Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the amendment be agreed to.

This government are committed to building the infrastructure of the 21st century and we are getting on with the job. We have committed $50 billion to infrastructure in our cities, our regional centres and our outback communities. This is $16.4 billion more than those opposite promised and without the deal-destroying conditions Labor imposed on its funding. I do not want to take up the parliament's time any more on this bill. It was a simple bill; its objectives no-one opposed. But because of the antics of those opposite, it has taken up far too much of the parliament's time already. The only result of the deliberate delays by those opposite has been to create uncertainty for important local government road maintenance and upgrade programs. After the passage of the Land Transport Infrastructure Amendment Bill 2014, local government will have its R2R money, including a double payment in 2015-16, and can plan for the future with confidence.

I am pleased that today the opposition has had the good sense not to vote against the government in the Senate. That will enable the continuation of the Roads to Recovery program, despite the fact that they voted against it in the House of Representatives earlier. Passing this bill now in the House will provide funding certainty for local government by continuing the vitally important Roads to Recovery program, created under the Howard-Anderson government. There is $2.1 billion committed over the next five years of the program. That is an increase of $350 million.

Concern about the continuation of the Roads to Recovery program has been reported in the media in recent weeks and has been expressed by local government and industry bodies, and in our discussions about this bill. This concern reflects how critical this program is to all Australians. I am pleased that with the passage of this bill the government will be able to make possible the project funding to all local governments.

The bill as passed in the Senate has incorporated one amendment, to insert the word 'integration' in section 11(b) after 'efficiency'. This will mean that considerations as to the extent to which a project will improve the integration of transport operations will be a matter to which a minister may have regard. The government sees no reason to oppose this simple amendment.

Australia's future growth will be significantly influenced by our capacity to deliver a more appropriate, efficient and effective infrastructure. The amendments in this bill provides a framework to better and more efficiently deliver the infrastructure Australia critically needs. Let us now get on and pass the bill so the money can flow to government. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.