Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

You are ahead of me, Senator Carr, if you are right. I did mention earlier that the Greens are talking about an amendment at the committee stage. My second reading amendment calls upon the minister, when approving a Nation Building Program off-network project, to consider the extent to which it benefits regional Australia. We are very concerned that funds will be going from the regions to the cities, which, as I mentioned, are already better supported by all levels of government. Our second reading amendment calls upon the Senate to make sure that, when making decisions, the minister does take into account their benefits to regional Australia. The second item in our second reading amendment calls upon the government to ensure that black spot funding continues to apply to roads that are not included in the National Land Transport Network. This again highlights the issue in this bill, which is that a lot of its focus has gone from rural and regional Australia to the more favoured city areas of our nation.

The amendment we are proposing is fairly simple: to preserve the regional focus of what was known as the Strategic Regional Program and, if not, to at least make the government aware of this focus and that the Senate requires the government to consider it. We simply want the government to be focused on black spot funding for local roads and streets, and the second reading amendment will, if it should be passed by the Senate, indicate to the government that the Senate has a view that these issues should be taken into account in the allocation of moneys.

It is unfortunate that the opposition has to move this amendment. I hope the crossbenches and the Greens will see that, as a second reading amendment, it does have an influence on the government, without holding up the passage of the bill, and it does ensure that issues concerning regional and rural Australia are taken into account in the allocation of moneys under this program—the coalition’s AusLink program, which is, by this bill, being renamed the Nation Building Program.

In conclusion, on behalf of the coalition, I formally move the second reading amendment:

At the end of the motion, add:

but the Senate:

        (a)    calls on the Minister when approving a Nation Building Program Off-Network project to consider the extent to which the project benefits regional Australia; and

        (b)    calls on the Government to ensure that black spot funding continue to apply to roads that are not included in the National Land Transport network.