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

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development. I note that next year our government is handing down a surplus budget that is a product of a strong economy. This means we can invest in local infrastructure projects that Australians can rely on without increasing taxes. How would a different approach to managing the economy impact the delivery of these essential infrastructure projects, including in my electorate of Dawson?

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Next year, the Liberal and Nationals government will hand down a surplus, which is a product of a strong economy.

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

I hear the member for Sydney yelling out 'surplus'. You might consult the Macquarie Dictionary; it's in there. I know you don't know exactly what that word means. It is between 'short-change', which is what Labor is intending to do to retirees, and 'tax', which is what Labor intends to do to all Australians. Surplus is in the dictionary. Look it up and you will understand what the meaning is.

A surplus means we can fund the essential services that Australians rely on. That's what you can do when you have a strong economy, which is what we've got at the moment. It's what you can do without increasing taxes. You can have essential services such as water security, which was what the member for Dawson asked me about. More water means more jobs. More water means more business confidence in Mackay and elsewhere across the nation. More water means more opportunities to grow food and fibre, and our farmers grow the best food and fibre in the world.

Liberals and Nationals support Townsville's future development and continued growth. No matter what you're doing in regional Australia, whether you are a farmer, a small-business owner or whatever, you need water security; you need long-term water supply. Thanks to the Liberal and Nationals strong economic management, we're securing Townsville's water supply. This government understands the importance of water security for our regions and that's why last week we announced an additional half-a-billion dollars—$500 million—for the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund. As well as the existing $2 billion loan facility, more than $3 billion is now available to state and territory governments to help build water infrastructure.

We're backing Queenslanders—backing them all the way. We're building dams, we're delivering tax cuts, we're building infrastructure and we're backing small business.

Mr Burke interjecting—

Yes, we are, member for Watson! You wanted to pinch the water from our irrigators. We're getting on with the job of piping Australia, plumbing Australia and making sure that Australia is more droughtproof.

We're also investing in the Hughenden irrigation system and Hells Gate Dam. This is action to secure Townsville's water supply for decades to come. It's action because the member for Dawson and the LNP candidate for Herbert, Phillip Thompson, have fought hard for this project. We know how important it is for the region. It's action because you can't grow a city, you can't grow a region, you can't grow food, you can't grow fibre and you can't grow confidence without reliable water.

The CSIRO recently conducted the Northern Australia Water Resource Assessment. This identified and looked at three catchments—the Darwin, the Fitzroy and the Mitchell—identifying six potential dam sites. We'll certainly look at that as part of the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund. We'll look at those potential dam sites and we'll get on and build dams. We'll pipeline Australia. We'll make sure that we droughtproof this nation. You over there just talk about it; we get on and actually do something. (Time expired)