Llew O'Brien (Wide Bay, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move the motion as amended:

That this House:

(1) congratulates the Government on the success of the National Stronger Regions Fund (NSRF);

(2) acknowledges the significant and positive impact that the NSRF is having in rural, remote and disadvantaged regions around Australia; and

(3) notes that the:

(a) Government is investing $125,286,955 in 40 projects around Queensland under 3 rounds of the NSRF; and

(b) NSRF is delivering infrastructure projects to create jobs in regional areas, improve community facilities and support stronger and more sustainable communities across Queensland.

I congratulate the Liberal-National coalition government on the success of its National Stronger Regions Fund. The National Stronger Regions Fund was an initiative of the National Party, led by my predecessor in Wide Bay. The former Leader of the Nationals and former Deputy Prime Minister, Warren Truss, understood the need for the federal government to provide support to local councils and community groups to assist them to build infrastructure in their communities. The National Stronger Regions Fund supports projects that address disadvantage in regions around Australia. These projects are helping to unlock the economic potential of local communities and create jobs.

In Queensland, the coalition government is investing more than $125 million in 40 projects. In Wide Bay, I am pleased to say that the Gympie Regional Council has received $5 million for its new aquatic centre. The new aquatic centre includes a 50-metre outdoor regional competition pool as well as a 25-metre heated indoor pool. I am really pleased the federal government has been able to partner in this project and deliver funding through the National Stronger Regions Fund to assist with the construction of the facility. The new aquatic centre is destined to become a prized community asset. It will be used by families for recreation, and schools and swimming squads for training and competition. It is creating jobs and supporting new investment during the construction phase and will sustain local jobs once it is open. There is no doubt the aquatic centre will bring a real boost to Gympie and Wide Bay.

The National Stronger Regions Fund is also supporting the renovation and refurbishment of Gympie's Pavilion Conference and Reception Centre. The coalition government has allocated more than $548,000 to the project that was brought forward by the Gympie Regional Council. When finished, the new multipurpose conference and events facility will create new business, recreation and social opportunities for Gympie. I thank the Gympie Regional Council for these National Stronger Regions Fund applications, and I look forward to the benefits they will deliver.

In Maryborough the National Stronger Regions Fund is supporting stage 2 of the Fraser Coast Military Trail through a $900,000 commitment from the coalition government. This iconic project tells the story of the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli and the first man ashore, a Maryborough man, Duncan Chapman. The $1.8 million Fraser Coast Military Trail is a project of national significance, and when completed has the potential to draw tourists from all over Australia to Maryborough. The war memorial will tell the stories of courage and bravery, sacrifice and service of our diggers, and will help to preserve the Anzac legend for generations. The project will feature a representation of the cliffs of Gallipoli, information bays and specially-commissioned sculptures. A trench walk symbolising the Western Front and a memorial of the Battle of Pozieres, where Major Duncan Chapman was killed in 1916, will complete this very special and unique landmark project. The Fraser Coast Military Trail tells a story of our region's involvement in the war effort, linking local attractions and new works. It commemorates Wide Bay's significant links to military activities and its training and support services on the home front. I give credit to the support of the Fraser Coast Regional Council, Maryborough RSL and especially Nancy Bates for bringing this unique project forward.

Also in Maryborough, the National Stronger Regions Fund is supporting the extension of the Brolga Theatre. The coalition government has committed $325,000 towards the construction of an all-weather area that will enable the theatre to hold large functions and host an even greater variety of public events. I thank Bill Trevor, Scott Rowe and the Wide Bay Regional Development Australia Committee, for their work in assisting the applicants to develop these proposals that will deliver lasting benefits to Wide Bay communities.

All of these projects are job creating and will strengthen the economy and provide more social and cultural opportunities for people in Wide Bay and visitors to our region. These projects would not be possible without the support of the Liberal National coalition government through the National Stronger Regions Fund.

Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to rise today and speak about the National Stronger Regions Fund. It may be that Queensland's disadvantaged regions are benefiting from the National Stronger Regions Fund, as asserted by the member's motion, although I dare say some of my colleagues on this side may have more to say on that point.

