Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to oppose the irresponsible motion moved by the member for Wide Bay, as it puts at risk the extension of a vital program aimed at improving heavy vehicle safety and, in doing so, threatens our nation's road freight transport. It was great to hear the member for Riverina talk about the member for Wide Bay. I think the member for Riverina said that our roads are our arteries: under the supervision of the member for Wide Bay the arteries were starved of oxygen. We saw when we came to power that a major bypass was needed. It is amazing to think that the Leader of the Nationals, a former transport minister and a member whose electorate sits right on the Bruce Highway, could supervise such neglect of such an important highway as the Bruce Highway. It is great to see that he is committing to the Sydney-Brisbane highway, a road I know reasonably well—I drove from Sydney to Brisbane in January—but there has been no mention from the Nationals of what they are going to do in relation to duplication and flood proofing from Brisbane up to Cairns, which is something the member for Dawson has touched on regularly.

I think the member for Wide Bay, the shadow minister for transport and infrastructure, actually drove the family truckster that was full of Liberal and Nationals over Christmas from Cairns down to Brisbane, where they inspected the Bruce Highway. I think he was behind the wheel, as Minister Albanese has mentioned in question time. Not that Minister Albanese was responding to a question from the former transport minister the member for Wide Bay—he has not asked a question about transport of the Leader of the House. In my speech I will touch on why that might be the case.

The member for Wide Bay wants to disallow the legislative instrument that increases the heavy vehicle road use charge as at 1 July 2012. That negative, short-sighted move has the potential to leave taxpayers to foot a bill of up to $700 million for the wear and tear caused to our roads by heavy vehicles. In this year's budget, the government announced a $140 million extension to the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program to allow the continued construction of rest areas, parking and decoupling bays, road enhancement projects and technology trials and projects that are aimed fairly and squarely at improving safety but also—for the economists out there—aimed at improving productivity. So it is good for the truckies, as it keeps them safe, which keeps other people on the road safe, so it is good for the public; but it is also good for the nation's economy.

In its first years, this program has delivered 236 projects, and there is a continuing strong demand for new and upgraded rest areas and other safety measures across the nation, in areas off the national road link and main highways, and in country areas. It is for this very reason that we doubled the amount of funding dedicated to the program—good for public safety but also good for productivity and for road users.

The extension of this important safety and productivity program comes on top of our recent establishment of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal to set safe rates to stem risky behaviour by heavy-vehicle drivers. The other day, in my electorate, I pulled in to grab some drinks at one of my servos, near Archerfield Airport—and this is, I was told by the truckies at the servo, the busiest servo in Australia in that it sells more diesel than any other servo in Australia—where I ran into a gentleman by the name of Steven Corcoran, who had me sign his survey. Now, I know Minister Ellis is a subscriber to Big Rigs, the free national transport newspaper, and there was an article in there about Steven Corcoran, who had been collecting signatures at truck stops and roadhouses about getting safer rates. The article quoted him as having said:

… truck drivers were 30 times more likely to die than other professions …

So good on Steve Corcoran for taking the time to go into bat for this important cause. So people do care about our truck drivers and the safety of the public. Sadly, that does not seem to be the case from those opposite, which is why we have this disallowance motion before us.

Of course, there is our historic achievement of establishing the first ever National Heavy Vehicle Regulator. That will commence on 1 January 2013. That is despite Federation occurring 112 years ago. Now a Labor led Commonwealth government has been able to achieve this national regulator. That is a good thing too, especially with the way Campbell Newman is slashing jobs in transport in Queensland. It is amazing. What is the first thing Michael Caltabiano—who used to be Campbell Newman's council colleague in the Brisbane City Council—is doing as his new appointee in charge of Queensland transport? He is getting rid of front-line people in the transport department, the people who provide safety out on our roads. Thankfully this federal Labor government is able to bring in the new National Heavy Vehicle Regulator. The wheels of federation move slowly but, when Labor is at the wheel, they move surely—and certainly a lot faster than those opposite.

This historic reform will boost national income by up to $30 billion over coming years by providing savings and boosting our productivity—as well as saving lives. These reforms are vitally important to the heavy vehicle transport sector, which employs hundreds of thousands of Australians and plays a central role in getting our goods and services to our towns, our cities, our airports and our ports.

As I mentioned, my electorate of Moreton is in the middle of many of those highways and train lines. It has 19,000 small businesses, many of them connected with the transport industry. There is the Acacia Ridge rail yard, which is basically the end of the standard gauge line that goes all the way to Perth, and the Moolabin rail yards as well. The Brisbane Urban Corridor goes straight through my electorate, which has some of its busiest intersections—I think the intersection of Kessels Road and Mains Road is the second busiest intersection in Queensland. Thankfully, I was able to secure $300 million in funding to get a grade separation there, mainly because of the problems with trucks trying to do a hill start there in the afternoon—when people are trying to go north, south, east and west, having these big rigs trying to do hill starts creates a lot of problems. I have not seen an article about that in Big Rigs magazine yet, but I know Minister Ellis will keep me up to date.

