides were starting to become a problem even then.

Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, they weren't!

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am sorry; I disagree. I did not realise that the moon changed its orbit on 24 November 2007. When it comes to addressing the hard issues, the Leader of the Opposition says that he cannot fix anything. Things like the Murray-Darling Basin are complicated processes and you need people to sit down to discuss them. This is another classic example of where we can get all three levels of government on the same page and take the politics out of it. The member for Leichardt said it is all about politics and not about finding solutions. I think it will be best resolved if we can sit down together. The reality is there is a rates base in the Torres Strait that is not able to fund all of these issues.

Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The honourable member made a comment which is blatantly untrue. The reality of the situation is that in the 2002 election—

Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Leichhardt will resume his seat. There are ample opportunities to statements corrected in this place. Now is not the time to do it. The member for Moreton.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I would remind the member for Leichhardt that there was no election in 2002 federally.

Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

2010.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Obviously the member for Leichhardt will be able to make a substantive motion later today in terms that the cabinet has misled him. There is an opportunity for him to move that substantive motion and we will see whether this motion is all about the politics or whether it is actually about achieving solutions. I know that Simon Crean's door would always be open to him to achieve real change. (Time expired)

Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support this motion relating to Torres Strait communities brought before this House by my friend and colleague the member for Leichhardt. It is with some sadness that I speak on this today as this motion has been before the House before and has had bipartisan support, but what we have here is a fundamental breach of faith. I have a great deal of time for the Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government, but he has let down the very people about whom he should be most concerned. As the member for Leichhardt has already stated, there are six Torres Strait islands heavily affected by king tides, particularly over the last four years. These king tides inundate the low-lying islands which causes roads to flood and we see seawater through houses, businesses and even cemeteries. The cost to repair the seawalls that exist to protect these assets and infrastructure and personal spaces from flooding has been estimated at between $22 million and $24 million.

The minister backflipped on the government's support for Mr Entsch's 2011 motion stating that it was the responsibility of the Torres Strait Island Regional Council and the Queensland government to fund and that it was not appropriate for it to be paid for from the Regional Development Australia Fund, or RDAF. If that was not bad enough, Minister Crean backflipped again, allocating $5 million for the project through the RDAF this month. So the previous speaker saying that there are not constitutional grounds for the federal government to do this would seem to fly in the face of what the government has actually done. That there is no plan in place for the other $17 million to $19 million beggars belief. They have stated that there should be $12 million from the state government, which has never been involved in this process, and do not even outline where the other $5 million in funding will be found. Perhaps if the Torres Strait islands were declared an independent nation our government would be all over them, like it was 102 degrees in the shade and they were prickly heat, to give them the money.

Our government will spend more than $160 million over five years in funding especially to help the Pacific island nations deal with the impacts of climate change and rising sea levels, yet if you are an Australian citizen this government will walk away from you. What do the people of the Torres Strait do here? Australia's full aid budget for East Asia and the Pacific in 2012-13 is $2.5 billion, and yet we cannot support these people at home for $22 million to $24 million. For that I say: shame on this government. This government always talks a good game when it comes to Aboriginal and Islander affairs, but at every turn it walks away from commitments and opportunities to show that very support, be it in public housing on Palm Island or help in the brave efforts of the community radio station 4K1G to keep an Aboriginal voice over a huge part of North Queensland and Cape York. It is true to form at every turn. The problem with this government is that every time there is an opportunity to do something it simply rolls out the platitudes and starts conversations recognising the traditional owners and then walks away thinking the job has been done. From the first Australians of my electorate and on behalf of those people in the Torres Strait who have been left behind by this government's platitudes, I say, 'Thanks for nothing.'

I will digress to give an example. On Palm Island we build houses not much bigger than a garden shed at a cost of over $600,000. And we build them with the toilet pan below the waterline so they cannot be flushed properly and are therefore uninhabitable. There is no use of the licensed builder and the five licensed plumbers and electricians or even of unskilled labour from the island's residents. The end result could have been so different, but I still have houses on Palm with over 20 inhabitants and that is no good for anyone.