As the member for one of Western Australia's most disadvantaged areas, I fail to see how this program has helped my constituents one little bit. The reality is that the outer suburban regions of Perth have been forgotten by the Turnbull Liberal government. A simple glance at the projects funded by this program over the past three years charts the increasing stranglehold that the National Party has on the Turnbull government. In round 1 of the program we saw money flowing to only one suburban area in Perth in need of new infrastructure, Belmont. Round 2 saw infrastructure funded in only one suburb again, in Rockingham. Then take a look at round 3. The outer suburban funding dries up altogether, and the National Stronger Regions Fund becomes the Building Better Regions Fund.

I am certainly not arguing that WA's remote and rural towns should not receive funding under the program. Of course they should, and they do. Nor do I support a regional grants program funding projects in the inner city, like the $2.5 million committed to South Perth in that most recent round of this program, a blatant piece of pork barrelling for the contested seat of Swan. But outer suburban areas are in crisis across the country—particularly in Perth. High unemployment, combined with years of neglect from state and federal Liberal governments has left local infrastructure, like sporting complexes and community hubs, in a state of disrepair.

One perfect example of the hypocrisy in project selection under this program comes in my electorate of Burt. The city of Armadale has been campaigning for funding for a year-round, heated indoor aquatic facility for a number of years now. More than $4.5 million in preparatory work has already been completed by the city for this $26 million project. So when the National Stronger Regions Fund appeared in the budget, the City of Armadale thought it had found the solution and put in an application. They had good reason to think that it would be a suitable project. After all, round 1 of the National Stronger Regions Fund funded a water park in Craigieburn in Melbourne's outer suburbs, and another two pools in the Northern Territory and Queensland. Alas, the city was knocked back in round 2 and it appeared that the residents would be forced to wait another five years until funding could be sourced—right up until an election was called, that is, and the project was funded as an election commitment.

This is a vitally important project for my electorate and grant programs like the National Stronger Regions should exist to ensure that, outside of contested election cycles, local governments and community organisations in our outer suburbs can access federal funding. But, of course, we discovered during the election that the National Stronger Regions Fund would no longer exist as we knew it in this new parliament: it would be replaced by the Building Better Regions Fund, which strips from outer suburban councils and groups an opportunity to even apply for the funding.

So the funding for the Armadale pool through the Community Development Grants, in this context, confirms how blatant a political move supporting this funding was by the government. It was knocked back in round 2 of the National Stronger Regions Fund. The city applied again for round 3—they received no approval for this—and then the government announced it would not be able to fund metro projects. But, miraculously, the government announced funding for the Armadale pool through its once-every-three-years Community Development Grants Program.

We are, of course, grateful that this project has been funded and I do take some credit for applying political pressure on the government leading to that funding announcement. Remember: all of this is at a time when unemployment in the city fringes in my seat is almost triple that of the national rate. In Armadale, we are seeing unemployment at 17.2 per cent. Infrastructure projects provide for young people the employment opportunities that have disappeared in Western Australia as the mining construction boom winds down.

I am regularly contacted by community groups in my area looking for funding grants from the federal government for infrastructure projects. While other programs exist for smaller projects, there is nothing that provides substantial funding opportunities for infrastructure projects that will benefit entire communities. Why should our outer suburbs be put at a disadvantage simply to allow support for the National seats and, further, to support Malcolm Turnbull's prime ministership? The Nationals are buying votes; the Prime Minister is buying votes in his party room; and outer suburbs, like in Burt, are missing out—once again, ignored by a Liberal government.

Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to rise in the House and to speak on the coalition's $1 billion National Stronger Regions Fund on the basis that has driven improvements right across the country and has provided support to two very important projects in my electorate of Forde. The National Stronger Regions Fund has been an important initiative to boost the social and economic development in Australia's regions by funding priority infrastructure projects for local communities. In rounds 1 and 1, the program supported some 162 projects across the country.

In my electorate of Forde, I was recently joined by the Minister for Regional Development, Fiona Nash, to announce two very important National Stronger Regions Fund projects. The first was nearly $1 million in funding to establish the AEIOU Logan Autism Centre of Excellence. The project will establish an AEIOU centre at Griffith University in Logan to help service the unmet and vital need for early intervention and support services for children with autism. The centre will also facilitate research, education and training opportunities as well as a resource development for parents, schoolteachers, researchers and students in partnership with key stakeholders.

