John Anderson (Gwydir, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services. Minister, would you inform the House how the government is helping regional areas create jobs, particularly in the context of the crippling drought that we are seeing at the moment, and new industries, particularly with reference to my electorate of Gwydir?

Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Gwydir for his question, and I certainly recognise the great work that he has done in representing the interests of regional Australia and in putting in place many of the programs that are there now with an adequate level of funding to support economic development and enhancement in regional Australia. As he points out, this is at a time of particularly severe economic stress for those areas of Australia affected by the worst drought that we have ever had.

Talking about that particular issue, yesterday I had the pleasure and the honour, along with the member for Gwydir, to announce a $3.4 million grant for the Back o’ Bourke project. It has been going through the system for some time. The Back o’ Bourke Exhibition Centre is being funded under this government’s Sustainable Regions Program. This program has been well received in those areas across Australia that we have targeted to assist regional industries and regional bodies to expand and develop.

In fact, I met with a number of ACC chairs today who have been asking about the possibility of the extension of the Sustainable Regions Program. It is a program that has delivered around $100 million to 266 projects through eight regions in Australia—regions identified as needing specific assistance from the government. Of course, Bourke, which is part of the member for Gwydir’s electorate, is one of those regions. It was good to help with the funding to complete the final stage of the Back o’ Bourke Exhibition Centre. The centre will act as a major tourism icon for that part of New South Wales, telling 500 years of environmental and social history of the Darling River. This is very important given the focus that we as a nation should increasingly have on our history.

It is one of the programs assisting regional Australia, but there are others that the member for Gwydir would be well aware of. In all of those programs we have seen that, for every dollar spent by the Commonwealth government, the local community organisations and local government bodies spend $2. So there is $3 being spent on the ground for every one that we make available. They are significant investments in regional Australia; they are helping to strengthen and bolster those regional communities and their economies.

Add to that other programs that are broadly targeted at helping regional economies, like the Roads to Recovery program, which I mentioned yesterday, and that the Australian local government authorities are very appreciative of the work that is being done with that funding—about $2 billion over four years going from the Commonwealth government directly to local government. That never happened in the history of the Commonwealth until this government was elected to office. Local government had to always rely on rates and state governments, but state governments in Australia today are withdrawing their support for local government. The Commonwealth has had to step in to ensure that regional infrastructure is kept up to scratch, that we are able to maintain our competitive edge and our efficiency.

Of course, the member for Gwydir played a significant role in the establishment of the program—a program, by the way, that the Leader of the Opposition referred to at one stage as a ‘boondoggle’. As I said yesterday, every single local government representative in Australia would disagree with him on that point because they want that program continued.

The point is that we are focusing on ensuring that we maintain our level of support, particularly during the worst drought this nation has ever had in regional Australia. The exceptional circumstances measures that we have announced for drought affected areas have been very well received because they are well targeted. The message to regional communities across Australia—and I know the member for Gwydir will relay this message to his regional communities—is that the coalition government will always stand beside them to ensure that our regional economy plays a significant role in securing the strength of our national economy.