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

Document No. 9 is 'Departmental and agency grants—Orders for production of documents', and one of them refers to the Department of Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government. If you look into the grants made by this department, you come up with what I was going to say are some surprising discoveries. Perhaps they are not surprising though. You would find that most of the grants made by Regional Development Australia went to electorates that are held by members of the Australian Labor Party or by the two New South Wales rural Independents, the members for Lyne and New England. One might just think that that is coincidental, but when you consider that most rural and regional electorates are actually represented by members of the Liberal and National parties, and in one case by an Independent who did not support Ms Gillard in her successful bid to become Prime Minister, those electorates got absolutely nothing—sorry, some of them got something, but it was a pittance. You will also note, if you look at the grants approved by Regional Development Australia, that the biggest grant of $400 million for regional development went to—hang on, wait for it—roads around the Perth airport. I know that my colleagues from Western Australia will tell me that the roads around Perth International Airport and Perth Domestic Airport are important and should be funded—and I agree—but out of the regional development fund! Since when is Perth airport regional development? I was there a few weeks ago and it was only a 10-minute taxi ride into Perth CBD. That is hardly a regional development program.

Just last week I attended a meeting of the Gulf Savannah Development Association in Doomadgee, in north-west Queensland. For those who do not know, the Gulf Savannah Development Association comprises all of the mayors of the five shires, up around the Gulf of Carpentaria, all fairly remote. It also comprises some other regional development organisations in that area. The meeting was, coincidentally, held the day when, or the day after, these regional development grants were given. The whole of Northern Australia—very much a part of the grants approved by the regional development department—got one grant, for a walkway on Magnetic Island, just off Townsville.

Senator McLucas interjecting—

Senator McLucas interjects, 'Don't you want that?' Of course I do. All congratulations to Mr Ewen Jones, the Liberal member for Herbert, in whose electorate Magnetic Island is. Great work, Mr Jones, on your lobbying effort and great work on getting this actual walkway, which is important.

In fact, the Labor government promised it prior to the last election, but the money came out of the Regional Development Australia Fund. But that was the one grant for the whole of Northern Australia. How much was it, Senator McLucas? You would know. A couple of million dollars? Yet Perth airport, almost in Perth's CBD, gets $400 million and the one grant for Northern Australia, which Senator McLucas sometimes claims to represent, got the Magnetic Island Walkway. I am delighted that Magnetic Island got the walkway but, gee, come on! All of those councils that I talk about in the Gulf Savannah Development Association put up magnificent projects, projects that would have been very important for the development of that part of regional Australia. But did they get anything? No. All the money went to Perth airport.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to congratulate Senator Macdonald on quite a good synopsis of the general feeling on this side of the chamber on how the regional development grants were distributed. In my own state of Victoria, out there in the regions there are two seats that are held by the Labor Party, being Ballarat and Bendigo. Both of them received significant grants under this program. I too would never ever denigrate money being spent in the regions and I appreciate the effort. However, it is hard not to be cynical when you look at the fantastic projects that were put up right around regional Victoria that just did not make the grade. I want to mention the playground in the Wannon electorate. A couple of hundred thousand dollars was thrown at Wannon, while much more significant amounts were delivered into the seats of Bendigo and Ballarat. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Acting Deputy President, I seek leave to move to document No. 16.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted, with the proviso that we will move back after that time to the other documents.