This National Stronger Regions Fund project will not only help address disadvantage; it will help remove barriers to productivity and help develop education services. This in the longer term, in conjunction with projects such as Logan Together, is designed and aimed at reducing the reliance of those communities in Logan on welfare and allowing those children, when they move into adulthood, to have the skills and abilities to enter the workforce and live out their full potential.

The second project is the construction of family recovery units at Logan House recovery centre. This project was also awarded around $1 million from the National Stronger Regions Fund. Once completed, these units will provide access to drug and alcohol rehabilitation services for parents with young children. As well as providing an economic benefit to my electorate, these projects provide a tremendous amount of support to areas of disadvantage within our region.

These projects would not have been possible without funding support from the National Stronger Regions Fund. I am very pleased that the coalition government will continue this program through the refocused Building Better Regions Fund. The focus on regional, rural and remote areas will ensure smaller councils will not have to compete with the major capital city councils for funding. Regional Australia allows our cities to exist: it supplies their water, food, gas and electricity. There is huge potential for economic growth in our regional areas, which is what the Building Better Regions Fund is designed to assist by providing investment in new opportunities for regional communities.

The coalition government continues to back our regional communities with programs such as the Building Better Regions Fund, and more broadly through our other regional funds. In my electorate of Forde I have seen that, not only through National Stronger Regions Fund but also programs such as the Bridges Renewal Program, the Roads to Recovery Program and blackspot road funding. Any number of those programs contribute to improving my electorate of Forde, and both Logan City and Gold Coast city councils have benefited significantly. I commend these programs and the ongoing stewardship of this coalition government to building stronger communities across our country.

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our nation will rue the day we did not use this period of ultra low interest rates to invest in critical economic infrastructure in the regions and in our cities. We have missed an opportunity to put our people to work, and this is theft from future generations. Failure to invest in infrastructure is theft from future generations.

The government claims to stand for jobs and growth and that jobs and growth are going to come from a $50 billion tax cut for the big end of town. This is simply voodoo economics, which does not work and which is resulting in lower growth and lower infrastructure investment. It is the same old trickle-down approach we have seen from the coalition for years and years, but here we are today with the coalition patting themselves on the back over their feeble infrastructure program.

The facts are that public investment in infrastructure in Australia has been substantially cut by the coalition, whether it is in the regions, the rural areas or in our cities. The big investments that have been happening, even in regional Queensland, have been Labor investments—the Cooroy to Curra investment was predominantly a Labor investment and the gateway north is a Labor investment—because we have not had the sort of investment we should have seen from this government over a period of years. Their attempts to destroy the Clean Energy Finance Corporation is an attack on basic infrastructure when it comes to renewable energy. The facts are these: in the 2015-16 financial year the Turnbull government cut infrastructure investment by nearly $3 billion, that is 35 per cent, on what had it promised in its 2014 budget. That is what I mean when I talk about theft from future generations.

We are passing on an economic blockage to future generations. Of course, this is in sharp contrast to the massive infrastructure investment that occurred under Labor. We doubled the roads budget. We increased the rail budget more than tenfold. We invested in more public transport than every previous government in the history of the Commonwealth put together. Now we have weak global growth, we have weak wages growth and we have weak investment in infrastructure. This is an opportunity lost to our country, because when interest rates are at record lows, that is the time to invest. Indeed, that is the advice of responsible international organisations. They say the way through this period of slackness in the global economy and in economies like Australia's is to borrow. And they argue that that is good economics. That is their advice to the government of Australia. So we need quality investment in both physical and human infrastructure. We need it to lift our productivity and to lift our living standards for the long term.

It is our failure to invest in physical infrastructure and quality education that is leaving a huge infrastructure deficit for our kids. We can only solve this problem of lack of investment in the private sector by investing from the public sector. You only need to glance at the weak wage growth that we have in our community to see the urgent need for a government led program of investment to drive growth in the private sector. That of course is what is being recommended to the government of Australia by the International Monetary Fund.

