Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am grateful for this brief opportunity this evening to speak about a couple of issues of crucial importance to regional Western Australia.

One of the best aspects of the five-week break in parliamentary sittings from which we have just returned was that it offered an opportunity to be out and about in regional Western Australia. For me, this included the chance to participate in the significant celebrations surrounding the Centenary of Anzac in Albany in Western Australia's Great Southern, and travelling with parliamentary colleagues to Western Australia's Pilbara region, to visit a number of significant mining operations and to discuss firsthand with those working on the ground the challenges facing this important sector, which is still of enormous significance to the health of the Australian economy.

This was followed by an enormously rewarding week spent traversing WA's vast Kimberley region, where I had the chance to meet with local residents, pastoralists, Aboriginal communities and business owners to focus on the issues that are of concern and importance to them.

The remoteness of the Kimberley region can often mean it is overlooked in national political discussions. Certainly, it is not especially well understood by many on Australia's eastern seaboard.

Of course, 31 May will also mark the four-year anniversary of one of the darkest days for the Western Australian pastoral industry: the day when the Labor Party, with the full support of the Greens, turned their backs on the families, the Aboriginal stations and the communities of the Kimberley region.

The knee-jerk decision to suspend live cattle exports to Indonesia—a decision made by a government that had no interest in regional Western Australia; a decision made by a government which saw Western Australia as nothing more than a cash cow to fund their mining and carbon taxes; a decision made by a government that had no respect for Western Australia's largest trading partner, Indonesia—ripped apart the social and economic fabric of the Kimberley. The aftershocks of this poorly-thought-through, knee-jerk policy continue to be felt by many people across the Kimberley region today.

That is why, during my recent trip through the Kimberley, where I met with so many of those who had been so affected by this poor policy decision, it was refreshing to encounter the optimism of these citizens of Western Australia's far north—an optimism fuelled by the commitment of this Abbott government to the northern pastoral industry. It is because of the Abbott government's commitment to reducing trade barriers that Kimberley pastoralists have established new and emerging markets for the live export trade. It is because of the Abbott government's commitment to strengthening our trade relationship with Indonesia that Kimberley pastoralists have seen a relaxation in quotas and an increase in demand for their cattle. It is because of the government's commitment to foreign investment that the expansion of the Ord River irrigation project is providing much-needed jobs and infrastructure for the Kimberley, especially for Aboriginal workers. It is because of the Abbott government's commitment to infrastructure that we are seeing much-needed investment occur on cattle roads across the Kimberley. The Abbott government's removal of the mining tax and the carbon tax has resulted in a lowering of the costs of production, allowing pastoralists to once again be competitive in international marketplaces.

However, it is not just because of the policies of the Abbott government—policies which support live exports, support rural industries, support free trade, support investment and support jobs for Aboriginal workers—that there is now a new sense of optimism throughout the Kimberley. Part of this is due to Western Australia's Liberal Premier, Colin Barnett, and his visionary Water for Food initiative. This revolutionary program will, for the first time since the development of the Ord, establish new, and increase the size and productivity of existing, irrigation projects throughout the Kimberley region. It will also provide for the development of a new policy framework to smooth the way for pastoralists to change parts of their leases to more flexible and investor-friendly forms of tenure. Colin Barnett's and his state government's Water for Food program will support and strengthen communities throughout the Kimberley, creating sustainable jobs and training opportunities for Aboriginal workers.

The flagship Mowanjum irrigation trial near Derby, located on the Mowanjum Aboriginal Corporation's pastoral lease, will use local groundwater and a centre pivot grazing and silage operation to support the community's vision to establish itself as a cattle fattening and breeding centre, and will serve as a model for other Aboriginal pastoral stations across the Kimberley. It will provide vocational training opportunities for Derby High School students and will assist Mowanjum to negotiate approvals for a more flexible form of tenure, which will attract important third-party investment. The Fitzroy Valley investigation project will, for the first time, confirm the groundwater capability of the Fitzroy Valley, and will increase confidence among pastoral station owners wanting to diversify their operations and lift productivity. The Knowsley agricultural area water investigation will define sustainable water supply options for future cropping programs outside of Derby, creating a new industry out of traditional grazing country.

But most importantly, Colin Barnett's Water for Food project will develop new land tenure options that will promote and support investment not just in the Kimberley, but throughout the West Australian pastoral industry. Water for Food is a bold and visionary initiative—one that deserves the full support of all sides of the political spectrum. The Liberal Party has always has been, and always will be, the strongest supporter of the West Australian pastoral industry. We recognise the value of the industry to the Australian economy. We appreciate the rewards that come from hard work and determination. We understand the devastating effect that results from having your industry stopped at the stroke of a ministerial pen and the flow-on effects for pastoral families, for regional communities and for the economy from damaging, short-sighted decisions like these. We recognise the challenges that lie ahead, and we look forward to ensuring the viability of this valuable industry, and in actually working with industry and their communities, not against them, to develop a strong and vibrant Northern Australia.

The announcement of a $5 billion Northern Australia infrastructure facility announced in the federal budget this evening delivers an important and significant marker on the road to realising the full economic potential of Australia's far north. I know it will be welcomed by the communities, particularly by those that make up the Kimberley region.

This is an exciting time for Northern Australia, and a particularly exciting time for WA's far north. This is a project and optimism that has been in the making for many, many years. After many years—some would say too many years—of talking, the region finally has governments in both Canberra and Perth that are committed to working with local residents, pastoralists, Aboriginal communities and businesses to unlock the region's economic potential, which has lay dormant for far too long.