George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources. Will the Deputy Prime Minister update the House on his vision for rural and regional Australia. What progress has the Liberal-National coalition government made in restoring agriculture as a fundamental pillar of the Australian economy?

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. It was great to go to Central Queensland, to be in the local member's area. It was great to be with a local member who has been working so hard to make sure that we maintain the jobs and the prosperity of Central Queensland and, especially, of Northern Queensland, where he is from. It was great to be up there and to be part of a process which now sees that Pacific Reef Fisheries in Ayr now has final approval, through the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and this will lead to 100 new full-time jobs and, during the peak part of the season, a further 70 to 100 on top of that.

This goes to show how we are making sure that it is not just a vision for agriculture but a vision for jobs, a vision for people getting jobs. It is also very important that we continue to build on our vision of greater markets, of better prices and of greater economic development for regional areas. It is not just in the local member's area. We have seen that even in the New England area, where the expansion of the Thomas Foods food-processing area, their land plant, will see another 200 new jobs. Up at Guyra, we see a further 10 hectares of glasshouses, with another 170 new full-time jobs.

But what is really exciting, of course, is to be part of a government here in the coalition between the National and Liberal parties that is actually going to construct more water infrastructure and is in the process of doing it right now. It was great to be able to go over the Fitzroy Basin and see the sites for Rookwood and to look over Eden Bann, to have a look on the map for the site for Nathan, to understand the importance of Urannah Dam, in the member's electorate, and to be part of this process where we have put half a billion dollars, $500 million, on the table, $50 million of that for the assessment of dams. There are five of those processes. Three are already being conducted by the CSIRO. One is for the extension of Nullinga. Another one is for the extension of the Ord scheme. It is currently being assessed who will go forward with that analysis. Then we have $25 million for further dams and to see more than 50 applications that have come in.

This is the vision, the vision of a side of government that is not scared of building water infrastructure, that is not scared of having that vision for how we advance the base price of land, from a dry acre around St George, for example, at $200 or 300 an acre to an irrigated acre of up to around $13,000 an acre in some instances, certainly from $7,000 to $13,000 an acre. This is the vision that builds the size of our economy, and this is the side of parliament that has it. I am looking forward to continuing on with this vision, because I know this is the vision that provides the jobs that our nation so crucially needs.