The cost of capital is at record lows. The International Monetary Fund says that it is actually cheaper to drive your economy, more efficient to drive your economy, when interest rates are low—compared to the equivalent set of public sector cuts that this government is putting in place, which are actually leading to the weaker wage growth, the weaker economic growth in our economy. So, as the IMF has concluded, debt funding physical infrastructure at prevailing low interest rates can lead to faster deficit reduction through higher growth rather than indiscriminate spending cuts across the budget.

So investing in infrastructure is precisely the sort of assertive fiscal policy that our country needs—indeed, that the global economy needs—rather than a reliance on monetary policy, which is failing now to provide the stimulus it once did. Of course when that low monetary policy is combined with a reluctance to deploy fiscal policy, what you get is a slack labour market. It may well be the headline unemployment rate has a five in front of it but hours worked are at their lowest levels ever and the workforce is casualised, so people out there know in their bones that what we need is a boost to demand, which is only in the first instance going to come from a productive investment in productivity enhancing infrastructure which will drive our economy for the future and provide the living standards that we seek for our children.

Damian Drum (Murray, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I suppose it is a very similar pattern that we see in this chamber: firstly, we have a Labor member standing up accusing the National Party of pork-barrelling. We are quite happy to have the Labor Party talking about Nationals pork-barrelling projects in our regions. We know it is not the case but we do like being accused just the same. I suppose it is also par for the course when we have the former Treasurer standing up saying that we need to borrow more and we need to increase national debt. He says if we are going to work our way out of this low economic growth, the best way is to just borrow more money and spend more money.

A government member: Glad he's not the Treasurer.

Well he was the Treasurer and I think he is in that sphere. The Nationals understand that it simply costs more to deliver projects and it costs more to deliver services in the regions than what it does in our major regional cities or in our capital cities. Unless we are prepared to make these additional investments into our communities, then we are always going to have people in regional areas, country areas and remote areas who are going to have less services and are going to live a lesser standard of living because they do not have a government that understands their way of thinking. That is why the National Party and projects like the Building Better Regions Fund and the National Stronger Regions Fund are so important and so critical, increasing the investment from government in areas such as communications.

We understand that in the six years that Labor were in government under the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years not one government co-investment in communication black-spot towers was made. We had a whole raft of communities around Australia who cannot engage in what they would call normal communications. They cannot conduct their business and they cannot conduct their normal social phone calls anywhere around Australia simply because a Labor Party has no understanding about the need for co-investment.

It is similar with energy costs. Energy costs, currently, in many of the states are going through the roof but we have ideological governments at state level that are simply aiming for a reduction in gas and shutting down coal, leading to increased energy costs around regional Australia. This is having a huge impact again on the cost of energy and on jobs around Australia and around the world.

It is also worth thinking about some of the projects inside and just outside of my region that have been funded through the National Stronger Regions Fund. The first one that comes to mind is Warramunda Village in Kyabram. Warramunda received a fraction under $1 million as part of round 3 of the National Stronger Regions Fund. This investment is primarily going to assist with an $8 million to $9 million investment in a dementia ward. Dementia is something that is becoming more and more prevalent around our aged-care facilities as the people who are coming into our aged-care facilities are getting older and, therefore, there is an increase in the percentage of those residents suffering from dementia.

In nearby electorates we had a $2.4 million investment in the Bendigo Tennis Association proposal. That project has been waiting some four or five years for funding. Again, the local knowledge of the politicians in that area meant they were able to make a good case as to why that project should get up. The Shepparton Art Museum has received $10 million from Senator Nash. It is part of a $40 million build for what will be a world-class art museum for a place like Shepparton, which is desperate to bridge that cultural gap that it as yet has not quite been able to. We are also hoping that the National Stronger Regions Fund will help La Trobe University expand in Shepparton. They are looking for some assistance there. They are very eager to look into the application stage of the National Stronger Regions Fund. If they are able to get that, certainly a contribution will assist in them growing even more nursing courses for the region of the Goulburn Valley.

