Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Good things come to those who wait. I must say we on this side have been waiting 18 months to hear the opposition take some responsibility for the mess that they left us—some responsibility for the $667 billion in debt that we are about to rack up and some responsibility for the $120 billion of accumulated deficits. The opposition-leader-in-waiting gave it to us a couple of minutes ago when he said that the ALP realises some tough decisions need to be taken. It has taken them 18 months, but all of a sudden we have the opposition-leader-in-waiting saying that the ALP now realise that some tough decisions need to be taken.

It is very interesting to see how we have got here. What has all of a sudden led to this change from those opposite? What is it? Has it got anything to do with what the Greens did last week? Did the Greens shame the opposition into taking some fiscal responsibility? That is how low those opposite got: they had to be shamed by the Greens. As a matter of fact, there was almost a double wedge with this bill here, which has led the opposition—the Labor Party—to show some fiscal responsibility. We had the Greens last week shaming them by taking fiscal responsibility when it came to the changes to the pension, which left the Labor Party looking isolated, irrelevant and completely out of touch with the fiscal repair job that this nation needs, and then, with this bill, we have had the clock ticking, as the member for Grayndler mentioned, because if the Labor Party had not acted then it was highly likely that the revenue that had been collected in the last 12 months would have returned to the oil companies. So it has taken the Greens last week and the oil companies getting the money that we have tried to save over the last 12 months to actually get the Labor Party to agree to show some fiscal responsibility. Any other spin that those opposite might put on this should be completely and utterly ignored. As for the idea that, as the member for Grayndler suggested, the ALP now realises some tough decisions need to be taken, the only reason they have realised that is that it took the Greens and the oil companies to get them to understand that message.

I also would point to another thing that the member for Grayndler said, about how, in their six years of government—'government' is probably a kind word for the chaos and dysfunction that we saw when those opposite were last in power, and I think we will see episode 3 of that tonight, which will once again reinforce that message; the take-home message that I think all Australians will see will be one of complete chaos and dysfunction, and it will be rammed home again—there was a doubling of the roads budget. I can say this honestly: we saw no indication of that in my electorate, and I would dare say that if we asked many of the members, especially on the government side, whether they saw any of that then there would be a shaking of the head as well. It might have been talked about by those opposite, but it never, ever eventuated.

That is the difference between the six years of chaos and dysfunction that we saw from those opposite when they were last in power and this government. I know the assistant infrastructure minister is in the House. What we do is not talk about it but actually put money into projects, get building and get delivering. I have seen it firsthand in my electorate, and I know the assistant minister has as well, because he came down so we could look at the new part of the Western Highway that was being opened. We were not there talking; we were actually looking at a road which was being opened, and we can now drive on that road. That is what government is all about. We can all talk, and we will see a lot more talking tonight, but what we want to do is act, and we are acting. We are acting across the country when it comes to road infrastructure, just as we are acting to fix the mess that we inherited when it came to debt and deficit. This bill before us will help do that, and that is why the government has put it forward.

We understand what this bill is about and what it means. It means a 50-litre-per-week consumption of fuel results in 40c of additional cost. Therefore, there will be an impact on road users, especially when it comes to those in rural and regional areas, because the public transport opportunities that we have in rural and regional areas are not similar to the ones that they have in urban areas. So there will be an impact in regional and rural areas. That is why we have been very keen to increase funding to the Roads to Recovery budget. Let us put this bill aside, because we were already doing that, and it is something which had been extremely well received by local government across Australia, because we had said to local government, 'Here is money directly to you to fix your local roads.' Can I say, as a member that represents a rural and regional electorate, that there is no issue which is more of a touchstone—no issue which is more important to local residents—than the roads that they travel on to and from work, getting their kids to and from school, and making sure that the freight that they produce can get carried to and from market. That is what this government recognised and acted on, and now we are acting even further. This increased funding for Roads to Recovery will be incredibly well received. I have to say this: we will also be making sure that the extra funding goes into fixing local roads. We are going to ensure that the dollars that are collected make sure there is more bitumen being fixed or laid down, more gravel being graded and more potholes being fixed. That is what we are determined to do.

We all understand that in 2015-16 we have a doubling of the Roads to Recovery funding, so that is $700 million which was going to be allocated to local governments across the nation for local roads. They will now get an extra $300 million, so that is $1 billion into local roads. In 2016-17, there will be an extra $805 million in addition to the $350 million currently planned.

I think it is fair to say that this will be the largest spending envelope given to local government to address and fix local roads that we have seen in this country's history. And it fits with the message of this government because we have got an infrastructure Prime Minister, a Treasurer who is focused on improving the infrastructure of this nation, a Deputy Prime Minister who is focused on fixing the infrastructure of this nation, and an assistant infrastructure minister--who is here in the House--who is also absolutely fixated on making sure that we get infrastructure spending rolling out in this country so it actually delivers the infrastructure that this nation needs.

Overall, we are looking at an increase of over three times the funding for road infrastructure for 2014 over the 2015-16 and 2016-17 period. I know that there will be residents in my electorate who will be absolutely delighted by this. I was in Skipton in my electorate—the home of a young Henry Bolte—a few months ago, and I met with some lovely ladies who were celebrating the 90th birthday of one of the local residents. There were about 14 ladies celebrating, and they asked me to sit down and join them for a quick cup of tea and a piece of homemade birthday cake—which I must say was delicious. I asked them to tell me what local issues were worrying or concerning them. Two of the ladies said to me, 'We're very worried about the local road leading up to our houses. There are some potholes that need fixing, there is some bitumen that needs repairing. If you could do one thing for us, could you write to the local council and see whether they could address the problems with these two roads?' I did that, having enjoyed the cake and coffee, and now—given this increased spending that is going to local government to see these local roads fixed—I am looking forward to seeing issues like these addressed. So next time I call in to Skipton, when hopefully the dear lady will be celebrating her 91st birthday, I will be able to get a reassuring message that the local government has been able to fix those two roads which were of concern. It really gives you a sense of how important this issue is for regional and rural areas.

We should not get away from the fact that, by delivering this, we are also delivering the long-term structural change that we need for Australia's finances. This will help deal with the deficit issue that we inherited but also the debt issue that we inherited. This government is determined to ensure that that debt and deficit problem that we inherited is fixed. We have been resolute about that, and the Labor Party have stood in the way. But on this bill—and it has taken 18 months—they have finally come to the party.

The member for Grayndler has said that the ALP realises that some tough decisions need to be taken. I hope that after the seven weeks of the winter recess we will see more of the same from the Labor Party—that they will understand that the time has come for them to not only act and support us on this measure but also look at other measures to support us on. Eighteen months is really too late, and when you are shamed by the Greens to have to act, surely just acting on one bill is not enough to make up for that. Surely there must be an understanding now on the other side that they need to do more to repair how the Australian people view the way that they deal with fiscal matters. It might be that it will be the Leader of the Opposition-in-waiting rather than the Leader of the Opposition who is finally able to direct the Labor Party down this path. Time will tell on that. In the lead-up to Christmas it will be very interesting to see where the ALP go with that issue. I know it is on their minds at the moment and I think it will be firmly back on their minds tonight.

I support the passage of this bill for two reasons. The first reason is that it helps us to address the fiscal mess that we were left with by the other side. That is an incredibly important job that we in this parliament need to do on behalf of our children and future generations. The second reason is that it will provide much-needed revenue to local government so that they can continue to deliver the roads that local communities expect to drive on: roads that are safe and well maintained so that people can travel safely to and from work and to and from school and so that the freight that we need to carry to market can be carried in an efficient way.

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