Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

There is no doubt that infrastructure and transport are critical for building cities up so that they can grow and develop with strong private investment from business. Townsville is the largest city in northern Australia and as such we have a great deal to offer to the South Pacific area and Asia, and not only across the three jurisdictions of Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. I would like to focus on the infrastructure needs of my community. Unfortunately, what we are seeing from this government is just an array of cuts. We have had cuts to our health service, cuts to education and, of course, we have cuts to infrastructure. These cuts mean less business confidence in regard to private investment, but they also mean cuts to jobs. Last year, the then Treasurer and now Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, cut infrastructure investment from $8 billion in 2017-18 to $4.5 billion in 2021-22. Guess which state bears the brunt of most of the Morrison government's cuts? It's Queensland.

Almost a quarter, in fact 21 per cent, of the infrastructure cuts in 2016-17 will hit Queensland. At budget time last year, Queenslanders were promised $2.2 billion in infrastructure funding. However, the 2017 budget revealed that the state will actually receive only $1.8 billion. This proves that Queenslanders simply cannot trust this government to be up-front with the facts when it comes to actual infrastructure funding. The LNP government have cut funding for fixing dangerous black spots on local roads by $17.3 million. They have cut funding for major road upgrades by $276.5 million. They have cut funding for upgrading the roads that the cattle industry rely on by $20.2 million. And they have cut funding for upgrading roads that connect communities and regional towns across Northern Queensland by $50.7 million. That is nothing short of disgraceful, given that connectivity for those people who live in rural and remote Queensland is of major importance.

But the news actually gets worse. The Parliamentary Budget Office has found that Commonwealth investment will fall from 0.4 to 0.2 per cent of GDP over the next decade. For us, that means more job losses, particularly in the area of apprenticeships for our young people. With all of these cuts, you would think that this year's budget would be different. But a leopard never changes its spots. There's nothing itemised and nothing in the budget for Townsville. I have written to then Treasurer and now Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, twice but, just like the budget for Townsville, I've got nothing back.

Townsville has been very loud and clear in our calls for funding regarding vital infrastructure from the LNP government, but our calls seem to have been ignored in the main. Townsville has for a very long time been demanding long-term water security, energy infrastructure, funding for the port expansion and development of industry. Labor has been on the front foot regarding these vital infrastructure projects, because Labor is aware that projects of this nature will create much-needed local jobs, boost the local economy and increase industry confidence. That is why Labor has committed $100 million for long-term water security, $200 million for energy infrastructure and $75 million for the Port of Townsville expansion project.

And Labor would create a whole new industry in Townsville with the presence of the Royal Australian Navy's Amphibious Assault Ships, otherwise known as the LHD vessels, at the Port of Townsville. This would create new jobs and further diversify North Queensland's economy. Enabling an increase in the activity of LHD vessels at the Port of Townsville would support real local economic development for Townsville by helping to grow the local Defence maintenance industry. The regular docking of the LHD vessels at the Port of Townsville would allow for a continuous program of maintenance work and would be expected to support between 200 and 400 new and ongoing jobs. It would also facilitate important exercise activities, including, most critically, those relating to the joint amphibious capability of the ADF—but nothing from Prime Minister Morrison.

However, I can say that, after 197 days of us calling on the LNP government to match Labor's commitment of $75 million for the port expansion project, the Prime Minister did finally announce the government's funding for the port project. This has also been matched by the state government, Minister Mark Bailey and the member for Townsville, Scott Stewart. Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited Townsville when he was the Treasurer, but he did not commit one cent for infrastructure at that time. Then, after a huge internal fight for LNP leadership, Prime Minister Scott Morrison came to Townsville to announce that he would fund the port expansion project, in the hope that he probably would shut us up. But I am just getting started.

Because the Prime Minister still has not matched Labor's funding on water security, energy infrastructure and the LHD vessels, the clock is ticking away, and quickly. On vital water and energy infrastructure, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is 506 days behind Labor's commitment. That's 506 days where Townsville has been forced onto water restrictions, 506 days where small businesses are struggling to pay their energy power bills and 506 days of absolute arrogance and inaction of this government that Townsville residents have had to endure.

Labor is not stopping there on delivering for regional Queensland. Labor has also announced that we will invest $500 million to deliver a staged upgrade of Queensland's inland road network. This will deliver up to 3,000 kilometres of better, safer roads and up to 300 wider, stronger bridges. Labor's announcement will see an estimated 13,000 direct and indirect jobs created in Queensland over the next decade, along with an additional $2.5 billion economic boost to the regional Queensland economy. Half of Queensland's economic activity takes place outside of Brisbane. Queensland is Australia's most decentralised state. For too long, crucial regional roads have not received the attention they deserve, including the Barkly Highway between Mount Isa and Cloncurry, the Capricorn Highway between Emerald and Rockhampton, the Mitchell Highway from Cunnamulla to Charleville, and the Kennedy Highway between Cairns and Mareeba.

Queensland transports the greatest volume of cattle by road compared to any other state and makes up half of Australia's cattle herd. The industry employs around 20,000 Queenslanders. This investment not only improves safety on key freight routes but also helps reduce the cost of transporting cattle to market. The investment is a big boost for the Queensland economy, particularly regions feeling the impact of drought. Just like every infrastructure project that Labor invest in, we will insist on Australian materials and Australian jobs, and we will make sure that one in every 10 of those local jobs will go to an apprentice.

The coalition government fails the fairness test on investment and infrastructure, and it certainly fails the investment test in areas like Townsville. This is clearly evident when one considers what this government is refusing to fund and also when considering the government's complete and utter incompetence in underspending $4.7 billion on its own infrastructure investment commitments in its first four budgets. This brings the country to a standstill, and it is because of this inactive government.

Only Labor will invest in the infrastructure that regional communities need, and only Labor will invest in infrastructure that will kickstart the country again and create Australian jobs, particularly apprenticeships, for our young people. The facts are very simple: Labor delivers jobs and the LNP do not, because they spend their time looking after the interests of big business and the banks. Prime Minister Scott Morrison is too busy protecting his own job, rather than focusing on and protecting the jobs of real Australian workers in regional, rural and remote Queensland.

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