The National Stronger Regions Fund is now going to offer a greater opportunity because it is not just going to be for bricks and mortar but it is also going to be for opportunities to do with leadership, community capacity building and work in areas other than just building. It is going to be a fantastic program. I hope everybody gets behind it. I want to commend the Deputy Leader of the Nationals, Fiona Nash, for running this program. (Time expired)

Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is amazing that when the National Party want to be congratulated for so-called funding projects they will not acknowledge that they have cut funding for infrastructure in Australia. Today I want to address the issue of the chronic cuts and lack of infrastructure funding for my home state of Queensland. We had the member for Forde in here earlier wanting to be congratulated for getting people around his community, but the single one obstacle that is blocking funding for the M1 is the member for Forde. There is money on a table from the state government; money on the table from the federal opposition; money on the table and endorsement and support from the chamber of commerce, by the Logan City Council mayor and the full council, residents and chamber of commerce associations. But the member for Forde refuses to back his community. He refuses to stand up to this government that is chronically underinvesting in Queensland.

I note that we heard the National Party saying that this is all about the regions—and I note the term 'stronger regions'—but we also note that today's motion should acknowledge the $13.2 million National Stronger Regions Fund grant in the member for Warringah's electorate and the fact we are spending $3.2 million in the minister for the environment's electorate of Kooyong. I do not know if there has been a definition change for 'region'—

Government Member:

A government member interjecting—

Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will take the interjection, through you, Madam Chair: not a dollar has been spent in the southwest of Brisbane, and that brings me to the issue of infrastructure. For 13 long years under the Howard government, those opposite sat there—year in, year out—and refused to spend a dollar on the Ipswich Motorway. And they have the gall to come in here and lecture anyone else about infrastructure funding. It took a Labor federal government and a Labor state government to deliver billions of dollars worth of infrastructure upgrade.

We have also seen now, finally, the missing piece of the puzzle: the Darra to Rocklea upgrade. Money was set aside back under the federal Labor government, and what happened? The Queensland LNP state government under Campbell Newman ripped it up and refused to fund that project, time and time again, just like Cross River Rail in Brisbane.

But it gets worse. In the case of Cross River Rail, the LNP state government were prepared to fund it, and I am advised that it actually had gone through the cabinet process after the former government led by Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan allocated $716 million for the Cross River Rail project. The media release was written. The media opportunity was organised by the then LNP state transport minister and the then LNP Premier, alongside the government. What happened? This time, former Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister Tony Abbott got in the road and refused to support the project. So, of course, the LNP state government under the leadership of Campbell Newman ripped up that project as well, and we are still waiting for infrastructure to be built—a critical piece of public transport infrastructure.

It is just like, in my electorate, the Ipswich Motorway upgrade: it always takes a Labor state government and an activist federal Labor opposition to make sure that these projects are delivered. Because of that commitment made by Bill Shorten alongside me, the member for Moreton and the member for Blair earlier this year, we finally saw action from the coalition. But it should not have to take years and years of years of lobbying. More importantly, it is not about the politicians; it is about the people in my community who have had to sit in traffic week in, week out because this government is refusing to invest. We have seen close to $1 billion slashed from local government financial assistance since the budget of 2014-15. In the 2014 budget, the government promised $8 billion in infrastructure, but we know only $5.5 billion was spent.

I say again that time and time again we hear great, great motions in this chamber, but doing and acting is another thing once we get out into the community. I know that infrastructure is critical, but real investment is needed, and this government has shown no willingness to seriously deliver on the vital funding. To have the audacity to come in here when this government is letting Queensland down on projects like the M1 is sickening. But I will continue to fight to make sure that we hold this government to account. (Time expired)

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is the start of another sitting week, the final one of 2016, and here we are today talking about yet another Turnbull government commitment, with a program which is improving the lives of people in regional, rural and remote Australia. The Turnbull government is committed to building better regions, and the National Stronger Regions Fund, or NSRF, was established upon this government being elected some three years ago. NSRF plays a vital role in driving economic development, and it complements other government policies such as the $50 billion infrastructure plan, which is driving jobs and economic growth throughout regional Western Australia and, more broadly, around Australia.

But we know that those on the other side do not care about regional Australia, so I might just talk slowly so that they might learn a thing or two as I continue with my speech today. NSRF was an election commitment of the coalition in 2013 and has had a profound impact on regional Australia, particularly after the six years of abandonment by those opposite. The program has delivered over $66 million worth of projects across WA, including grants for the Karratha Arts and Community Precinct and the restoration of the Victoria Hotel in Roebourne. The third round of NSRF will deliver over $18 million worth of projects in WA and over $126 million nationally.