With 4K1G, you will see every manner of government minister ringing Lloydy Wiles to get their message across; but when they receive a call from the station that they are struggling with cash flow but are asset rich, they disappear. They disappear even though you have the Attorney-General, the Minister for Aboriginal and Islander Affairs, and the minister for communications physically in Townsville for the best part of a week. And yet they cannot spare 4K1G 20 minutes for a meeting. Instead they send a staffer along to tell them which government departments they could possibly write to. It simply is not good enough to come in here and sprout a good game; we must actually do something and have an ability to get behind this thing to fix the things in the Torres Strait and to show the people at home that we actually care about them: the people in the Torres Strait who are without the services and the people in the Torres Strait who are being inundated by health concerns from Papua New Guinea. The people of the Torres Strait are citizens of Australia and deserve better than not having a $22 million wall replaced and not funded. That the government—the member for Moreton—can sit there and say that it is not in the constitution beggars belief. It absolutely beggars belief, and it is pretty much chump change to the people of the Torres Strait.

I call on the government to back this motion and actually deliver for the Torres Strait.

Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sitting here listening to the contribution from the honourable member for Herbert, you would think that there was nothing happening. I am sure they have either deliberately or mistakenly not read what is happening. The motion itself is actually redundant, if it was ever needed, because all of the work was actually going on, and it was clear there was a commitment from the Australian government—from the Labor government—to fund and support the Torres Strait Islanders from the severe flooding that they experience.

There has been a $12 million allocation of funds—but I will come to that. If the motion actually took out things like 'condemns the minister'—because it has been the minister and the senator for Queensland, the Hon. Jan McLucas, who have been doing a lot of work on this with locals and with local authorities—then it is something I could get up and speak in support of. But as it is, there is no way that I could give support to it because it is just simply put there as an attack. It is easy to do that; it is easy to put words on paper and it is easy to come in here, speak big and act as though nothing is happening when in fact the opposite is true. Talk about trying to alter reality to fit your perceived political notions of the world!

I would recommend that all the speakers here reflect on the importance of the work being done in the Torres Strait and right across the country—particularly through the Regional Development Australia Fund. Many members would have seen that there was RDAF round 1 and RDAF round 2, which has just been announced across Australia, and quite a lot of members would have seen wonderful projects get up in their area. I will come to my electorate of Page, where a great project got up under Regional Development Australia Fund 2—I had the Minister for Regional Development and Local Government in my electorate, announcing that in conjunction with Ballina Shire Council—but this motion is directed to Queensland.

Some of the things I want to put on the record here that are important with this nonsense motion is that two weeks ago the ministers for Indigenous affairs and for regional Australia, and senator for Queensland, Jan McLucas, announced up to $2 million to help fund coastal protection works in the Torres Strait. I am told that we are still waiting to hear from the Queensland government what they are going to announce and what their contribution would be. Also, if this motion included talking about the Queensland government and what they could do, it would have more integrity—and it does not. It is a glaring omission. The $12 million funding I just referred to includes a $5 million grant to the Torres Strait Island Regional Council from round 2 of the Regional Development Australia Fund and up to $7 million in additional funding. It shows that the government is doing all that it can to support the local council, the regional authority, the communities and people living on the islands to protect their homes. I acknowledge the strong advocacy and support provided by Senator Jan McLucas from Queensland. From her Cairns base, she has travelled many times to Torres Strait to work towards finding a workable funding solution to address the community need. That is what local members or senators with a particular interest in an area do—we work to find solutions. We do not just come in here, throw a few words down on paper, have a bit of a dummy-spit in the chamber and then walk out and say, 'Job done,' before putting out a media release saying, 'Am I not wonderful?' That is how I read this motion from the member for Leichhardt. You can come in here and describe a problem, but it is more difficult to actually put up part of the solution. I come back the point that the Queensland government must surely have a role in this and that it should come to the party.