Since 2007, the Labor government has invested a record $36 billion in our nation's infrastructure, including doubling the roads budget. I think that might be the real reason the member for Wide Bay does not ask Minister Albanese any questions about roads—we have doubled the roads budget. Compared to the former Howard government, we are investing more than twice as much in half the time: $2.8 billion since we came to government compared with $3.1 billion over 12 years. You can do the maths; anybody can do the maths: twice as much in half the time. You can dress the politics up anyway you want but these are the facts and, as I said, it might explain why the member for Wide Bay does not ask questions on transport in question time. Nothing better symbolises the neglect of our road infrastructure under 12 years of coalition government than the state of the Bruce Highway. I used to travel the Bruce Highway quite a lot: in 1988 I was teaching up at Babinda, up near Cairns, and I have gone north to Cairns ever since for holidays and when I worked for the Queensland Independent Education Union, the patch I looked after was from Longreach to Moranbah to Rockhampton and all the way down to Brisbane. So I knew that highway in intimate detail and I knew where you could get the best crab sandwiches, I knew where you could get a good cold drink as I knew every part of that highway. I think the place where you can get the best crab sandwiches might be in the member for Flynn's electorate, in Miriam Vale—if indeed that is part of the member for Flynn's electorate. So I knew that highway intimately, every bump, every rest stop and just about every hotel along it—although, obviously, I have not driven it as much since I have been a federal member of parliament.

Taking the Bruce Highway, look at what the federal Labor government is doing. We are building 20 new rest stops and upgrading a further nine under the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program. In the early noughties I used to drive the Bruce Highway almost every other week, but how it has changed. This financial year we have seen the following investments along the Bruce Highway: construction of a new interchange at the intersection between the Bruce and Dawson highways, known as the Calliope Crossroads, near Gladstone, federal contribution $150 million; straightening and raising the Bruce Highway between Sandy Corner and Collinsons Lagoon, federal contribution $50 million; straightening and widening the Bruce Highway from Cabbage Tree Creek to Carman Road and across Back Creek Range, federal contribution $100 million. That is at a place where I used to swear quite a bit, from memory, while on that Back Creek Range having got behind a slow farmer or a slow rig. Also, there is straightening the Bruce Highway just south of Gin Gin and upgrading of the intersection with the Bundaberg-Gin Gin road, federal contribution, $20 million. In addition to major upgrades to key sections of the highway, our $440 million safety package is installing 52 new overtaking lanes, fixing 100 dangerous black spots, and building 20 new rest areas and stopping places as well as upgrading a further nine existing rest areas. We are also laying audible edge-line markings. This is substantial progress, substantial investment, and it has all been delivered by a federal Labor government. As I said: twice the money in half the time; that is the maths.

If the opposition motion to disallow the Road User Charge increase succeeds, it will put at significant risk hundreds of new projects aimed at improving heavy vehicle safety and productivity. And what does that do? It puts lives at risk. That is what happens. When you do not have an overtaking lane and you have a slow caravan or a couple of trucks then people try to go around too many vehicles, and lives are lost. That is what happens on the Bruce.

Unfortunately, Premier Newman has sacked 1,400 people from the Department of Transport and Main Roads. There are only 9,200 in that department. That is one in seven sacked, and many of those are frontline operators who make sure that there is vehicle safety and that our roads are safe.

So the member for Wide Bay should direct his energies towards talking to Premier Newman rather than coming in here and holding up the Labor agenda. He is putting at risk rest stops; he is putting at risk road and bridge upgrades; he is putting at risk parking and decoupling bays—all needed to ensure improved heavy vehicle safety and productivity and to increase access to the road network.

The Bruce Highway is an interesting piece of road stretching from Brisbane all the way to Cairns. Many English people might think that it is named after a Monty Python sketch but it is not. It is actually named after Stanley Bruce—one of those rare prime ministers who was actually voted out of government while prime minister and voted out of his own seat. It has only happened twice in the history of Federation. Stanley Bruce was one and John Winston Howard was the other. Largely, that was because they did not recognise some of the concerns of Queensland. We are a decentralised state. In terms of transport links, we have a hub settlement pattern straight up the highway from the coast, but then we have rail spurs and roads west from Rockhampton out to Longreach and from Townsville to Mount Isa, Cairns et cetera. So we need to get it right.

The people on this road are an interesting mix of tourists, heavy vehicle operators, grey nomads, businesses and locals going between coastal businesses as well. So overtaking lanes are crucial—and rest stop areas for heavy vehicles are also crucial. So I would urge the House, I would urge all those members of the Liberal and National parties from Cairns all the way down to Brisbane, to vote against this opposition motion which would disallow the road user charge determination because it will put lives at risk.

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