In my electorate of Durack, I announced that a number of projects will be delivered across the electorate and supported by the NSRF. The first one I want to talk about is in the Shire of Derby-West Kimberley, which has received $5 million for the redevelopment of the Derby Airport, which will lead to the recommencement of the regular passenger transport service and the construction of a tourism air lounge to enhance tourism in the region. This funding goes to the heart of what the program is designed to deliver, improving regional communities, as I said, with the redevelopment leading to the resumption of commercial flights to and from Derby. This is indeed good news for that town and that region.

Also in the Kimberley, the Kununurra Bushmen's Rodeo Association received over $300,000 for an outdoor multipurpose facility, which will open up the town to host international rodeo and camp drafting events, which is another brilliant outcome for that region. In the Pilbara, St John Ambulance in Port Hedland will have the benefit of a new subcentre, courtesy of over $1.7 million in funding from the NSRF. The project will allow St John Ambulance to cater for increased demand for services in the area and offer improved access to first aid training and equipment.

As I mentioned, the Karratha Arts and Community Precinct project is a project that the federal government has committed $10 million towards. This will improve the liveability of the city of Karratha and the Pilbara region, more generally. Karratha has the largest population of any town in the Pilbara, Kimberley and Gascoyne regions of northern Western Australia. It is a hub through which much of the industry and business of these regions flow through. We need to be encouraging projects that foster the growth of the spirit of the people of Karratha through arts and cultural projects such as this.

In the nearby town of Roebourne, a $2 million grant will help restore the Victoria Hotel. This is an important part of the heritage of the town and the region as a whole, as the hotel was constructed in 1893 and is still standing today—quite something in the Pilbara, I can assure you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Unfortunately, the pub has been closed since 2005 but was purchased in 2013 by the Juluwarlu Aboriginal Corporation. There are now new plans for the pub, which was famously the centre of town and will be again, I have no doubt. This restoration project aims to reveal the sites early 1900s architectural form and will position it as Roebourne's landmark, with retail space, a small business incubator and training facilities. No longer will it be a pub; it will provide very good community facilities.

The rural mid-west town of Cue was also boosted through the latest round of the program, with the town's 1895 state heritage listed building—

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Proceedings suspended from 17 : 52 to 18 : 05

With the time remaining, I would like to talk about the last four projects which will be funded thanks to the National Stronger Regions Fund. The first one is the Shire of Moora receiving $900,000 to upgrade the region's major health campus. Another is the Liebe Group, which will now get new premises in Dalwallinu—$616,000. The Shire of Kellerberrin receives $310,000 for the Centenary Park, and the Shire of Narembeen's community precinct will be funded by over $700,000 from the federal government.

Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion by the member for Wide Bay on the National Stronger Regions Fund. The member says the fund is having a significant and positive impact on rural, remote and disadvantaged regions of Australia. Nothing could be further from the truth, especially in my electorate. While the Turnbull government were handing out funding under the National Stronger Regions Program, at the same time they were starving local councils of funding through the financial assistance grants indexation freeze. Government MPs have supported the decision of their ministers and their government to reduce funding to local government by close to $1 billion since 2014-15.

Government Member:

A government member interjecting—

Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's the truth. This is cost shifting at its most appalling, and it hits hard in the regions. The regions need infrastructure and they need jobs. In my region, the unemployment rate continues to grow. Compare these figures from my electorate to the national average of 5.6 per cent: in June this year the unemployment rate in Kurri Kurri and Abermain was 10.8 per cent, in Maitland it was 9.9 per cent and in Raymond Terrace it was 11.5 per cent, almost double the national average—a disgrace! How can this government boast about stronger regions when so many are out of work?

There is one project on the table that would boost many regions along the east coast of Australia, and that is the high-speed rail. A 21st century fast train from Melbourne to Brisbane, via Sydney and Canberra, was introduced to this place by the shadow minister for infrastructure and championed by the Leader of the Opposition. High-speed rail would not only revolutionise interstate travel in this country but also be an enormous boost to the regions, especially to regions like mine, the electorate of Paterson, which straddles the productive lower Hunter Valley and beautiful Port Stephens and is just a stone's throw from the major regional city of Newcastle. With a high-speed rail station in Newcastle, everything in our region would be a great deal closer to everyone along the eastern seaboard. The government should support Labor's call for a high-speed rail authority to get on with planning this incredible and important piece of infrastructure.