Earlier, I mentioned the biochar project in my area. It is an $8½ million project being funded to the tune of $4.3 million under RDAF round 2 and being run through Ballina Shire Council. This project is a first in Australia and it is something the shire council have worked on for a number of years. There has been a huge amount of work done in the community, which has provided great support. As a result, when the grant came through, all the groundwork was done—they are ready to roll. This project means that they will be doing their bit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as saving money.

Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I stand to support the motion of the member for Leichhardt on the flooding of communities in the Torres Strait. I commend the member for the determination and passion he has shown in bringing this issue to the attention of the House. I know Western Australia is a long way away from the Torres Strait, but, as the member for Shortland and the member for Hindmarsh would recall, we visited the Torres Strait Islands back in 2010 and ran a health inquiry up there. We saw some of the degradation of the islands while we were there.

During the last sitting, I spoke in this place about the importance of maintaining river walls in my own electorate of Swan. My electorate shares a large section of its boundary with the Swan River and I understand the importance of river walls in maintaining the foreshore and protecting existing infrastructure along the river. Despite several requests, local councils—a group of 21 of them—have received no support from the federal government in dealing with the logistical and financial challenge of maintaining this critical infrastructure. As those affected in the Torres Strait well know, this is not a problem that can just be tucked under the rug by this government. With every delay in action, the problem becomes worse and the solution more expensive to implement.

As I said, the member for Leichhardt showed considerable passion in his speech, during which he said that this is about fixing the problem and not blaming local or state governments—which is just what the member for Moreton, who followed the member for Leichhardt, did in his speech. He started going back to the blame game, something this government promised years ago it would not indulge in.

Just yesterday, we read about the latest example of reckless waste by this government, with the Sunday Telegraphwebsite and Tim Andrews from the Australian Taxpayers Alliance describing the $3.27 million blown by jet-setting bureaucrats at the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. In the last year alone, officials from the department racked up more than 6.5 million kilometres of travel, producing 1,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, while going to talkfests about the warming planet in locations such as the Maldives, Vanuatu and the Caribbean. This extravagant travel expenditure is just one more in a long line of examples of wasteful spending by this government—wasteful spending being incurred whilst critical projects are being neglected. Officials appear to have significantly less enthusiasm for visiting the affected communities in the Torres Strait than they do for travelling to five-star resorts around the world.

This is behaviour that, unfortunately. we have come to expect from the government. The government is happy to organise summits and committees and send bureaucrats to luxurious talkfests, but, as the member for Leichhardt pointed out, when it comes to the critical task of actually taking action on issues or actually solving problems—even when the solution is as obvious as it is in this case—this government falls short time and again. Simon Crean, the Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government, made a commitment but reneged on his promise, shifting responsibility to the state and local governments and leaving locals with a commitment from the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency which represents only a small fraction of what is needed to fix the problem. Instead of fixing the problem, the government is content to shift responsibility while the locals continue to suffer from flooding events and resulting damage. I note that while local council applications in my electorate are rejected and the damage bill to coastal infrastructure in the Torres Strait continues to mount, this government has spent over $328 million on international climate change initiatives to fund upgrades to infrastructure and coastal resilience overseas. That is the real crux of the matter: the government focuses on overseas projects before it focuses on Australian projects. As my colleague the member for Leichhardt has said, Torres Strait Islanders have every right to feel neglected and offended by the government's response. However, I do see hope at the end of the tunnel. The Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change listened to my recent speech on the river walls in Swan. He said that he would be happy to look at the issue and meet with some of the people from those councils, who are in Canberra at the moment, including the Mayor of the City of South Perth, Sue Doherty. He has said on a couple of occasions that he will make himself available. I applaud him for giving consideration to meet with the people who have been putting in submissions for river wall projects on the Swan River. I will finish by again stating my support for the Torres Strait Islanders. I support the member for Leichhardt. The huge commitments overseas should be matched in Australia.

