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

I rise to express my deep concern regarding the Labor government's decision to delay the sealing of the Tanami Road. The Tanami is not any old piece of road. It is a critical and strategic transport route connecting the town of Halls Creek to the Stuart Highway near Alice Springs. It serves as a lifeline for the mining and pastoral industries, supports our vulnerable Indigenous communities and supports tourism in our region. I cannot overstate the importance of sealing the Tanami Road.

Currently the unsealed road is difficult to maintain and often falls into disrepute. During an average wet season, let alone the recent catastrophic floods that have hit the Kimberley region, a sealed Tanami Road would ensure a reliable source of food to isolated towns and our vulnerable Indigenous communities. It would ensure access to vital healthcare services for these remote communities. In addition, there are increased expenses that occur for our essential freight haulers, costs which have put some of them out of business. A sealed Tanami would also strengthen our Defence capabilities in the north-west of Australia, which is becoming increasingly more important in today's unstable world economy.

My constituents in the north deserve food security. It is a basic human right. I was told yesterday that the residents of Halls Creek are paying over double the price for food, at their local supermarket, than they were this time last year. Because of the clear benefits and urgent need for this infrastructure upgrade, proudly, the coalition government ensured the sealing of the Tanami was a high priority by allocating close to $198 million in our 2019 budget, and in the 2022 budget we announced an investment of $510 million.

Inexplicably, the Albanese Labor government has confirmed, in Senate estimates, that it will take a decade to complete the sealing of the Tanami Road. A decade! This time line is simply unacceptable. I appreciate the concept of going slow in these very remote parts of Australia, but 10 years? That is a glacial pace. The state transport and planning minister, Minister Saffioti, has recently accused me of not being across the details regarding the Tanami. Clearly, the Tanami is not a priority for this minister, and I am so disappointed that she hasn't fought harder for the people of the Kimberley. So, for the minister, here is the detail: the WA state 2021-22 budget allocated $265 million over four years—terrific—whereas what do we see in the last budget? A mere $13 million over four years.

The people of the Kimberley should be shocked and appalled at these figures. I know, having been a very strong advocate for the Tanami, that I certainly am. Regional Australians deserve better. The people of the Kimberley deserve better. Once again, we see that state Labor is letting you down, and, once again, the Albanese government are letting you down as well.