Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last year Shoalhaven City Council applied for federal RDA funding to upgrade Oallen Ford bridge. However, despite a firm, precise and unequivocal briefing that was given to the minister as to why this upgrade is vital to the future of the Shoalhaven economy, it was rejected. But the Four Winds Festival in the adjoining Labor seat of Eden-Monaro got a $1.6 million grant. This year Shoalhaven City Council tried again with another submission for funding to upgrade the single-lane bridge which was built in 1935. For a second time Shoalhaven City Council's submission was knocked back in favour of a $5 million makeover for the Crown Street Mall in Wollongong, in another Labor electorate, and twice blessed Eden-Monaro got a second funding grant.

You can only imagine our disappointment and annoyance at being knocked back a second time for a project that costs three times more than the Oallen Ford bridge upgrade. Clearly, as far as this government is concerned we seem to be wasting our time. It is another reason why there needs to be a change in government. With that in mind, it was necessary to bring Gilmore's needs to the attention of the alternative government. So I invited the shadow minister for infrastructure and transport, the member for Wide Bay and Leader of the Nationals to visit Gilmore late last year, which he did. I thank him for his support and interest in Gilmore.

Main Road 92's Oallen Ford bridge desperately needs an upgrade that will enable heavy vehicles to cross and lend purpose to the $98 million cost of building Main Road 92. Without that, it is a choke point against further economic expansion in the Shoalhaven and, with no rail service south of Bomaderry, the Princes Highway is our lifeline for transport tourism and commerce. I thank the New South Wales coalition government for recognising the need for funding major road projects in their budget this year. The fact that Mr Truss fully appreciated how crucial these infrastructure projects are to the working economy of the Shoalhaven was heartening.

Local bus and freight companies are desperately waiting on an upgrade of Main Road 92's Oallen Ford bridge and Shoalhaven council and the local nearby councils have already contributed significantly in an effort to expedite progress. They want the freight route between the South Coast, inland New South Wales and Victoria finally opened up. They have been waiting a long time and the project is ready. Council just needs the funds to start building. It is becoming increasingly apparent that this government is going into survival mode by trying to save the seats that they have. Gilmore and other regional areas of Australia will become collateral damage in this strategy. This Labor government has shown time after time that it is prepared to deliberately sacrifice economic growth in regional and rural Australia in favour of its inner city seats.

In Gilmore they have constantly knocked back funding for the Shell Cove marina even though the economic benefits the project would deliver were well and truly demonstrated, being a project that will create 7,000 jobs. Labor knocked it back again despite the reality of massive job losses in the Illawarra steel industry—losses in the order of 2,567 jobs, $208 million in household income and $743 million wiped off the value of the Illawarra economy according to modelling done by the University of Wollongong. It is economic negligence and I describe it as such. Doesn't this government want the Gilmore electorate to prosper? Does this government think Gilmore residents worthy of a chance at local jobs? What will it take for this government to realise that they govern the whole of Australia, not just seats they want to cling to?

Our project requires less than $1.5 million of funding and yet this Labor government cannot bring itself to make decisions objectively. But politics is the motivation and political survival the primary motivator. When the inevitable change of government comes, I will be making sure that the interests of Gilmore have been well and truly addressed as was done by the previous coalition government to the tune of $2.6 billion in infrastructure investment in Gilmore alone. The facts speak for themselves. A few weeks ago, Minister Crean was on ABC Illawarra with a message for me:

There are three more rounds. My advice to her is stop being angry and just persist. Persist sensibly and persist logically and she may be surprised.

I appreciate his sentiments, but I cannot help but think that only with a change of government will this vital road link be completed. Until then I have absolutely no doubt that all we can expect is just more lip service from Labor.