Back to the National Stronger Regions Fund: the member for Wide Bay says the fund 'is delivering infrastructure projects to create jobs in regional areas, improve community facilities and support stronger and more sustainable communities'. Maybe in his electorate of Wide Bay and maybe in the leafy city seats of Warringah and Kooyong, but certainly not in Paterson.

My electorate of Paterson missed out on funding under the last round of the National Stronger Regions Fund and that is a great shame. It is more than a shame: it is actually a disgrace, because the project that missed out on federal funding was Maitland City Council's Mount Vincent waste transfer and recycling facility.

The council applied in March for $5.2 million of the $17 million cost of the project under the National Stronger Regions Fund, but found out just in November that it had missed out. The fact that this project missed out leaves a $5 million black hole in a $17 million project. Who will pay for that?

The tip at Mount Vincent Waste Management Centre is near capacity, so this project simply has to go ahead. We have five people moving to the Maitland area every day. It is one of the fastest-growing areas in the state. Who will fund the shortfall? The ratepayers of Maitland? If the National Stronger Regions Fund were really as significant and positive as the member for Wide Bay would have us believe it would have granted the sought-after contribution to Maitland City Council's Mount Vincent Waste Management Centre, but it did not. It is hardly a success story.

Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was hoping to get here earlier, to hear the member for Wide Bay speak. But soon afterwards the member for Lilley started speaking and I grabbed the popcorn in my office suite, because it was just hilarious. It was like watching a comedy video. The member for Lilley was exactly the same as the member for Oxley and now the member for Paterson. They just love to throw stones when they actually have absolutely no credibility when it comes to infrastructure.

I looked up some of the facts and, despite the member for Lilley previously being the Treasurer of this country, in the 2010-11 budget Labor estimated that they would spend $6.8 billion—$6.8 billion!—in the 2012-13 year on infrastructure. The actual—how much they really spent—was $3.6 billion, barely 50 per cent. As we know already—other people have referred to this era as the 'post-truth' era, where the Labor Party will not hesitate to tell a filthy lie—they might have zero when it comes to truth but they only have 50 per cent when it comes to delivery of infrastructure.

I was also delighted to hear the furphies around the Queensland contribution to infrastructure from the Labor Party. After all, the person who put this motion is the honourable member for Wide Bay, a great LNP representative and a great Queenslander. In Wide Bay, just like in my seat of Fairfax, and running all the way up the coast either way in Queensland, we have the Bruce Highway. When the Labor Party were in power they committed to $4.1 billion on the Bruce Highway. They never did it—they never do—but they committed $4.1 billion. How much has the coalition committed to Queensland's Bruce Highway? It is $6.7 billion—$6.7 billion!

Ms Swanson interjecting—

And I am delighted to have the uproar of congratulatory messages from the opposition here. Mr Deputy Speaker Hogan, do you know that just within the Sunshine Coast region, where I am, over a billion dollars will be spent on the Bruce Highway in coming years? In only the last week or so we have announced a $181 million concessional loan for the Sunshine Coast Airport. The coalition actually delivers, and that is the contrast.

The National Stronger Regions Fund has been a roaring success. Of course, Labor's equivalent was the RDAF—the Regional Development Australia Fund. When I looked this up I found the Auditor-General's report from 2014, which spoke scathingly of its mismanagement and poor administration. Again, I find this bizarre, that here Labor are, coming in in numbers and trying to bag the coalition's performance on delivery when they themselves actually have none. Three rounds of the National Stronger Regions Fund have been enormously successful: $630 million. And can I say how happy I am that within the seat of Fairfax, the Nambour Heritage Tramway project was a recipient in round 3.

For those who do not know Nambour, it is a town of which I am enormously proud as a member of parliament. In 2003, the Moreton sugar mill closed. It had been running in Nambour for well over 100 years—106 years. That had an enormous impact on the town's economy and on the town's identity. One of the things that the town looked at as a community with their local councillor, Greg Rogerson, was a revitalisation plan, and the heritage tramway was a part of that. Half a million dollars through this National Stronger Regions Fund will help get that tram off the ground or back on track.

