Annette Ellis (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2008-2009 and Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2008-2009. These bills are designed not only to help Australia avoid the worst of the current financial crisis but to ensure Australia’s prosperity in the years to come. Since I last spoke in the House the world’s financial situation has worsened. Worrying financial news comes from America, Japan, China and other large trading partners on an almost daily basis. It is in this climate that we must make serious decisions concerning Australia’s future, and it is with this in mind that I rise to speak this evening.

These appropriation bills demonstrate the Australian government’s commitment to implementing its Nation Building and Jobs Plan. They demonstrate the government’s ability and willingness to act decisively to protect Australia’s interests. The government is acting while the opposition is playing political games with Australia’s economic future. The people of the electorate of Canberra are concerned, like everyone, about the financial situation throughout the global economy and what effects it will have on them. Due to the government’s decisiveness in its response to the crisis, when I speak to constituents I am able to outline what action the government is taking to ensure that the worst effects of the global financial crisis are avoided or reduced to the lowest level.

These bills are providing funding to several projects which will improve conditions throughout Australia and here in Canberra. Nationally, Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2008-2009 will fund 241 ABC Learning childcare centres until 31 March 2009, allowing the parents of children attending the childcare centres which are under financial duress to find alternative childcare arrangements if necessary, as well as providing centre operators the time to restructure their finances to help avoid closure. This decisive action by the government will enable parents with children in child care to avoid taking days off to provide care for their children, and hopefully it will allow us to continue with a healthy childcare sector.

There will be $6.5 million provided for literacy, language and numeracy training places to assist young Australians to achieve those basic skill requirements that are absolutely essential to start along the skills pathway which will assist them to achieve in the world of work. Although graduation rates from year 12 have increased over the last 20 years, we need to continue to work to ensure that more Australians gain these basic skills.

I am glad to see the strong support this government is giving to help those who are learning a trade. We are ensuring that we create an effective learning and working environment for younger apprentices and employees. This support includes $43 million for new apprenticeships and apprenticeship centres as an investment in Australia’s future. This will enable apprentices to improve their skills and it will consequently build an economically stronger Australia. This includes $38.9 million to help trade apprentices find new employers and to reduce delays for business and employees in finding work and workers in these difficult times. Additionally, $36.8 million will be spent to assist redundant workers by providing early access to employment programs to help reduce the costs that families incur, both economically and socially, when a family member loses that employment.

In addition, $16.4 million will be spent to increase development in the east Kimberley region as part of a larger package of $194 million to help develop roads, ports and power in that region. I am keenly aware of the importance of Australia developing its infrastructure. Here in the ACT we have benefited from $2 million worth of local infrastructure programs. These programs include, within my electorate, a $1.4 million youth recreation centre in Woden. Canberra will also gain from a $600,000 upgrade to Glebe Park in the city precincts. These projects will not only improve the quality of life for Canberra residents now and into the future but, importantly, they will also provide jobs in construction and associated industries here in my local community.

The bill provides an additional $11.1 million for the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs to expand emergency relief to families in distress. After the financial events of the last few months, and as we see these events continue, we must ensure that we strive for the best outcomes for those who are in need due to events that are out of their control.

Provided in the bill is $68.7 million for a number of agencies to assist with the implementation of the Nation Building and Jobs Plan. As I have said, this plan is part of the Rudd government’s commitment to help Australia avoid the worst effects of the global financial crisis. The investment of these funds will ensure that the Nation Building and Jobs Plan is effectively and efficiently implemented.

Appropriation Bill (No. 6) has several key elements, including an injection of $1.189 billion in the Australian Rail Track Corporation, and will provide funding for 17 major projects aimed at improving the reliability and competitiveness of the nation’s rail and freight network—and I cannot see any reason for anyone objecting to that particular initiative. One of these 17 major projects that this bill will fund is the expansion of the rail corridors to the Port of Newcastle. The funding will increase the capacity of the port from 97 million tonnes per year to 200 million tonnes per year and will provide incredible opportunities for the Hunter region to contribute to Australia’s economy through improved export infrastructure capacity.

The Rudd government is committed to ensuring Australia’s long-term prosperity, and this appropriation bill is part of that commitment. Investment in Australia’s rail network will help stimulate the economy at a time when the world’s economy is in a major downturn. This bill is not just about stimulating the economy here but also about providing for Australia’s future by allowing business to operate effectively in the future. While I am talking about rail, I cannot let the chance go by to say that I understand that Infrastructure Australia’s interim priority list—which is a list of major infrastructure projects they are considering throughout the country—has on it, along with a lot of other projects, a very-fast-train proposal involving Victoria, the ACT and New South Wales. This is something that this region has talked about for many years. No-one would be more delighted than me if we could see that coming to fruition at some point in the future. That is the sort of project that infrastructure is really all about. It would change the face of infrastructure in the region and revolutionise transport in this particular corner of the country. So our fingers are crossed, even though it is a very large project to bid for.

Appropriation Bill (No. 6) provides $392 million for the AusLink program. This will form part of a commitment to bring forward $711 million to invest in roads, including the already successful Black Spot Program. As the chair of the ACT consultative panel for the AusLink Black Spot Program, I appreciate the savings and benefit to society as a whole through this program. With relatively low-cost changes to road condition, we have been able to save lives and decrease the vehicular accident trauma level. An evaluation of the Black Spot Program showed it has prevented at least 32 fatalities and more than 1,500 serious injuries in its first three years of operation. For every dollar the government invests in this program, society receives an estimated saving of $14 from road trauma costs.

I know from our local point of view there is always a very strong interest in the local Black Spot Program. Within my electorate between 2007 and 2008 the Black Spot Program funded road improvement projects at locations with recurring vehicles crashes in suburbs such as Red Hill, Griffith, Gordon, Kambah and Weston. The additional funding that has now been announced through this appropriation bill will continue and improve this work in reducing the road toll in the ACT and in other parts of the country. Furthermore, government investment in road improvements assists businesses to operate more effectively by reducing the risk and costs from accidents as well as eliminating bottlenecks and the subsequent delays, which contribute to cost increases.

Included here also is $250 million to accelerate additional water purchases by the Commonwealth government. Water has become one of the most valued commodities within this wonderful country in which we live. With the bizarre weather that we are facing, where we have fire at one end of the country and flood at the other, water is still very much integral to our planning. We must accept that we face a future of limited water resources and work to ensure that we manage this commodity well into the future.

The Canberra community understand the value of water, and the federal government has worked with the ACT and NSW governments to ensure the best use of this precious resource for us. Recently we have had the announcement of the granting of a 150-year lease over the Googong Dam to the ACT government. The finalisation of these arrangements has ensured the long-term water security of Canberra, Queanbeyan and the surrounding community, along with other programs that are in place to work in line with that.

These bills demonstrate the Australian government’s commitment to improving the lives of all Australians. The government is working to ensure that Australia does what it can to avoid the worst of this global financial crisis, a crisis that every day brings worse news with it. But we must simply remain optimistic, work with the government and the programs that are coming forward, and make sure that this investment is an investment in our and our children’s futures. I commend the bills to the House.

See this speech in context