Susan McDonald (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I actually don't need to say much, because this same statement was put to the Australian people in May, and rural and regional Australians answered resoundingly that they have more faith in the coalition to advance their interests. But I'd like to set the record straight. Never before have we had a government so focused on regional and rural Australia. This was evident back in February, when the Prime Minister travelled to Cloncurry and Julia Creek as soon as possible after the devastating floods, and funds were immediately released for farmers and businesses. Now the same support is being provided for these new challenges facing rural and regional Australia, of drought and now fires.

Those who live in the regions are amongst the most innovative and certainly the best land managers in the world, particularly our graziers and farmers. However, we also know that agriculture is dependent on our seasonal conditions and terms of trade. As a government, we are focused on doing everything we can do to support our farming and grazing communities by building resilience and providing opportunity in our agricultural sectors. Approximately 70 per cent of our agricultural production is exported. The increase in research and productivity is something to be celebrated. I look forward to the introduction of the dairy code of conduct, which, like the sugar code of conduct, will provide our agricultural industries with certainty.

We are benefiting from agreements with Japan, China, South Korea, Peru, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Pacific Island nations. We're working to deliver a new agreement with the EU and, together with the UK, are committed to negotiating an Australia-UK FTA as soon as the UK is in a position to do so. Manbulloo, Australia's largest single exporter of mangoes, with farms in Townsville and Katherine, have seen huge growth since the Korea and China FTAs. Scott Koetsier has said that, since the launch of the KAFTA, they've gone from exporting 10 tonnes to over 100 tonnes of mangoes to Korea. This is just one example of the great things the coalition is doing supporting small businesses in rural and regional Australia.

Through the coalition government's 2015 agriculture white paper, we have a long-term $4 billion plan that helps farmers with farm business concessional loans, stronger biosecurity, control of pest animals and weeds and new investment in R&D. To support Australian farmers with labour shortages, we're making the working holiday-maker visas and the Seasonal Worker Program more flexible.

Here's the big one: the Liberals and Nationals government has committed over $6.3 billion for drought relief and recovery. This is on top of the Future Drought Fund to improve drought resilience in regional areas. We have the Northern Australia Beef Roads and Roads of Strategic Importance programs, which have set aside nearly $5 billion to ensure regional and rural Australia have reliable and safe roads. Our Mobile Black Spot Program is delivering 1,047 new mobile phone towers and coverage to almost 40,000 more homes and businesses. Our $550 million Stronger Rural Health Strategy is delivering 3,000 additional doctors and more than 3,000 additional nurses and allied health professionals in rural general practice over the next decade. Rural generalist training funding was committed to during the election. We've established grants for agricultural shows to invest in new infrastructure so they can keep bringing joy to their communities.

Then we get to that four-letter word that makes the Labor Party desperately search for the nearest exit: dams. We've got $2 billion in loans available for those who want to build water infrastructure. Recently we announced $1 billion to upgrade Wyangala Dam and build the new Dungowan Dam in New South Wales. In Queensland we've got the Hells Gate Dam, the Big Rocks Weir, the Hughenden Irrigation Project, the Emu Swamp Dam, Uralla, Nullinga, Nagoya, MITEZ and Forsyth. In total the federal government has now committed about $1.5 billion for 21 water projects across Australia. This desire to help regional and rural Australia is also apparent at the state level in Queensland, where the LNP has unveiled a progressive plan to irrigate the dry interior after decades of shameful inaction by Labor for regional residents and farmers. The coalition's new $525 million Skills Package will deliver up to 80,000 new apprentices over five years in priority areas of skills shortage, unlike Labor in Queensland, who have closed down the Emerald and Longreach agricultural colleges.

More broadly we're looking at our vocational education system. It needs an upgrade to ensure that it remains world-class, modern and flexible. Small businesses are the engine room of our economy. The coalition is helping small businesses invest and grow through increasing and expanding the instant asset write-off, which now covers assets up to $30,000 for a business with a turnover of up to $50 million. We are a vast country and are dependent on air travel. Regional connectivity is important, and the coalition has announced a further $28 million over four years to fund works designed to improve the safety and capacity of remote airstrips. I would like to thank Senator Gallagher for giving me the opportunity to explain how much the coalition is doing. (Time expired)