Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on behalf of the people of Capricornia and regional Australians right across this nation. People are tired of being punished for living beyond the city limits. The Albanese Labor government's plan to slash default regional road speed limits to as low as 70 kilometres an hour is nothing short of lazy, short-sighted and damaging to regional Australia. Let's call this proposal what it really is: a Labor short cut dressed up as road safety.

Instead of repairing our roads, they want to reduce our speed. Labor's own proposal would see speed limits reduced on dirt, gravel or sealed roads that are in poor condition, and that says it all. They are admitting that our roads are in disrepair. They are admitting that the system is failing. But rather than fund maintenance, fix the potholes, reseal the shoulders, repaint the lines and install proper safety features, Labor's answer is simply to tell Australians to drive slower. That is not leadership; that is laziness. It is the latest chapter in the pattern of lazy Labor, a party that wraps everything in red, green and black tape, that prefers slogans to substance.

When the government first floated this plan, they gave Australians just 28 days to respond—a completely inadequate timeframe. Only after pressure from the coalition did they extend that consultation period. That's not transparency, that's panic. This policy will have real-world consequences. It will slow regional Australia to a crawl. For farmers, truckies, tradies and small business operators, time is money. For every extra 30 or 40 minutes added to a delivery, there are higher freight costs, longer work days and less productivity. That translates directly into high prices for consumers and smaller profits for local operators already battling cost-of-living pressures.

Let's talk about the economic impacts. Poor road conditions already drive up fuel consumption and wear and tear on vehicles. Slowing traffic on top of that just compounds the problem. The result? Increased vehicle operating costs, higher transport times and reduce competitiveness for regional businesses. It also weakens our national supply chains. Fewer goods move at a slower pace for higher prices, and that flows from the farm gate to the supermarket shelf. You can't keep the nation's economy healthy when you're putting the brakes on its regions. Instead of addressing the root cause of road trauma, which is unsafe, unfunded infrastructure, Labor are taking the easy way out.

And let's not forget the human cost. Every minute added to a school bus run or medical appointment is time away from family, work and community. In the bush, distance already defines our lives. Labor's policy makes that distance even greater and our communities even smaller. And at the same time as they talk about road safety, they are cutting the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program—the very program councils rely on to maintain safe and efficient local roads. Councils like Isaac in Capricornia want to upgrade roads to a safe standard, delivering projects like the Phillips Creek Bridge Replacement Project that improves the safety and load capacity of the bridge and improves flood resilience. Cutting the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program will see transformational regional programs like this dry up. The truth is real road safety comes from investment, not inaction.

Meanwhile, roads like Marlborough Road are under much more pressure because of Labor's reckless rush to renewables. The added heavy-vehicle traffic associated with the construction of phase 2 of the Clarke Creek Wind Farm means these roads cannot cope. Actually, if Labor can't stump up the funding needed for Marlborough Road, perhaps Twiggy Forrest could improve the very roads his companies are using. Let's be clear: slower speed limits mean more pain for the regions. Labor's slow speed limits will mean longer trips to school, to hospitals, to market. It means greater isolation for our elderly, higher costs for our farmers and more frustration for every person who drives to earn a living.

Can you imagine the outcry if city commuters were told their morning drive to work would take 40 per cent longer? If the Labor latte sippers had to wait for their morning oat milk flat white, they wouldn't cope. But, honestly, I shouldn't joke. That's exactly what regional Australians have been told to accept—that their time, their productivity, their way of life are worth less. Well, they're not.

I say to the minister, get on with funding rural road repairs. Don't cripple our regions with another knee-jerk policy cooked up in Canberra. Let's build safer, stronger, efficient regional roads. Let's deliver proper consultation, real investment and safety improvements that protect lives, because regional Australia needs a fair go and safe roads, and a government willing to do the hard work to deliver both.

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