Deborah O'Neill (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about this motion and to note the differences between those opposite and we as a Labor government in our understandings of what leadership means. The Labor government wants to make sure that we lead in the local regions. As a Labor government, when we see a problem we get on with the job and move towards a solution. We see in this motion that is before the chamber today the classic strategy of the Liberal Party and the National Party: describing a problem, whinging about the problem, whinging about any offer of a solution to the problem and continuing in that same vein indefinitely. We have seen incredible, aggressive negativity from those opposite, with the Leader of the Opposition as the leader of those who oppose everything in more ways than one.

The reality is that the issue of the management of the sea wall in Queensland is one that the Labor Party is very much dealing with. I want to acknowledge in particular the work of Senator Jan McLucas, who has announced $12 million help fund the coastal protection works in the Torres Strait Islands. We know that she is a passionate advocate for her state of Queensland. Obviously, I believe that New South Wales is and always will be the premier state. But while I take my responsibility as a representative in the national parliament seriously, I am happy to be pleased at the success of others in making sure that those who need assistance receive it. We understand that sea walls and other coastal management measures are vital to this nation and particularly to the vulnerable Torres Strait Island communities in their battle against king tides. That is why our commitment to this region through this $12 million is a very significant one.

The question is now whether Mr Entsch will approach his Liberal-National Party colleagues in Queensland and get them to get on with the job of pulling their weight. We know that they have the classic capacity to whinge, but what are they going to do? When are they going to put some money towards meeting the needs of the community? When are they going to get on with addressing the hard issues? When are they going to address the material threats facing the people of the Torres Strait Islands?

In the time that is remaining, I want to speak about Labor's commitment to the regions through the vehicle of our regional development authorities. In my own region, I want to acknowledge the former head of my RDA, John Dawson, and his CEO, Anthony Dow. They were instrumental in helping us achieve success in our bid for funds in the first round of grants from the Regional Development Australia Fund. That round provided $890,000 for my local community. I am pleased to say that it added to the over $1 million gathered by the local community.

This money has gone to the coast community centre, a vital piece of infrastructure. This refurbishment means that this centre is going to be able to function much more effectively, offering assistance to those most in need. The new premises are expected to be opened before the end of this year, on time and on budget. The centre will then have the capacity to offer meals, shower and laundry facilities and food parcels. It will provide a community meeting room and a conference room and there be a site to make referrals for people who need help in getting that sort of advantage. It is obviously a critical piece of infrastructure in terms of building the capacity and developing the confidence of individuals. It would not have been able to be delivered under the regional rorts system that was run under the Howard government. This was a transparent process. The best bid went forward. This will have a profound and positive impact in my area, again showing Labor's leadership in getting on with the job. I am also pleased to put on the record that in the second round we were successful in getting $2.5 million in funding for the Narara Valley sporting precinct. I want to acknowledge the leadership of the new chair of our board, Dave Abrahams, and his very hardworking assistant and CEO, Andrew Roach, who made sure that we put in a fantastic bid. We have matching community funding for this money from the federal government. This $2.5 million is for a project worth $5.18 million. This project will incorporate the construction of new sporting fields, floodlighting and recreational facilities, bringing a much-needed capacity to our area. (Time expired)

Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on this very important private member's motion. I thank the member for Leichhardt for his ongoing dedication to ensuring that the sea walls in the Torres Strait Islands are maintained. There are six particular islands in the Torres Strait Regional Council area which every year are heavily affected by king tides, the islands of Saibai, Boigu, Masig, Iama, Warraber and Poruma. These islands are some of the worst hit in the world. The king tides inundate roads, homes and businesses and, in a further blow to the local communities, its cemeteries. The Torres Strait Island Regional Council commissioned a report which showed that at least $22 million is required to rebuild the sea walls in the region. On that issue, the government and the Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government, the member for Hotham, have not done enough. Frankly, the locals are fed up.

