David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. Could the Deputy Prime Minister please outline to the House what the budget will mean for people living in regional Australia?

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Lyne for his question. He is one of the many representatives of regional Australia on this side of the House. This is a government that has made deep commitments to regional Australia, and this budget delivers on many of them. It is a good budget for people who live outside the capital cities. They will reap the benefits of the job creation programs, the infrastructure plans and of course our commitment to do the right thing by small business.

The $50 billion infrastructure program will build major projects across the nation but also fund last-mile projects on local roads and streets. The member for Lyne will be particularly interested in the commitment in this budget to provide all of the money that is going to be necessary to complete the four-laning of the Pacific Highway all the way to the Queensland border. That is certainly a project that I know everyone in northern New South Wales has been looking forward to for a long period of time.

This budget also provides the Growing Jobs and Small Business package, the National Stronger Regions program, the Bridges Renewal Program, Roads to Recovery and a $300 million youth employment strategy. All of those things matter a lot to people who live in regional communities. This budget has been welcomed by regional Australia.

The Australian Trucking Association said:

More than 45,000 trucking businesses will benefit from the small business tax changes announced in today's Budget …

That is 45,000 trucking companies. I know there are some major ones in the member for Lyne's electorate. The Automobile Association said: 'Infrastructure expenditure on land transport for 2015-16 is $7 billion. This represents an increase on the 2014-15 expenditure, which was $4.9 billion.' These are major commitments to road construction. That is about four times the amount that was spent on roads in the last year of the Labor government.

When you go to the Australian Local Government Association, they said:

The doubling of Roads to Recovery is an important boost to all Councils who need help maintaining the first and last miles of our transport network …

The Civil Contractors Federation said that 'budget infrastructure initiatives such as the National Stronger Regions Fund and increased funding for Roads to recovery and the Black Spot Program showed the federal government appreciated the benefits that flow to the economy from productivity-boosting infrastructure … this is a solid budget. It recognises business, and particularly small business, as the driver of the economy.' This is a good budget for business. It is a good budget for regional Australia.