Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

In speaking in the debate on the address-in-reply, I would like to take the opportunity to place on the record the Howard government’s contribution to the Illawarra and contrast this with Labor’s neglect and contempt for the area. From 1996 to 2007, the Howard government delivered approximately $2.3 billion in grants and funding for the Illawarra seats of Throsby and Cunningham. This specific funding to the Illawarra area did not include benefits paid—for example, through Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, pensions, HECS or tax cuts. I considered those benefits to be basic and routine spending available to constituents, not targeted grants and funding specific for the Illawarra. Had I included them, the funding would have run into billions more.

As a result of the Howard government’s responsible economic management, Australia was placed in a much stronger economic position than when the coalition took over in 1996. At that time, the coalition faced a $96 billion debt, record unemployment and high interest rates, just to name a few of the key economic challenges they faced. In 1996, the unemployment level in Throsby was 12 per cent and in Cunningham it was 11 per cent. In 2007, the unemployment levels had fallen to 7.6 per cent in Throsby and 7.9 per cent in Cunningham. Whilst higher than the national level, it still represented a notable shift downwards and thousands more people in jobs. Because of the strong economic management over the 11 years of the Howard government, Throsby, Cunningham and many other electorates around Australia were able to share in funding allocations under many programs.

On 14 November 2007, I launched a website called www.illawarrabillions.com. On the website I listed all the organisations that had received grants or funding in Throsby and Cunningham. The information provided on this website demonstrated clearly how the Howard government had consistently, over its 11 years in power, helped the region in so many different ways, but, most importantly, how the Howard government directly assisted many Illawarra community organisations. In particular, the Howard government provided substantial funding to Wollongong and Shellharbour city councils to assist them to provide services to the Illawarra. For example, in 2007-08 these councils would receive close to $17 million in federal government general purpose and road grants. Indeed, our Labor opponents constantly sought to portray the coalition as only supporting coalition seats. The funding to the Illawarra seats demonstrates that this is plainly wrong. This website assisted in clarifying misconceptions within the community about funding sources peddled by our opponents.

Since establishing my electorate office in Wollongong in October 2005, I have been pleased to announce many Howard government programs and initiatives. In my maiden speech, I said that I would be establishing my electorate office in Wollongong to give the people of the Illawarra an alternative and effective voice in government. I am pleased to say that I was able to do this. The Howard government did deliver to the Illawarra in many ways. These included the $5 million Port Kembla Industry Facilitation Fund, through which support was given to local industries to foster economic and job growth in the region following closure of the tin plate mill; $9 million given to government schools and $1.6 million to non-government schools under the Investing in Our Schools Program; small community water grants or small equipment grants for local groups; $1.3 million in Regional Partnerships funding for the Southern Gateway Tourist Centre at Bulli Tops; $19.6 million for the Australian Technical College in the Illawarra; and over $1.1 million towards the Illawarra-Shoalhaven apprenticeship program since 2004. This is just to name a few.

The Howard government has also strongly supported the University of Wollongong, which has played, and will continue to play, a major role in the development of the Illawarra. I have very much enjoyed visiting some of the organisations and individuals that the Howard government was able to assist and to see firsthand the enormous contribution these organisations make to the life and social fabric of the great Illawarra region. Regrettably, many of these funding opportunities did not receive attention from the local media. Consequently, organisations had not been aware of funding opportunities and had not applied. In short, the $2.3 billion in grants and funding was nevertheless a very significant financial contribution delivered by the Howard government to the Illawarra.

They say imitation is the best form of flattery. One week after I launched www.illawarrabillions.com, the member for Cunningham announced that, under Labor’s regional development policy, the federal budget would identify how much is spent in each region on roads, industry, health, education, social security, regional development, environment and communications. What Labor are doing is including all the basic and routine spending that is and should be available to constituents, not just the targeted grants and funding specific for the Illawarra. Of course, this will overwhelmingly inflate the total. Why? Because Labor in the Illawarra will not want to compare apples with apples. They will go out there and ramble on about how much money the Illawarra will receive and say that this exceeds what the coalition gave. Of course, if you include all the basic and routine spending, you will get an inflated figure.

The real reason Labor will do this, I envisage, is to not deliver any targeted grants and specific funding to the Illawarra. Areas like the Illawarra are traditionally seen as Labor’s heartland. One only has to look at the recent scandals in Wollongong involving the Labor Party to see the contempt with which Labor has held the area. My challenge to state and federal Labor members in the Illawarra is do something worth while for the Illawarra. I invite Labor to look at what the Howard government has delivered in the Illawarra and yes—go ahead, by all means—better it. It is time that you stopped taking your so-called heartland for granted and did something very worth while for the area.