On 18 August 2011, this House passed with bipartisan support a motion proposed by the member for Leichhardt. This motion called on the government to commit to restore and rebuild the damaged sea walls on the outer islands of the Torres Strait. On that date, the government publicly committed itself to providing funds and the Torres Strait community took that undertaking in good faith. They were excited that there would be action—until November 2011, when the minister reneged on his promise, claiming that the issue was suddenly one for which state governments and local councils should be responsible. The minister's most recent announcement, which was on 4 June 2012, was yet another example of this government pronouncing that they are going to fund an important cause and take action on it while carefully leaving out critical details, such that the so-called funding will not be directed to where it is needed most.

The member for Leichhardt noted that the announced $5 million is a cruel hoax. Firstly, as we all know, that is simply not enough funding to adequately address the issue of the failing sea walls. They do not know where the other $7 million will come from. On top of that, the minister said that the Queensland state government has to put in $12 million as well. Perhaps if the minister visited my home state more often he would understand that after 20 years of the Australian Labor Party there is no money left. As former federal Treasurer Peter Costello advised last Friday, Labor sent Queensland almost bankrupt. It is now not in a position to commit to funding this. The Labor government did nothing in their 20 years. The federal government must recommit itself to fixing this problem now and deliver real solutions.

Yesterday, I spoke to the Mayor of the Torres Strait Island Regional Council, Mr Fred Gela. Fred was locally born and educated and is passionate about the future of the Torres Strait Islands and surrounding areas. As the mayor—he is in his second term—he highlighted to me the absolute urgency of getting funding to restore the dilapidated sea walls. The situation is so serious that Fred has previously pleaded with the Prime Minister, unfortunately to no avail, for adequate funding, saying that if it is not given Torres Strait Islanders could become displaced refugees. Therefore, I speak today because it is an important opportunity to remind the government that they are overseeing serious failures in this policy area, and in many others. The minister's announcements in June came days after the member for Leichhardt tabled this motion. So I am pleased that the coalition has been able to finally pressure the government into acting, even if their announcement was insufficient.

I would also like to thank Mr Fred Gela as well as Mr Ron Saisa, the Torres Strait Regional Authority member for Saibai Island. While Ministers Crean, Macklin and McLucas have made various announcements taking credit for issues in the region, the only two people, as the member for Leichhardt has mentioned, who should receive credit and acknowledgement are Fred and Ron. They are to be commended on their hard work and dedication, and their advocacy for land and sea matters in the region. This motion calls on the government to provide funding and further investigate remediation works for the affected seawalls. I remind the government that people in the Torres Strait Islands region need to see action. They need action now not weasel words, and we need to see action quickly.

Kirsten Livermore (Capricornia, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think I might have come into debate the wrong motion because I thought it was about the Torres Strait Islands seawalls and remediation works that are needed to combat serious erosion and inundation—the same seawalls that the government have provided $12 million for in the last couple of weeks. In fact, we are now calling on the member for Ryan's colleagues in the LNP government in Queensland to match that funding and come on board, and be part of the solution, not continue to carp about the problem. I might also point out that, while the member for Ryan and others on her side of the debate are right to point out the very proactive approach of the Torres Strait Regional Authority and the Torres Strait Regional Council on this very important matter, the submission by the Torres Strait Regional Authority to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Climate Change, Water, Environment and the Arts inquiry into the effects of climate change on coastal communities pointed out that it was in fact the Queensland Labor Senator Jan McLucas who made a very impassioned plea back on 10 October 2006 to the former Howard government to take action on this issue. So I just point that out to members opposite, and I now return to the motion.

