Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

and mobile towers. Thank you, Member for Riverina. There were all these projects that have happened in their electorates not just over the first four years but even over the last year. I sat here with great envy. I just thought, 'If only I could get for my electorate just a smidgen of that.' And I thought back to all those years ago when we were in government and to the small projects that we delivered into Cowper, into Riverina, that were then described as pork-barrelling by the other side. But, when they do it, it's delivering for their communities.

I just want to highlight a few of the issues in my electorate that not only haven't been funded but had funding taken away from them when this government came into power in 2022. I want to start with something that's very close to my heart, and that is veterans. In Cowper we have one of the largest cohorts of veterans in New South Wales—around 9,000 veterans, compared to other places, let's say, further north in Richmond, where they have only 4½ thousand.

In 2022 we had earmarked $5 million for a veterans centre, which was a hub-and-spoke model. The other models are just $5 million for one centre. This would have provided four centres throughout the electorate, so people weren't driving two hours from Coffs Harbour down to Port Macquarie, if that were the case, or vice versa—wherever it was going to be located. There would have been four. We know that the hardest part of getting veterans into care is for them to actually attend. It's so hard, and we rely heavily on the veterans' families.

After we lost the election in 2022, that $5 million was ripped away and given to the electorate of Richmond, where there's half the number of veterans. The panel that I worked with and the veterans that I worked with were literally heartbroken. I mean that. They had worked so hard, and we had celebrated the fact that there was going to be this hub-and-spoke model. Those people that they were working for—hundreds of files—would not get the attention that they deserved. Fortunately, I have great constituents and great businesses in Cowper, including the Coffs Harbour C.ex, the ex-servicemen's club. They pooled together the money for a veterans centre in Coffs Harbour. There was not one federal dollar that went in there. But for the generosity of our locals, we wouldn't have any veterans centre at all. That doesn't fix the problem down in Port Macquarie or Kempsey or Nambucca. But I'm so grateful to the C.ex and those local business people that have supported this for our veterans.

Then the next issue is probably the No. 1 issue that people approach me about. That is the state of our roads—the fact that they are falling apart. The councils can't afford to put them back together. When you look at the density in a city and the rates that they pay, it's no wonder that their roads are of a fairly satisfactory condition. Then you look at the tens of thousands of kilometres of road network just in Cowper alone and the pittance that the council gets to maintain those roads. Time after time, people walk up to me and say, 'Can't you fix those damn roads?' But you can replace the word 'damn' with a lot of other expletives that we can't use here.

One road springs to mind, and that is Waterfall Way. Waterfall Way runs from Coffs Harbour to Bellingen and then up to Dorrigo. It's about 140 kilometres. We have had a number of slips there, but recently there has been a significant one that is now stopping the freight, businesses and workers from getting up or down the hill to go and do their daily business. We are seeing farmers pour their milk out on a daily basis because they can't access the road network. Now, this government has provided $3.2 million for two bridges on a very unsafe alternative way. But in 2022 we had the money set aside for an upgrade of Summervilles Road, which was an alternative route in the event that we had further spills. I've had people on the phone crying that they now have a three-hour round trip, one way, to go to work and back down to Coffs Harbour. I met up with the school students at the Steiner school. It's adding an extra two to three hours in a bus every single day—because this government won't listen to their pleas for funding to fix this road.

On another road topic—Wrights Road in Port Macquarie. If you live in Port Macquarie, Wauchope or anywhere near there, you'll know what I'm talking about when I say that it's not only a significant congestion spot but it will extend your drive into work or out from work by at least 30 minutes a day. Now, I appreciate the minister has already said that it's not a priority, but this congestion spot is right smack-bang in the middle of the health precinct. It stops ambulances and health professionals from getting in and out of that precinct quickly and efficiently. I've heard stories of nurses finishing their shift, going out to the roundabout and constantly driving around the roundabout to let their colleagues get out of the hospital. That's how bad it is. And sooner or later—and I'm not being melodramatic—a patient will die because that ambulance cannot get through that traffic quick enough. This government needs to look at its priorities for where it wants to spend money.

We hear the other side talk about child care, that it's subsidised and you can earn up to $530,000 as a couple, but that's no good if you can't access it. Prior to this last election, we put in a plea for government funding to help Kempsey Children's Services purchase a building. It was about $600,000—not much; a drop in the bucket—and it would have provided child care for at least 60 or 70 children. There is a waiting list of 280 children for that particular child care while this government says, 'We're doing everything we can to make sure people get access to child care.' I know of police officers who arrange their shifts so they can look after each other's children because they can't get into child care. That's disgraceful. We should be looking at these examples on the ground, but we don't.

I'll now go to telecommunications. The last round, or it might have been the round before, of the black spot telecommunications program was a disaster funding round. Cowper's had plenty of disasters, but I can tell you now that 28 of the 28 towers in that funding round went to Labor seats—not to Liberal seats, not to National seats—and some of them were in seats that haven't seen any disasters for years.

Thank you for your contribution, Member for Riverina! It is serious. This is not just convenience. When we have disasters, we need to be able to communicate with the people who live in the area, with the frontline workers, with the SES, with the RFS. The fact that 28 out of 28 towers went to Labor seats is just a disgrace. Even more disgraceful was that five of them were deemed inappropriate for the areas they went to. I would like to see more decent funding in our regions. I would like to see equitable funding in our regions. And I would like to see the other side, when we work with you, to compliment our side, just the way I complimented your side when I started my speech.

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