Chris Trevor (Flynn, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is directed to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Will the minister outline how the government has expanded its Black Spots Program as part of the economic stimulus plan? How has this increased funding being received by local members and the community?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Flynn for his question. Indeed, in the Flynn electorate alone, 13 projects worth some $2.3 million have been approved under the Black Spot Program as part of our stimulus plan. There is $100,000 to fix a black spot in Tannum Sands on Hampton Drive near St Francis Catholic school; $1 million to fix a black spot on the Capricorn Highway in the small town of Comet; $60,000 to fix a black spot at the intersection of Falcon Street and Duck Street near the day care centre in Longreach; and 10 other projects in the electorate of Flynn, every one of them leading to support for local jobs, every one of them stimulating the local economy and every one of them leading to an improvement in road safety for all the residents of Flynn and those who travel through the electorate of Flynn. This is just one component of the stimulus package, which is delivering 412 projects for Flynn, worth some $65.7 million.

The Black Spot Program was increased by $150 million as part of the economic stimulus plan, meaning that over the next couple of years we are spending a quarter of a billion dollars on black spots, part of the 70 per cent of the economic stimulus plan that we are putting into infrastructure. This additional funding is delivering an additional 607 Black Spot projects around the country.

I am asked also how this has been received by local members and by the community. You can always rely upon the National Party—always good for some material. The member for Gippsland, when he was in Canberra on 26 February, said this:

What I’m saying is the government has gone for a very low quality spending spree. We have seen a very low quality spend of taxpayers’ money.

In accordance with that principle, he voted against the expansion of the Black Spot Program; he voted against the Building the Education Revolution program; he voted against the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program; he voted against all the measures in our stimulus package.

So I was a bit surprised to look at yesterday’s copy of the Latrobe Valley Express, where there is a lovely photo of Mr Chester at an intersection upgrade that he voted against declaring how terrific it is—in fact, speaking on behalf of the federal government. So I went to the Nationals website. A press release by Mr Chester was headed ‘Dangerous roads to be upgraded’. There are at least two press releases. He has gone through each of the programs, outlining how terrific it is that the federal government is doing these projects and supporting the projects that he voted against. His press release also says:

… he would continue to work with State and Federal Government Ministers to secure more funding to improve the safety of local roads.

I will give you the hint, brother: just vote for it! When these packages come before the parliament, just vote for them. Just sit on this side of the chamber and vote with the government. That would be a good start.

Of course, the opportunism does not stop there when it comes to the National Party. Indeed, it is just beginning. The member for Mallee put out a press release also, and he said this about Black Spot funding:

This sort of essential infrastructure upgrade spending must be sustained in regional Australia despite economic recession.

Correct.

Black spot funding goes to the heart of road safety.

Correct.

There’s plenty more that needs to be spent, so I’m hopeful this Black Spot funding does not become a casualty of the May Budget.

Listen to this, folks:

Expenditure on economic infrastructure is the best way to generate sustainable jobs into the future.

Then he goes through the 20 projects in Mallee that he voted against.

But there is more—although I must say I am not sure about this. I want to give the member for Maranoa the benefit of the doubt because, when I looked at the press release welcoming our funding that he voted against, I looked at the date: Wednesday, 1 April 2009. Given he voted against it, it might just be an April Fools joke. But there he is, praising the green light for Kingaroy road funding, praising the right move for Dalby road funding. I table that release; I table the releases from Mr Chester; I table the Latrobe Valley Express; I table the media release from the member for Mallee. It is quite clear, when you look at why they say one thing in Canberra and something else in the electorate, that they know that what they do here is not fair dinkum. They know that our economic stability package is not only good for their electorates; it is good for the nation.