Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to speak in favour of the Nation Building Program (National Land Transport) Amendment Bill 2009. This legislation forms a key part of the Australian government’s nation-building agenda. It will help ensure that the massive infrastructure investment that the Australian government has undertaken is within the framework of nation building, something which Labor governments do best. The Nation Building Program (National Land Transport) Amendment Bill 2009 improves upon the AusLink (National Land Transport) Act 2005 by integrating the legislation with the government’s bold nation-building agenda.

The National Land Transport Network is one of the foundations of Australia’s future wealth and prosperity. It consists of the major road and rail corridors that link Australia’s cities, ports and airports and is one of the foundations of Australia’s successful economy. The Nation Building Program (National Land Transport) Amendment Bill 2009 removes references to AusLink and forms an essential part of the government’s effort to stimulate the economy and to keep Australia’s economy going until the worst of the global financial crisis is over. This bill changes the name of the act to the Nation Building Program (National Land Transport) Act 2009, a move that has been criticised by those opposite as being merely symbolic; but this could not be further from the truth. This bill is essential for the effective delivery of Labor’s $26.4 billion road and rail infrastructure program. The bill also modifies the act to allow funding for black spot projects which are on the National Land Transport Network. It seems nonsensical to stop the Black Spot Program from fixing dangerous roads just because they happen to be on the National Land Transport Network. Thankfully this bill will give greater freedom for the government to repair hazardous sections of road.

This amendment also provides for 292 boom-gate crossings at dangerous rail intersections throughout Australia. I note that the South Australian government has recently begun advertising through its road safety campaign about the need for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists to take more caution when they are near rail intersections. The additional boom-gate crossings will improve the safety of these intersections and will no doubt save lives. A major part of the Nation Building Program is the Roads to Recovery program, which has been extended from 2009 to 2014. Local councils have been allocated $1.75 billion to identify and repair sections of road that require maintenance. The local government authorities are allowed to spend the funds on road projects that they have identified as being the most important in their community. Each state receives a fixed share of the grant and the funding is then distributed between councils according to a formula based on population and road length to ensure that the allocation of funds is fair and equitable.

Another important component of the Nation Building Program is funding for heavy vehicle rest areas and upgrades to truck parking bays. Driver fatigue can sometimes have fatal consequences, and I am pleased that the Australian federal government is providing funding of $4.5 million over the 2008-09 and 2009-10 financial years to help improve facilities for truck drivers in South Australia—who are ably represented, I might add, by that great trade union official Mr Alex Gallacher. I am also proud that the $1.7 billion is being invested in road and rail projects in my home state of South Australia. Several major projects are being funded by the Australian federal government, which will significantly improve the long-term efficiency of the South Australian economy. These projects include: the Northern Expressway and the Port Wakefield Road upgrades; the South Road upgrade, which is long overdue; the Dukes Highway upgrade; work on the Victor Harbour, Main South Road and Seaford Road junction; work on the Main North Road between Gawler and Tarlee, which leads into the beautiful Clare Valley; the Mount Gambier northern bypass; work on the Crystal Brook and Redhill roads; and work on Montague Road.

The Northern Expressway is a critical road project for South Australia’s mid-north and Riverland communities, and for people who commute between Gawler and Port Adelaide. I know that the federal member for Wakefield, Mr Nick Champion, has been a tireless advocate of this project, and he deserves credit for his hard work in promoting the Northern Expressway. Once the Northern Expressway is linked with the Port River Expressway there will be savings in travel time, it is predicted, of 20 minutes between the Sturt Highway at Gawler and Port Adelaide, which is South Australia’s main shipping port. The Northern Expressway will therefore reduce driving time and improve the efficiency of the South Australian economy, the best-performing economy in the country at the moment. It is well worth the $451 million investment by the federal government. It will also remove many trucks from Main North Road, which will not only reduce the wear and tear on one of South Australia’s most heavily used roads but also make it faster and safer for motorists to use.

Then of course there is the Sturt Highway duplication works between Gawler and Argent Road. The Australian federal government has funded the entirety of this $21.7 million project. It will service one of South Australia’s biggest horticultural regions. The Barossa is a world-famous winemaking region and this investment will no doubt make it even better. The federal government is also funding a massive investment in South Road—$500 million has been allocated to upgrades of South Road. South Australia’s strategic plan calls for the transformation of South Road into a continuous non-stop route extending all the way from the Southern Expressway to the Port River Expressway that I talked about earlier. Anyone who has travelled along South Road during peak hour, as I did last week, understands how congested this road can become. I know that reducing some of the bottlenecks along this stretch of road will help alleviate some of the congestion that delays motorists in getting to work and going home to spend time with their families.