I was driving through my electorate a couple of weeks ago back from a terrific event at St Lawrence when I heard a report on the radio of the projects that were to be funded under this latest round of Regional Development funding. While I was a little disappointed that a project I was very supportive of in my own electorate had not been funded this time around, I was absolutely thrilled to hear that such a significant amount of funding was being made available to the Torres Strait Regional Authority. I mentioned the inquiry back in 2008 and 2009 when our climate change committee looked at the problems facing coastal communities, and in this case particularly Indigenous communities facing the impacts of climate change and possible sea level rise, and we heard at some length from the Torres Strait Regional Authority about the very serious issue of coastal inundation and erosion in all of the Torres Strait Islands. Six in particular were identified in their evidence. The Torres Strait Regional Authority did a terrific job of putting their case and outlining the extent of the problem, and urging remedial action. The government have come forward with $12 million towards this program of works. It is estimated that the entire program to safeguard those islands would come to $24 million, but any fair-minded person would recognise that $12 million pledged by the federal government is making a very serious attempt to play a positive role in addressing these problems. The $12 million will go to rebuilding or building seawalls and wave return walls, particularly on the most vulnerable islands of Boigu and Saibai. They were amongst the six islands that the Torres Strait Regional Authority described in evidence to our climate change committee. There has already been some significant damage to those islands. What comes up most often is the damage that has been suffered by the cemetery and to marine facilities on those islands. These seawalls will go a long way to reassuring the residents of the islands that they can continue to live safely and securely and that their community assets and their cultural heritage will be protected.

It is an example of how regional funding from this government can be made available to communities to meet their priorities. I call on the LNP government in Queensland to match this funding as a matter of priority. (Time expired)

Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship and Settlement) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a great pleasure to rise for the second time in this 43rd Parliament to support a motion on this issue by my very good friend and colleague, the Chief Opposition Whip and member for Leichhardt. The member's passion and interest in this problem cannot be doubted. I congratulate him on the way he represents his constituents in this place, particularly those that reside in the Torres Strait.

Of course, we are here debating the rebuilding of seawalls on the two Torres Strait Islands of Saibai and Boigu. This is a terrible story that has been going on for four years. My colleagues have comprehensively covered the background of this issue. Effectively, the seawalls that protect the villages on these mud islands have deteriorated to the extent that, when the king tides occur, intense flooding occurs and the communities get severely damaged. The member for Leichhardt has previously relayed terrible stories in this House about graves in cemeteries in Saibai getting washed out into the ocean after the terrible flooding. It is a tragedy that in the 21st century in Australia we are still seeing instances like this.

I also take intense interest in matters pertaining to the Torres Strait, particularly as they relate to my shadow portfolio areas of international development assistance. I have been working with the member for Leichhardt on issues relating to AusAID funding for tuberculosis treatment for PNG nationals, which affects the people who reside in the Torres Strait Islands. The Torres Strait Island Regional Council Mayor Fred Gela put out a press release on 1 February this year which said:

Mayor Gela said that Warren Entsch’s achievement was great in gaining Federal support when the Private Members motion received bipartisanship in regards to funding the restoration and construction of seawalls in our affected communities, only to be advised by the Federal government that it was State’s obligation to fund such issues.

"Stop passing the buck between Federal and State Government," Cr. Gela said.

"We are all Australians and we are calling upon the Federal Government to put their money where their mouth is.

"They supported the private members bill, so it is in fact their responsibility to determine how and where the funds will come from.

Then surprise, surprise, after Minister Crean reneged on a commitment—after the Labor Party supported the private members' bill—the member for Leichhardt put this motion on the Notice Paper and, guess what, the federal government announced some funding. This announcement came just a few days after the member tabled the motion but, again like so much of what this government does, there is a twist. There is always a twist. You can never take an announcement by this government on any face value.

The announcement—and I have the press release in front of me—was made that the government would commit $5 million from the Regional Development Australia Fund plus up to $7 million in additional funding, which apparently comes out of thin air because nobody knows where that $7 million is coming from. If they were genuine they would announce $12 million, straight and upfront, for the Torres Strait coming under the Regional Development Australia Fund. But now there is a catch, and there is always a catch. The Queensland government must match it with $12 million worth of contribution. What a sneaky, underhanded way of saying that you are going to provide funding. This government knows full well that the Queensland government has been left in a financially unviable state by the former Labor government. The incoming Treasury brief to the Newman government stated that the levels of spending and borrowing were unsustainable. Then we have seen the interim report of the Commission of Audit, headed by my distinguished former colleague Peter Costello, which has revealed the Queensland government debt—

Mr Neumann interjecting—

You don't like the word 'debt'; it really upsets you. The debt is $100 billion. Let me repeat that: $100 billion. You hate that word 'debt'. Well, your previous state government colleagues put us in this situation, yet this government makes an announcement that it is dependent and hinges on the funding by the state government. As the member for Leichhardt said, this is a cruel hoax.

