Susan McDonald (Queensland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Resources) Share this | Hansard source

Outback Australia and northern Australia are known for vastness and big things. It is unsurprising then that the Outback Way is known as Australia's longest shortcut. The Outback Way will be the great Australian road trip, rivalling Route 66, as it winds 2,700 kilometres through the heart of Australia from Winton in Queensland, via the Northern Territory's Red Centre, to Laverton in Western Australia and on to Perth. We should all add this road trip to our travel bucket list. Imagine meandering through Dreamtime hues and nature's ancient architecture, both subtle and sharply striking at once, gently seeking into the outback folklore and tranquillity with every passing kilometre.

Drink in pubs from the 1870s that once housed Cobb & Co Changing Station, see the Min Min lights at Boulia, visit the National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame and the Royal Flying Doctor Service centre in Alice Springs, after dipping in the waterholes of the MacDonnell Ranges, and be transported back in time with Laverton's heritage trail, heritage precinct and relics of mining days past. Between these main centres along the Outback Way, marvel at the prehistoric stomping grounds of dinosaurs and sandstone deposits from 350 million years ago; listen to opera under star filled night skies; visit camel farms, cattle stations, roadhouses, outback art galleries; make paper from native grasses; fossick at gem fields; feast on bush trucker; and enjoy a sunset drink at Uluru.

This may all sound too good to be true, and it almost is. While the picture of scenery along the Outback Way is magnificent, actual life along the route is less than ideal when the road is closed for several months a year due to rain, flooding, potholes, corrugations. Of course, it is in many places—large places—a dirt road. Sealing the Outback Way needs to be a national priority.

Last month I attended the Outback Way Forum with representatives from the Outback Highway Development Council, the five councils located on the Outback Way—Boulia Shire and Winton Shire in Queensland, Alice Springs Town Council in the Northern Territory, and the shires of Laverton and Ngaanyatjarraku in Western Australia—and many others who appreciate and understand the value of the Outback Way to Australian tourism and to economic growth and efficiency.

I applaud the councils' presidents and mayors for their relentless energy and efforts in delivering the Outback Way—Patrick Hill, President of Laverton Shire; Damian McLean, President of Ngaanyatjarraku Shire; Rick Britton, Mayor of Boulia Shire; Gavin Baskett, Mayor of Winton Shire; and Matt Paterson, Mayor of Alice Springs Town Council. Thank you for your collective vision, your dedication, your bipartisan commitment to Australia's tourism, mining, pastoral and defence and Indigenous community. I acknowledge the passion and contribution of our colleagues from the other place—Rick Wilson and Marion Scrymgour as co-chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of the Outback Way. I also acknowledge the excellent work of Mel Forbes as General Manager of the Outback Highway Development Council.

The key goal of the Outback Way Forum is to fully seal the 2,700 kilometres of road that connects Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The council has lobbied for almost three decades to secure over $1.2 billion in federal state and territory funding to fully develop and seal this life-giving artery through Australia's centre.

The Howard coalition government first secured $10 million funding for the Outback Way in 2006, and the coalition government contributed a further $678 million in 2022. The total funding has so far sealed 1,500 kilometres of the total 2,700 kilometre route, but there is still another 1,200 kilometres to seal. The project completion date is 2032. What difference will eight more years and a further 1,200 kilometres of sealed road make? To quote Utopia, 'It will build a nation.' On a serious note, though, to quote Linda Scott, the President of the Australian Local Government Association:

The Outback Way project is an excellent example of an alliance of local governments working together, across State and Territory borders, over a sustained period of time, to deliver an extraordinary project for the Nation.

The difference that that 1,200 kilometres of sealed Outback Way will make includes a third transnational route connecting the east and west coasts through Cairns and Perth, via Alice Springs. An additional 1,200 kilometres of sealed roads through our nation's heart will boost productivity and GDP by expanding mining, agriculture and freight efficiencies and, of course, tourism. It provides a corridor for commercial investment and development, creating a network of intermodal hubs and industrial estates. Intermodal hubs that manage shipping containers over long journeys will develop business opportunities across industry. It creates a new transport route to facilitate economic and social development in regional and remote towns and communities. It will enable more suppliers to service remote communities, offering more choice and competition, and, hopefully, reduce prices and the cost of living. It will ensure that products are on the shelves of supermarkets when train routes are cut, as happened recently in Western Australia.

The sealed Outback Way will enable sustainable social outcomes by availing communities of improved job creation, health, education, safety, emergency access and greater social interaction between communities. It will make towns and communities more attractive to live and work in. It will provide a lifeline for residents and tourists who live and travel these remote routes. It will support Closing the Gap initiatives by providing better access to health and education. It will develop training and employment opportunities for Indigenous residents. It will enhance outback and northern Australia art trails and galleries. It supports new mining projects, such as the BHP $1.7 billion copper-nickel mine in West Musgrave, contributing to the electric vehicle industry. It facilitates access to critical minerals, reduces freight times and enhances economic capacity. It reduces the time needed to travel 300 kilometres in a mining quad from eight hours to four hours, enabling additional shifts, improving productivity and access to market and ensuring better driver conditions. It improves reliable access to markets for agriculture, with more efficient transportation of livestock and goods. It improves animal welfare, with greater access to domestic markets. It is cost effective: constructing two sealed lanes for one kilometre costs between $450,000 and $1 million, whereas urban road construction costs approximately $5 million per kilometre.

The completion date of 2032 for the Outback Way is upon us, and federal, state and territory governments must continue their support for this nationally significant project, which improves the quality of life for inland Australia, connects communities and creates economic opportunity. The key factors are productivity, sustainability and livability. The landscape of the Outback Way lives in our consciousness through the inspiration of Albert Namatjira. We need to continue this legacy and capture the imagination of all Australians to see not just the dream but the reality of a fully sealed Outback Way for the best outcomes of the entire nation.