As the only continuous stretch of road that links the south of Adelaide to the north, South Road is incredibly strategically important to South Australia. It runs past the CBD and the Adelaide airport and is a major connector between Adelaide’s industrial and agricultural base and the rest of Adelaide. The first stage of realising the dream of making commuting along South Road as continuous as possible is nearly complete. The Anzac Highway and South Road intersection upgrade is expected to be completed by the end of the year. This will relieve congestion on what was one of South Road’s worst bottlenecks. It is a massive undertaking by the federal and the South Australian governments to make South Road a continuous non-stop arterial corridor running through the heart of Adelaide. The 22 kilometres of road between the South Expressway and the Port River Expressway cuts through many Adelaide suburbs whose population density can only be expected to increase over the coming years. That is why $70 million has been allocated over the life of the project to undertake a comprehensive study and develop a plan to ensure that these upgrades are done as efficiently and effectively as possible over the longer term.

Then of course there is $80 million for one of South Australia’s longest roads, the Dukes Highway, which is already under construction. The Dukes Highway connects South Australia to Victoria. It stretches from Tailem Bend and extends all the way to Bordertown. The Australian government fast-tracked the extension of four overtaking lanes along the Dukes Highway just before the budget and the extensions are expected to be completed by the end of the year. The South Australian government are also doing their part and have committed to spend an additional $20 million to develop roads along the Adelaide to Melbourne corridor. Both the state and federal governments are working with the Barossa Council, the District Council of Loxton Waikerie, the Mid Murray Council, the City of Murray Bridge and the Coorong District Council to bring this project to fruition.

In addition to these infrastructure projects from the Nation Building Program, South Australia also received significant funding for rail and O-Bahn track improvements in the recent federal budget. The Australian government is providing $294 million in funding to upgrade the Adelaide-Gawler rail line. Again down south we see the Australian government providing $291 million to extend the Noarlunga rail line to Seaford, a fast-growing part of South Australia. I know that the member for Kingston, Amanda Rishworth, has been talking to her constituents about the issue for some time and it has been an incredibly important issue for the residents in the south of Adelaide.

Then of course there is the $61 million to extend the O-Bahn track to the heart of Adelaide. The O-Bahn is iconic in South Australia and is one of the few places in the world other than Germany where buses can both run on specially designed tracks and drive normally on the road. Buses currently exit the O-Bahn in Kent Town and have to cut through the worst of Adelaide’s peak-hour traffic to get into the city. By having a special laneway for buses to get into the city, the commuters who use the O-Bahn will be able to get into the city and back home again much faster than they do now.

I wanted to mention the rail and the O-Bahn upgrades that South Australia is getting from the Australian government because it underscores an important philosophical difference between the Labor Party’s and the Liberal Party’s approach to government. Labor believes in nation building and making the investments necessary for ensuring Australia’s wealth and prosperity into the future. Labor inherited an infrastructure black hole when it came to government at the last election. Despite having enjoyed record windfall revenues from the mining and commodities boom, the Howard government chose not to invest in Australia’s infrastructure.

I believe that the problem that the Liberal Party has is that they have been addicted to a free market, laissez faire ideology that leads them to believe that if you simply sit back the market will deliver what Australians want—that Adam Smith’s invisible hand will build the roads, the rail networks, the universities and the hospitals for them. However, it became apparent to the Australian public after a decade of the Howard government that the laissez faire ideology was just an excuse for inaction—not just an excuse but an ideological imperative for the Liberal Party to do nothing.

Australians expect their elected representatives to lead, and to show leadership you need to have a vision for where you want to take this country. At the end of the day the Howard government failed to develop a strategy to prepare Australia for the future. If we take broadband, for example, you did not have to be an IT expert to know that the internet is the future of business and commerce in Australia. But what did the Liberal Party do to prepare Australia for this new digital age? They did absolutely nothing. Senator Conroy, who is here in the chamber, is the man who is delivering broadband on behalf of the Australian people. He is doing it. Labor made broadband a key election issue at the last election and has now developed a $43 billion plan over eight years to develop our national broadband network.