I want to pay credit here to Michael Foley. Michael unfortunately left us some weeks ago. He passed away. But I want to pay tribute to Michael today. He was responsible for ensuring the heritage listing of that trail track. I also want to pay tribute to the committee—Paul Moriarty, Peter Clarke, Ron King, Kristen Beckhaus, Rhonda Billet-Haire—the Nambour Alliance and indeed the Nambour community. It is funds like this that the coalition delivers that get regional local communities boosting their economy again, and I am so happy to be speaking today in support of the motion.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend the government for investing in the National Stronger Regions Fund, and in particular I am pleased that the government has sought to amend the fund so that the focus is on investment in regional projects in regional Australia, and it is not allocated to metropolitan Australia. Of course, I have no issue with infrastructure spending in our cities, but you only need to travel through regional Australia to realise that regional funding comes in a poor second to spending on metro infrastructure.

I would just like to note for the House my disappointment and my particular concern that, while we had in round 1 $212 million in spending and, in round 2, $293 million in spending, for round 3 only $126 million was spent in this program. We are a very big country, and that is spread very thinly through regional Australia. I am also a little bit disappointed that, of the three rounds and of the total investment by the Commonwealth of more than $600 million, only one project had a Commonwealth investment in my electorate, and that was $9 million for Kangaroo Island.

Just to detail that: in round 2 of the program, the Kangaroo Island Council put in a successful bid for $9 million for an $18 million project to upgrade the island's airport. Kangaroo Island has some of the most expensive freight and passenger costs in Australia. So I and the community of Kangaroo Island are very hopeful that the upgraded airport will deliver on its promise to provide direct access to new markets for tourism and for the export of our niche agricultural products, including seafoods. Kangaroo Island received a quarter of South Australia's allocation over those three rounds. That is just $9 million out of $632 million.

In round 3, there were hundreds of applications, including 48 from South Australia. Four of those projects were selected, with a total value of just over $9.8 million, of which $8.6 million was set aside for a wastewater management project for Peterborough to allow for the growth of industry in the region—a very worthy project. Unfortunately, two applications from my electorate were unsuccessful, including a $380 million bid for the Milang & District Community Association to redevelop the Milang Lakeside Butter Factory and a project by the Mount Barker District Council to build a regional football centre in Mount Barker.

I note, though, that the federal government has reaffirmed its commitment to an election promise to provide $3.75 million towards the $27 million regional sporting hub project in Mount Barker. I may say that Mount Barker is one of the fastest-growing regional centres in Australia. We have a population of 33,000, and we are expected to be 52,000 by the year 2036. So my office is working very hard with the Mount Barker council to secure other funding for this crucial piece of infrastructure, which will boost the economy and will attract elite-level games of AFL and soccer to our Adelaide Hills.

South Australia has an unenviable position of having some of the highest unemployment rates in our country. Just before I entered parliament, I learnt that my electorate had the dubious honour of being one of the top 20 worst places for youth unemployment in Australia, and that was for the first time since records have been kept. Those records were detailed by the Brotherhood of St Laurence. The Adelaide Hills and central region made the list with 16.3 per cent youth unemployment. That was just under the northern suburbs of Adelaide, which are always considered the area of highest youth unemployment, which had 16.4 per cent. In South Australia, the only area worse off than us was the Barossa and the mid-north, which came in at No. 7, with 19.4 per cent. If ever there was an argument for infrastructure investment in regional South Australia to create jobs, those figures detail the need. The government has spent over $600 million on the rest of the country on this fund. With $495 million left and rebranding it as the Building Better Regions Fund, it is my hope that South Australia, and Mayo in particular, will not be overlooked and will receive its fair share.

I would like to detail very quickly one project that my community is particularly passionate about, a freight bypass. We need this to come out from Murray Bridge to take freight north until it gets to Dry Creek. This will increase productivity, bring a lot of jobs to our region and allow for a transport corridor throughout my electorate so that we can, hopefully, one day get some sort of train or O-Bahn infrastructure that we so critically need and that are missing and have been missed for over 20 years. It would also allow trucks to travel around to the north and miss the dangerous Adelaide Hills route down to the city.

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.