So let us look at some of the announcements made by Labor members in the Illawarra. A heading in the Illawarra Mercury of 27 November 2007 read ‘Promised funding on way, say MPs’ and there was a smaller heading ‘Members vow swift delivery on promises’. Let me just mention two promises. The member for Cunningham promised that a pre-feasibility study would get underway for the Maldon to Dombarton rail link and the key players would start work within a week. Has this happened? Not to my knowledge. Then there was the MRI machine for Wollongong Hospital. In September last year, I announced Medicare funding for a new MRI service at Wollongong Hospital. Local Labor MPs promised to deliver this crucial service and yet the people of Wollongong are still waiting.

If this is a swift pace, I would hate to see snail pace. What does this tell us? It tells us that Labor are full of rhetoric. Since my office opening in October 2005, all the Labor Party have done is taken cheap pot shots and focused on issues such as the telephone box outside Wollongong TAFE—and I trust, Senator Conroy, now you are the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, that you will look into this—and the removal of a payphone at Otford. There is another issue for you, Senator Conroy. There are also the embellished claims of a lack of Medicare services in Warrawong at a time when bulk-billing was at 95 per cent.

When Labor get into government, they cannot even deliver on a simple procedure of sorting out paperwork with their state Labor colleagues for an MRI machine that is already at the hospital but just needs to be made operational. It is a simple task. Their failure to deliver on this simple task, regrettably, does not augur well for the citizens of the Illawarra. The coalition delivered $2.3 billion; Labor are struggling with the basics.

One thing Labor have committed to is scrapping the highly successful Investing in Our Schools Program. This program was praised by school communities because it went directly to them and funded the small-scale infrastructure and equipment projects and upgrades which were otherwise neglected. These were projects such as, regrettably, toilet blocks, computer rooms, air conditioning and playground equipment. What this program did was to uncover the state Labor government’s neglect of our school system through highlighting their disregard for these crucial facilities. If those opposite are serious about education, they could start by ensuring basic standards are maintained in schools. For example, there is a small, 50-year-old school in the Illawarra where the toilets have not been upgraded at all since it was built. It is little wonder that Labor have decided to scrap this program—because it exposes state Labor’s appalling neglect.

Labor’s disregard extends to other crucial areas of government service delivery. Labor have shown utter contempt for the people of the Illawarra by using Warrawong as a test case in their plans to merge Centrelink and Medicare offices Australia wide. Labor cleverly painted this plan as a long-fought victory to deliver an additional Medicare office for Warrawong residents. However, Labor were never able to deliver a Medicare office, only a plan to merge a Medicare office with an already existing Centrelink office.

As I elicited recently in questioning in estimates hearings, it is Centrelink employees who will suffer under this plan, with some 2,000 employees set to lose their jobs Australia wide. This startling admission by Labor will no doubt result in reduced services and longer queues forced upon an already struggling demographic. This will happen not only in Warrawong but across Australia.

Labor talk about new leadership but all they have is old plans for government service delivery. We need look no further than Labor’s record at the state level as the taxpayers in my home state of New South Wales know all too well. The basic statistics highlight Labor’s ineptitude. New South Wales is on top of the recent GST windfall and yet is borrowing to the tune of $6 billion. Reckless financial management appears systemic to Labor governments Australia wide despite the states receiving almost $40 billion of GST revenue in 2006-07—expected to grow to $46.6 billion by 2009-10.

While the Howard government was able to produce an $11 billion fiscal surplus, the states are running a combined fiscal deficit of $6 billion. Last year, the New South Wales government ran a $2.4 billion fiscal deficit and a $3 billion cash deficit. While residents of New South Wales are forced to cut back spending when faced with recent interest rate rises, the New South Wales government cannot comprehend these simple economic realities, with spending outstripping revenue over the last five years.

Growth in the New South Wales economy at less than two per cent is the lowest of any state across Australia. New South Wales is lagging behind the other states and is far from being the engine room of the Australian economy that it once was. I highlight this case because the Australian people need to look beyond Labor’s recent attempts to advance their economic credentials. Recent history points to a party and style of management which is preventing New South Wales and Australia from realising its full potential.

Debate interrupted.