Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

CHESTER () (): My question is to the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories. Minister, after almost 2½ years in government, how many projects funded under the Growing Regions Program have been contracted, allowing local councils to actually start work?

Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for the question. It's a very important question, because we had a lot of work to do coming into government, cleaning up botched regional grant programs. We had regional grants given to the North Sydney pool. I'm not sure where the member for Gippsland was there, because I'm not sure how many members of your community—certainly none of mine—see North Sydney as a regional pool.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, I'm just going to pause. The member for Page, the Leader of the Nationals and the member for Gippsland will cease interjecting. The minister was asked a specific question about a grants program. She's had a 30-second preamble; she will have to return to the question. To assist the House, I'm just going to cease the level of interjections.

Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying, we've had a big job to do in cleaning up grants programs across parliament. What we've done is put in place transparent grant mechanisms for the first time in a very long time. We've had a multiparty panel that has assessed those grants, we've announced successful grants through round 1, and we are working with those successful applicants—

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a round number.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The minister is referring to round 1 of the grant application, so she is being directly relevant. I can appreciate the member is looking for a number.

I don't need to take the point of order; I heard that loud and clear. Under the standing orders, the minister can talk about the program, and I've already brought her back to relevance. I'll hear your point of order.

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The point of order was on relevance. It was a tight question—and, if it assists the minister, the number is between zero and none.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is disorderly to add extra commentary during the point of order. The minister was talking about the grant process. She was talking about the round. So she is being directly relevant.

The Leader of The Nationals, please don't interject while I'm trying to assist the House. I understand that the member would like a specific number or an answer, a bit like in the debates we've had about 'yes' and 'no'. The members know I don't have the compulsion to deliver that for the member. I do have the compulsion to make sure that the minister is being directly relevant, and she is at the moment.

Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Just for the clarity of the House, 'none' isn't a number!

Honourable members interjecting—

I know it took a little while to land, but that was a joke. The laughing should have come straight after I finished.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Members on my left! The Leader of The Nationals and the member for Hume, order!

Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying, round 1 has been announced. We have been working with those councils, states and territories to put in place those contracts now. Round 2 is now open, and round 2 is just about to close this week. What we've done on this side of the House is make sure our regional grants programs are transparent. We've heard from over 250 councils across the country that I've met with. They have spent time and money putting in applications, when there were colour-coded spreadsheets available previously. That meant the time and money they spent putting in grants were not treated fairly. We've heard from councils that they wanted a transparent process, so we've given them one, including a multiparty panel, which members from those opposite and on the crossbench are on, to make sure that our grants process is treated with integrity. We've seen the ANAO do a report concurrently with Growing Regions to say that it is done with transparency and integrity, which I know is a new concept to some of those opposite. But on this side of the House we want to treat local councils with dignity and respect. It's one of the reasons that we doubled Roads to Recovery funding. For a decade, those opposite didn't take their local councils seriously when they were asking for additional help with maintenance. They didn't take them seriously when they said they needed additional help with maintenance. On this side of the House, we're delivering not only a doubling of Roads to Recovery; we're delivering them back to the table of National Cabinet, and we're taking their voices seriously, because they serve every community across the country.