John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to talk about my visit to the Richmond electorate, in my role as Nationals' duty senator for that seat, during the winter break. Don't you love that phrase 'winter break'? It is as though we do not do anything.

My first stop was Byron Bay, where I met with Byron Shire Council, which is thankful to the coalition for providing $200,000 from the Safer Streets Program for CCTV. The council will install the CCTV and additional lighting in Johnson Street, which is the main street, and also in Apex Park. Byron Bay is a very popular holiday spot and also a destination for schoolies week. Of course, with increased crowds and a bit of grog come problems. In fact a media report of April 2012 quoted police as saying:

… Byron Bay is now one of the most violent places in the state.

…   …   …

At two o'clock in the morning, or between 11 and three, you have a far greater chance of being assaulted in Byron Bay by someone who's affected by alcohol than pretty much anywhere else in the State—

of New South Wales. That is very concerning. In future, when people in Byron Bay want to engage in violence and give a bad name to a beautiful holiday town, they should expect the police to come knocking when they have been identified on CCTV.

It was good to meet Mike, Virginia and Paul from EnviTE. EnviTE is the sponsor of four projects under the coalition's Green Army program and it will be working on revegetation and rehabilitation projects along the coastline in the Byron Bay area. There are four other projects in the Richmond area under the Green Army program. Not only are they good for the environment, each project provides work for up to 30 hours a week for nine participants plus a supervisor. The coalition government has committed $300 million over four years for the Green Army program.

I had the opportunity to inspect some of the work underway on the Pacific Highway between Tintenbar and Ewingsdale. In the budget, the coalition confirmed $129 million for this section of the highway linking Byron Shire to the Ballina bypass. It means that Richmond will be the first electorate north of Newcastle in New South Wales to have a complete dual-carriageway highway. There is an enormous amount of traffic in this part of the state and it will flow much better when the highway upgrade is complete.

At Tweed Heads, Kennedy Drive is a very busy thoroughfare. At the last election the Nationals' candidate Matthew Fraser promised $3.3 million for the upgrade of a section of the drive, on which the coalition is delivering. I met with a number of councillors, including the mayor, Barry Longland, and the general manager, Troy Green. They explained what the $3.3 million federal contribution would go to. There is a lot more work to be done but it certainly is a good start. I know that Mayor Barry and General Manager Troy would be delighted that the Roads to Recovery funding can be rolled out, following the passing of the legislation today. I am sure they would have been quite concerned when they saw what the Labor Party and others were up to with the Roads to Recovery program. I am glad that that has been passed.

One of the most impressive projects, which has community and council support, is the concept of a rail trail from Casino to Murwillumbah, a distance of 132 kilometres. The rail line opened in 1894 and closed down in 2004. In April last year, a NSW government report suggested it would cost $900 million to restore the line to be able to take passenger services again. We know that is not going to happen. There is a community push for a rail trail, where people could walk, run or ride a bike or a horse and call in at the towns along the way. Communities are always looking for ways to increase tourism and I think this is a viable project. Imagine riding on a pushbike on a lovely, sunny Northern Rivers day and calling in at the small railway stations along the way to have a coffee, look at the local arts and crafts and even pop into town. Why couldn't the existing rails be taken up and sold off for scrap? Perhaps the ironbark sleepers could be sold for firewood. It is a good concept that I think would bring a lot of tourism to that region.

The Tweed area is an extremely important area for sugarcane growing. In 2012, 4,300 hectares were harvested in the area surrounding the Condong plant, producing more than 300,000 tonnes of cane and 36,000 tonnes of sugar. The sugar growers are very concerned about the viability of the industry, because of changes in marketing arrangements, and they fear that their bottom line will be impacted on. Australian farmers are traditionally price takers, to their detriment. We have seen it in so many industries, and the dairy industry is one that comes immediately to mind. The cane growers are concerned about the impact of the large multinational companies affecting their bottom line. I said I would do what I could for them.

I had a really interesting chat with Bill Townsend from Coolabah Cooling. Bill made it clear he is neutral on the question of climate change but he knew one thing—the carbon tax was a stupid policy that had a huge impact on so many businesses like his. He made the point that the cost of refrigerants went through the roof when the carbon tax was introduced, which meant of course he had to charge more to cafes, restaurants, supermarkets and homeowners. Bill told me that in some cases people just did not get their fridges or their air conditioners fixed, or they thought that he was overcharging them and went elsewhere. The customers thought that Bill was ripping them off. That was not the case at all. He said it was like a cyclone had hit the industry. When the carbon tax was abolished he was left with a large amount of gas that he had purchased at the old higher price, but, of course, he could not expect his customers to pay the higher price. So he took a financial hit on it, but Bill said he would wear that just to be rid of the carbon tax.

I would like to thank Matthew Fraser, Chairman of the Richmond Federal Electorate Council of the Nationals, for being with me for much of the tour. Matthew is a successful, young businessman who was recently elected President of Tweed Chamber of Commerce; he will do a great job. The Member for Richmond Justine Elliott could not contain herself; she criticised Matthew's election as being political. Ms Elliott, please do not criticise young Matthew because he is a great businessman and he works for his community in a great way. My many thanks go also to Alan Hunter and Rory Fraser for helping out on the Richmond tour .

Before I finish, I would like to pass on my congratulations to Madison Millhouse from Terranora in the Richmond electorate. Madison attended All Saints Anglican School and was one of the 500 Australian students named this week as winners of the 2013 Australian Student Prize. And while I am at it, I would like to place on record my congratulations to a young man from my home town of Inverell—Alexander Dimmock from Macintyre High School was also one of the 500 students to receive the prize. Well done to both Madison and Alexander.

Senate adjourned at 18:15