Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

With the federal budget due within three months, my focus is on lobbying the government to secure more federal funding for the Moore electorate amid difficult economic conditions. I have worked closely with the cities of Joondalup and Stirling to lobby for an increase in federal financial assistance grants to our local government authorities. I am pleased to inform the House that, as a result of strong advocacy efforts, the annual grant delivered to the City of Joondalup in the current 2022-23 financial year will amount to $6.43 million, representing an increase in funding of 33 per cent from the $4.84 million received the previous year. Similarly, federal funding to the City of Stirling also increases, by 35 per cent to $7.94 million. In addition, the cities of Joondalup and Stirling have been successful in securing $2.9 million in funding under the latest round of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program.

This Commonwealth funding represents a significant subsidy for ratepayers, enabling our local councils to deliver the priority local road and community infrastructure projects listed in the forward capital works budget. The City of Joondalup has been allocated $1,439,855, whilst the City of Stirling will receive $1,431,569 under phase 4 of the program. Both councils will be able to access their funding allocations from July 2023, with projects to be delivered by June 2025. I've also been busy campaigning for an additional $120 million in federal funding for major road projects—namely, the connection of Whitfords Avenue to a realigned Gnangara Road and the grade separation of the Reid Highway with the extremely busy Erindale Road intersection with a traffic bridge. During the election campaign I secured a federal funding commitment of $20 million for this project, which will make the daily commute for 8,000 Moore residents safer and more direct. I now call upon the Albanese government to match this funding.

Similarly, the Reid Highway flyover will connect residents of the coastal suburbs of Moore to the economic activity hubs of Balcatta, Malaga and beyond via the Tonkin Highway and NorthLink. For the thousands of FIFO workers in Moore who are commuting to Perth Airport regularly, this will be a huge advantage. The previous budget delivered $2.5 million towards the design of the project, and the Albanese government now needs to take the next step: to announce a funding commitment of the order of $100 million to deliver.