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

I rise today to talk about a very successful event I was able to participate in on behalf of the community last week, and that was the opening of a brand-new section of duplicated road on the Western Highway between Burrumbeet and Beaufort. This 23 kilometres of road is part of the government's program to duplicate the Western Highway from Ballarat to Stawell. This is a $505 million program, of which the Commonwealth is contributing $404 million. But it is not the money which is the important thing here; it is two other factors: 480 jobs are being maintained while this duplication is taking place, and it is reducing travel times along the highway for my local communities—there are 5,000 vehicles that use this road every single day, and it is the major thoroughfare between Adelaide and Melbourne. The work that the federal government is doing in duplicating this highway is making our communities safer, and improving the productivity of the nation.

It is part of a wide-ranging program that the coalition government has for improving road infrastructure in my electorate of Wannon. It includes $2.5 million for the Condah Hotspur Upper Road, a $25 million commitment to improve the Great Ocean Road. There is $200,000 for the Warrnambool Intermodal Terminal upgrade and expansion and, as part of the government's $2.1 billion Roads to Recovery program, councils in the Wannon electorate will receive $55.9 million for local road construction and street repairs. There is more to come with the Bridges to Recovery program, which we will have an announcement on very shortly. We have also allocated $4 million to carry out detailed planning for bypasses for the townships of Ararat and Beaufort. As the duplication of the Western Highway continues, those bypasses will become a reality. Also, as my good friend the member for Corangamite also reminds us about, there is $205.2 million for the duplication of the Princes Highway from Waurn Ponds to Colac, which will also substantially benefit commuters travelling between my electorate and Melbourne.

This government is serious about improving road infrastructure in regional and rural areas in Australia. It backs that commitment with real money and is delivering real progress on improving the nation’s roads, and it is one of many reasons why I am proud to be a part of this coalition. (Time expired)