Kerry Rea (Bonner, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to express my real disappointment with the opposition’s decision to continue their 12 years of reckless and irresponsible spending by continuing to reduce and erode the government surplus in the Senate. It is a major disappointment to me—and, more importantly, to the residents of the electorate of Bonner and, in fact, to the residents of the whole of South-East Queensland—that we see an opposition who continues to irresponsibly throw away taxpayers’ money on issues that they think will get them a cheap political point or a quick headline. They have no support or respect for the desperate need for infrastructure and investment—particularly in our area, which is the fastest growing in the country.

Having been a local councillor on the Brisbane City Council basically since 1991, I know how important it is that all levels of government work together to invest in important social and economic infrastructure for a community to grow and develop. I remember, as a very early member of the council, the JobSkills Program introduced by a federal Labor government that invested in not just creating skills and employment opportunities for many people who were otherwise on the unemployment line but also very important social and community infrastructure in and around the suburbs of Brisbane. I remember the great, far-sighted policy of urban renewal which effectively saw the city of Brisbane rise from a fairly sleepy country town whose inner city was dying to a very vibrant, modern and cosmopolitan city because it had a federal government that was prepared to invest in urban renewal, in new housing, including public housing as well as some very attractive and exclusive housing that built back the inner-city suburbs of Brisbane. Those suburbs were once industrial wastelands but they are now thriving communities that are the envy of many throughout the world and are a great drawcard for tourists and local residents alike.

Instead, what did we get from the last 12 years? We got a government that thought that pens and mouse pads, advertising and ridiculous and exploitative industrial relations laws were a more appropriate way of spending. We had a government that thought that fridge magnets that taught you to be ‘alert not alarmed’ was a far more important use of taxpayers’ money than investing in basic infrastructure like public transport, roads and rail. I can tell you, Mr Speaker, that the residents of Bonner and the residents of South-East Queensland are not just alert anymore, they are alarmed. They are alarmed that their roads are congested; they are alarmed that their trains are passing them by because there has been no investment in public infrastructure. They are alarmed that basically balancing their work and family life is made so much harder because they do not have the infrastructure to get them around the city and to enjoy the quality of life that they deserve.

So what do I tell them? What do I tell them when this opposition continues its reckless spending and is prepared to knock off over $6 billion in this year’s surplus? What do I tell the thousands of residents in the suburbs of Carindale, Wishart and Manly West? Do I tell them that broadband is not just a dream for them—it could well be an impossibility? What do I tell them when they are trying to simply educate their children and conduct their business in a modern technological world that relies on high-speed broadband? It is not just a luxury for playing games; it is in fact a necessary part of daily life, but thanks to the opposition’s measures they may not get it. What do I tell the Port of Brisbane, the fastest growing port in the country, potentially an area of employment for over 6,000 people? What do I tell the working families who rely on jobs at the port? That there is a chance that the much-needed money to upgrade their motorway will go because the opposition is prepared to allow their teenage daughters to get cheap alcohol, that it thinks it is more important that you can get a cheap Ferrari than it is for this very important industrial area of Brisbane to have safe and efficient access through its roadways.

South-East Queensland, as I said, is fast growing. I refer the opposition to the South-East Queensland Council of Mayors document, which identifies $11 billion of infrastructure spending that they may not get because of the tactics of those opposite. (Time expired)