Mr Neumann interjecting—

Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! There will be less interjection.

Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship and Settlement) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. That was very timely. As the member for Leichhardt says, this is a cruel hoax. It is smoke and mirrors, and every federal Labor member from the great state of Queensland should hang their head in shame for the damage that their party is doing to our great state. I fully support the member for Leichhardt, and I fully congratulate him for his tireless efforts, for his never-ending work and particularly for putting this motion. I commend the motion to the House.

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This federal Labor government has committed $33.6 million across eight projects with a value of more than $134 million in my state of Queensland. We have done that, and there are a number of projects, two in my electorate. The Somerset Regional Council received a second round of funding of $500,000 towards a $1 million Kilcoy Showgrounds facility development, and the Ipswich City Council received $5 million towards the $15 million Robelle Domain stage 2 parkland development.

I also noticed $5 million going to the Torres Strait Island Regional Council towards the $24 million Torres Strait coastal protection works. I then decided to have a look at the application and what the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government Arts and Sport said on their project fact sheet, which I would like those opposite to have a bit of a look at from time to time, because it talks about the Torres Strait coastal protection works helping to protect low-lying island communities in the Torres Strait from destructive coastal erosion. Then there is the matter of how the project will be funded. The application was made by the Torres Strait Island Regional Council, which asked for $5 million from the federal government and made the point that they could leverage a further $19 million in partnership funding. That is what they said, and the project was to be completed by 30 June 2015. We have come up with $12 million: there is $5 million from Regional Development Australia, and Senator Jan McLucas announced up to $12 million to help fund coastal protection works in the Torres Strait.

I have heard those opposite from Queensland waxing lyrical about the member for Leichhardt, but the Regional Development Australia fund and the money we are rolling out—over $1 billion—is funded under the minerals resource rent tax. Every member opposite, including the member for Leichhardt, voted against that legislation, which provides the funding source from which we have given money to the Torres Strait council in relation to this particular Torres Strait coastal protection work. So the member for Leichhardt really has a gall to come into this chamber and say to us that we should be providing all this money when he and all those opposite voted against the very $5 million that is being funded under the Regional Development Australia fund, opposing every last dollar and cent for the Torres Strait coastal protection works.

They are not acknowledging the fact that the Torres Strait Island Regional Council actually put a proposal to the federal government asking for the $5 million. Those opposite say we should be providing $24 million. There is no recognition of the fact that their government—the LNP state government—has not put a brass razoo towards this project, or of the fact that the regional council said that they could get partnership leveraging funding assuming that they could get some money from the LNP state government, as we expected. But no; the LNP state government have just gutted road funding, by hundreds of millions of dollars. All those members opposite who say that we should be putting more money into infrastructure in Queensland should take note of the fact that their state colleagues are gutting road and infrastructure funding in Queensland.

We called on them to put the $12 million into this project in the Torres Strait at the same time as we have doubled funding for infrastructure in Queensland: $8.5 billion for road, rail and port infrastructure. But those opposite not only voted against that in terms of the Regional Development Australia Fund that we are providing for the Torres Strait Island Regional Council they voted against every last dollar and cent that we are putting into Queensland in that regard. If anybody should hang their heads in shame, it should be the member for Leichhardt and all his LNP comrades and colleagues from Queensland, who opposed this funding.

We are happy to work and provide funding for regional Australia and the Torres Strait to take action in relation to the damaging effects of climate change in the Torres Strait and all of Queensland. We are prepared to do it. We are partnering with the local councils, whether it is the Somerset Regional Council, the Ipswich City Council or the Torres Strait. Those opposite are opposing every dollar and cent. (Time expired)

Debate adjourned.