Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Energy and Resources) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to speak today on the Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government’s report Funding regional and local community infrastructure: principles for the development of a regional and local community. I believe that supporting the programs that build and help communities is one of the most fundamental roles of the parliament and of local representatives. It has achieved real results for the community.

Having only become a member of this committee in early November, I was not part of the full inquiry process and of the hearings. However, having seen the results of Regional Partnerships projects delivered not only to my electorate of Canning but to the whole of Australia, I obviously have an interest in this report. The government’s dismantling of the area consultative committees and Regional Partnerships will be seen as nothing more than a sham if subsequent programs fail to deliver to local communities. I agree with Deputy Chair Paul Neville’s dissenting comments that the government’s proposed RDAs—regional development authorities—appear to take the process and the role of infrastructure development away from local communities and put much more of a heavy process on governments at all levels. It is bureaucratic nonsense. This is clear in the recommendation to have a departmental delegate as the chair of these RDAs.

The Leader of the Nationals has suggested that the recommendations made in the report are likely to lead to a less efficient program that will favour large population centres and do little to stimulate local community growth.

I agree with the comments of the member for Hinkler, Mr Neville, about an enlargement of the ACC role of strategically placed regional offices with skilled field officers. I think it is vital that these officers know the regions that they are in very well. Any intention to simplify the application and assessment process has been lost. The Area Consultative Committees became the backbone of local development and infrastructure.

In Canning, the entire community was lucky to have what would have been one of the most motivated and successful ACCs in the country. Why were they so successful? Because they knew the local area. They knew the needs of the local community and made a commitment to delivering the best results for the people of the Peel region. The Peel ACC covered an area of some 6,027 square kilometres and incorporates the local government areas of Rockingham and Kwinana, which are in the member for Brand’s electorate, and, in my electorate, the localities of Serpentine Jarrahdale, Mandurah, Murray, Waroona and now Boddington.

The Peel ACC region remains the fastest growing in Western Australia and also one of the fastest growing in Australia. That made the work of the ACC vital to delivering infrastructure to cater for this growth. I will be sad to see John Lambrect and Noela Durnin leave at the end of this month and I want to pay special thanks to former executive officer Pat Gallagher. Pat was highly successful in delivering outcomes for the region because he was in touch with local people and local programs and he was very hands-on. He had the trust of those in the region to identify programs to help provide much sought infrastructure to add to their local programs.

This Rudd government would have us believe that the Regional Partnerships program was all bad, but this program was highly successful and delivered real results. I will outline some successful Regional Partnerships projects that were delivered by the ACC and which will benefit the Canning local community for many years to come. One example is the magnificent war memorial in Mandurah, which was supported by the ACC to the tune of $275,000. There have been many fantastic Anzac services and other services held there.

In another project, the Waroona Town Square redevelopment, which was partnered with Alcoa, the sponsorship of the ACC was $286,000. A multi-use sporting facility at Peelwood Reserve in Mandurah was sponsored to the tune of $588,000 and is now being used by all the local soccer clubs, cricket clubs and schools. It is a multipurpose facility that is used all year and was sorely needed because the City of Mandurah could not afford it on its own, but the city did partner with the state government’s sporting programs.

The Boddington Medical Centre was sponsored to the tune of $33,000 and the Peel Tourist Railway was sponsored for $969,000. This was a fantastic project that has brought a concentration of commercial development to Pinjarra and, again, was partnered by Alcoa.

Support for the Fairbridge Village redevelopment was $2 million. This was one of the most unique villages in Australia. Those present would know that this is the last of the Kingsley Fairbridge Villages from around the world and it was in decay. It was actually going to be bulldozed about 10 years ago until successive governments supported it. I have to congratulate the member for Brand because he is currently working with the Fairbridge executives to continue the support of this magnificent village, which delivers fantastic outcomes for young people at risk—Indigenous young people in training. This, and restoring the village back to its original use, is what this $2 million went towards. So it is a great program.

None of the people that received these monies ever said it should go back, because it is doing fantastic things on the ground. They all had partners. For example, because Alcoa is the largest employer in the area and abuts Fairbridge Village, they help put money into this program, along with the Freemasons of Western Australia. The Freemasons are one of the biggest patrons of Fairbridge and many of the Fairbridgeans that came out there are obviously members of the Masonic Lodge and continue their association with the village.

During 2006-07 financial year 12 Regional Partnership applications were submitted from the Peel region, including the above-mentioned Pinjarra pool, the Meadow Springs open space facility, the Port Bouvard Surf Sports and Life Saving Club and the paediatric ward. Six projects were approved with the total amount of funding being $3,365,000. This funding was to contribute towards $20 million of capital development in the region. So the $3 million was going to actually enhance the region by bringing in other partners to make a total development of $20 million. It was a great outcome.

Then we had the unfortunate situation where Labor decided to axe those projects that had not been approved in writing by the previous minister prior to the election. The Pinjarra Indoor Heated Aquatic Facility, the Meadow Springs open space facility, the Port Bouvard Surf Sports and Life Saving Club, the paediatric ward of the Peel Health Campus and the c-pod digital studios in the City of Gosnells, which is now the in area of the member for Hasluck—just to mention the details of a few. I am pleased to say that after rearguard actions, a lot of lobbying and some sensible behaviour with the support of the member for Brand, the Port Bouvard Surf Sports and Life Saving Club is now back on track.

I visited this site last week to observe that the construction is well under way. Credit for this must go largely in part to the City of Mandurah and the Club President Ric Roberts, who recently received a Member of the Order of Australia for his work in surf lifesaving; but this in particular was one of his last and best projects. The club room’s proposal included a viewing platform for lifesavers, a first aid room, a training room, a kiosk, change rooms and storage—not to mention a base for the club’s 200-plus members. This will vastly assist the members to help save lives. Already there has been a death in this area because of the unmanned beach. Tragically, that happened before we could put this facility in place. Now that the construction has started, not only will the beach be patrolled but later in the summer they will have this facility to operate from.

Finally, I would like to say that the Shire of Murray is in Canberra today. I know that they are seeking the funding for the Pinjarra pool project of $1.1 million which was committed to the expansion of the existing Murray District Community Recreation Centre to include an indoor heated, eight lane, 25 metre pool, spa and leisure pool. As I said, this was axed and now the project is at a standstill because it is waiting for funding despite the fact that the funding had been committed from all other sources. Those other sources included, again, Alcoa helping provide the generation of power through their cogen facility, the shire and the state government. Now that the federal government has pulled the funding, it is at a standstill.

It would be a great community facility that is sorely needed for the recreation, welfare and health of this local community. But I suspect that it is has been knocked on the head because it was a commitment from the former government. It is tragic for the local community and I will do my best to try and help these people see this project come to fruition. With all the money sloshing around at the moment in the stimulus packages, sadly this magnificent project is being stymied because of what I see as spiteful and vindictive politics from the member for Grayndler. I hope that this is one of the projects that this program—and the government—proposes to revisit and look at to see that it will be funded in the future.

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