Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

Any life lost on the road is one too many, and we all know that. I know that that view is shared right across the chamber. We are delivering direct stimulus through the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program. The 2,544 projects just approved under that mean 537 councils across the nation—

Mr Burke interjecting—

including yours, Member for Watson, are going to benefit from that program. In the member for Cowper's electorate, this funding has enabled the delivery of more than $15.4 million in local projects. In the Kempsey Shire there are currently four underway, one of which is the $400,000 central business district Crescent Head improvement project. The local mayor—a fantastic mayor, the mayor of Kempsey Shire, Liz Campbell—has welcomed the funding. She had this to say:

Council has invested a great deal of time to identify a range of projects that could be fast-tracked or implemented immediately to boost our local economy and provide real, tangible improvements for our community. … Paths, picnic and barbecue areas, bridges and carparks are some physical benefits this program will bring to our much-loved public spaces.

…   …   …

The fact that local jobs are being supported and work is going to local contractors is the icing on the cake.

This is building on our $100,000—100,000 jobs, sorry—supported by projects under construction as part of our $110 billion—I make no apologies for that—pipeline of investment in infrastructure. And whether it's local communities, no matter what state it is, right across the nation, that's what we're delivering. (Time expired)

See this speech in context