Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker, Minister for Regional Health, Regional Communications and Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

There's one thing I enjoy about the job that we have, and that is the irony in some of the contributions that we hear. The member for Blair and I turned up here on the same day some while ago now. I did enjoy his contribution immensely because it was dripping with irony. It followed the contribution from the member for Cowper, who was talking about the completion for the first time of the Pacific Highway and the Coffs Harbour tunnel. I was in the member's electorate recently as I drove through there last Sunday. I actually stopped in his electorate and brought about $400 worth of mouse bait, but that's another story. Scooting along the Ipswich motorway, I nearly missed his electorate, the roads that have been funded were that good—you'll recognise the last bit of work funded by the federal government. I then scooted up the Toowoomba Bypass, the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing, which was designed and funded by our government. But I digress.

I'd like to talk about the support and role of local government and the relationship we have with local government. Just out of interest, through the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, the greater Brisbane area received $75 million, Ipswich itself received $14 million, Scenic Rim received $5 million and the Somerset council received $4 million. I understand they're not all in your electorate, but parts of them are. There's been considerable investment by this government right across Australia. I would really like to give a shout-out to the 537 councils across Australia because of the relationship that we've had, particularly during the pandemic. We understand that local governments, with their connection into the local communities, were the most effective way to get our stimulus measures into individual communities because they understood the priorities. They had the workforce and, in some cases, a workforce that was underresourced because of the impacts early on of COVID. We saw right across the country great projects delivered by councils. But in some cases, even in the early stages of the pandemic, councils were reassigning staff that may have been underutilised to help out community organisations. We had council staff across the country delivering Meals On Wheels and helping out some of those more vulnerable groups. I need to make the point that, under this government, every year councils have received more funding from this government. Last year the FA grants—

Ms Catherine King interjecting—

I'm glad you interjected, member for Ballarat. Last year funding for the FA grants increased by $50 million. We added another $2.5 billion through the LRCI program and are bringing forward, to help councils with expenditure through the FA grants, the additional funding through the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program and obviously the Roads to Recovery Program. This government has really supported councils but also appreciated the role that they have played. The member for Cowper was talking about some of the great projects in his area that were delivered by the council and funded by this government. They provided short-term stimulus in employment but also long-term benefits. Last week I was in Bourke, in my electorate. It mightn't seem much, but they have received several million dollars through the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure program. One of those projects was a modern public amenities block and an upgraded park. What we've seen with COVID is that, right across the regions, tourism is coming back to those areas. And local councils, with the assistance of this government, have stepped up and are improving the facilities and services that encourage people not only to go there in the first place but to maybe stay there for an extra period of time. As the minister for local government, I'm very proud of the relationship we have with councils. I'm very proud of the councils themselves and I'm very pleased that this government has been able to provide more support for local government than any other government in previous times.

See this speech in context