Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Around a third of us live in a regional, rural or remote part of Australia. We talk often in this place about the challenges that are faced by these parts of our country, but what we far too often forget is the extent to which our cities rely on them. The bread on the tables of our urban population, the fuel that powers their electricity supply and the raw materials that make up their consumer goods: all of these things come from regional, rural and remote Australia.

My own electorate of Fisher on the Sunshine Coast is certainly a regional area. Local people are rightly proud of their community. There is a reason that the Sunshine Coast is growing at such a significant rate. We are projected to expand by nearly 200,000 people by 2036 and our region's economy is set to double in size by 2033 to more than $33 billion in gross regional product.

The relocation of government departments is not about the Commonwealth government and Canberra bestowing their benevolence on our regions, but, rather, about what our regions can do for the Commonwealth government. It is about what our regions can save taxpayers in costs and efficiency, and what they can do to improve the lives of public servants in health and lifestyle. I quite agree with the member for Canberra about one thing, and that is that the decision as to where government agencies should be located should be based on the net benefit for the Commonwealth of Australia. On that basis, I think the decision is an easy one.

Office accommodation costs on the Sunshine Coast are 41 per cent lower than in Brisbane's CBD, and average total operating costs on the coast are lower than state averages in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Queensland also has the lowest basic flat payroll tax of any Australian State or territory.

These lower costs come with the same quality facilities and infrastructure. High-speed internet is available in many parts of the Sunshine Coast already, with NBN rollout due to be completed over the coming year. The local council have in place a proposal for a submarine broadband cable which would be the only such infrastructure on the east coast of Australia and north of Sydney.

That connectivity has helped to foster an innovation hub on the coast, which is quickly becoming an Australian leader. The University of the Sunshine Coast Innovation Centre, which I visited just last week with the Minister for Defence Industry, is at its centre and has been the seed of a fast-growing innovation ecosystem. The Sunshine Coast has been awarded Google eTown status, and has been named a Smart2l community for three of the past four years. We also have a highly educated workforce. Our community boasts a dynamic and growing university, the University of the Sunshine Coast, which, with facilities like the Thompson Institute, is conducting world-leading research programs. Of the local workforce, 57.4 per cent hold a tertiary qualification, well above the state average.

In terms of transport we already have access to the National Freight Corridor through the Bruce Highway and the North Coast rail line. The Bruce Highway is currently receiving $1.6 billion in upgrades from the federal government, but even that is cheap in comparison. Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics analysis has found that Melbourne and Sydney recover just 28 and 25 per cent respectively of their public transport costs. That equates to a $4½ billion taxpayer funded subsidy to keep urban commuters moving—very slowly—every year. We also have Australia's fastest growing airport. From 2020, it will have an international standard runway and flights throughout the Asia Pacific will get underway. This is not to mention the $1.8 billion Sunshine Coast University Hospital, which has made our community South-East Queensland's healthcare hub. We need to recruit skilled and motivated people for our public service. Skilled and motivated people today expect the best business facilities, but they demand the best lifestyle for themselves and their families. That is what the Sunshine Coast can deliver. It delivers Australia's fastest growing airport, Queensland's cutting edge healthcare hub and the best in innovation, but it also delivers world-class beaches and magnificent hinterland. It offers 40 per cent commercial accommodation cost savings, a highly educated workforce and low payroll tax, but it also offers spacious housing, negligible travel times to work, healthy living and family-friendly green space in abundance. We should approach this issue with a rigorous cost-benefit analysis. I think the outcome of such an analysis is clear when it comes to the Sunshine Coast: with this one move we can transform lives, we can transform productivity and we can transform our regions. I commend that to the House.

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