Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm here in parliament because I believe rural and regional Australia needs strong representation. To many people's surprise, I had a career before I came here. When I left school, I worked throughout Queensland as a ringer and a timber cutter, a plant operator and an earthmoving contractor, amongst many other things. I was an active partner in my family grazing and farming business and in my engineering and earthmoving business. I still am. I'm a qualified boilermaker, and I worked for many years in the gas industry as a high-pressure pipe welder. Most importantly, I'm a husband, I'm a father and I'm a grandfather. I want my children and my grandchildren to have a strong future in rural and regional Australia. I support the matter of public importance, and it is clear that this government is failing to invest in enough infrastructure to support regional Australians.

What is Labor's plan to invest in regional infrastructure and support regional Australia? Tax, tax and more tax. We've seen them introduce carbon tax 2.0, truckie tax and fresh food tax. What they really should do is change the name of the Australian Labor Party to the Australian tax party. The reason for this is simple. As former prime minister Margaret Thatcher said: 'The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.' So then you have to tax everybody. That's what happens. Central Queensland is the economic engine room of Australia, and it has been under attack since the Labor government has come to office.

Labor's infrastructure razor gang are taking aim at the road users, leaving communities and local residents with an uncertain future. The $120 billion 10-year infrastructure investment pipeline adopted by the former coalition government included many worthy land transport projects that had been identified in partnership with state and territory governments, local councils, freight industry stakeholders and communities. Yet now all of it's under review. Fifteen roads in the Flynn electorate are included in Minister King's infrastructure review. Labor has also referred ongoing programs to the 90-day review, putting them at risk, including Roads to Recovery, the Black Spot Program, the Bridges Renewal Program, the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program and national road network maintenance. Labor has scrapped the Building Better Regions Fund, a regional grants program designed to deliver funding for regional infrastructure projects and community development activities.

Projects that have previously received funding through the Building Better Regions Fund in my electorate are: $380,908 towards the construction of a speedway track and facilities at the Gladstone Auto Club; $5.7 million for the upgrade of the water supply infrastructure with a new water treatment plant and raw water reservoir at Biggenden; $108,500 towards the construction of the Gemfields skatepark; $300,000 towards improving disabled and elderly entry upgraded bathroom facilities, increased shaded areas and a water feature at the Wondai memorial pool; almost $4.1 million towards nine one-bedroom residential units at the Ivy Anderson aged-care project in Springsure; $1.4 million to the construction of the Emerald Retro Street kindergarten; $492,000 towards upgrading the Vinnies Gladstone warehouse and family support centre; $360,000 towards weatherproofing a roof to an all-weather facility at Calliope community hub; and almost $1.4 million towards the Gin Gin community hub development. These are just a few.

As many in the coalition know, water means life. Water is opportunity and it means production. The Labor government, in their wisdom, have cut more than $7 billion in dams and water infrastructure proposed at the last election, deferring funding of $899 million over four years from the Dungowan dam and pipeline, Emu Swamp dam and pipeline, Hughenden irrigation system and the Wyangala dam wall raising project. Labor's recent budget did not match the coalition's commitment of $25 million towards the supply of water critical for the development of the new industrial precinct 20 kilometres from Emerald at the Yamala Enterprise Area. The funding would support the Yamala Enterprise Area intermodal and industrial precinct to turbocharge Central Queensland's economy, creating more jobs and industries. Cuts to water programs are devastating, and these impact rural and regional Australia. Labor simply does not understand how critical water infrastructure is.

See this speech in context