John Cobb (Calare, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to take this opportunity to rise and speak about the benefits of Roads to Recovery and what it is actually doing in the electorate of Calare. Four councils have got their latest instalment of Roads to Recovery—over $1½ million just recently. In the last few years, each of eight LGAs in my electorate have made good use of the millions of dollars.

Parkes Shire Council are spending a quarter of a million dollars widening and sealing Back Peak Hill Road, which is a collector road carrying significant agricultural and local traffic between townships. It is a B-double route and also a bus route, and this funding will allow council to extend the narrow seal for a length of approximately three kilometres. This route upgrade is just about complete. Council has been committing R2R funding for several years to this project and will conclude the program at the end of the next financial year 2015-16. There is $250,000 to widen and seal Yarrabandai Road, which a distributor road carrying significant traffic between the townships. It is a road train route and also a bus route.

The R2R funding in Parkes, like in all my councils, whether they plan it over years or do spots, is providing enormous benefit. As somebody who was around when it first started, I think it has been the most popular thing we have ever done with local government.

Cabonne Council in 2015-16 will spend money on Packham Drive. There will be four sections of this road upgraded. Nanima Lane and Davis Plains Road will also receive work from R2R.

The Bathurst Regional Council will receive half a million dollars for Limekilns Road reconstruction; installation of a guardrail at Abercrombie Caves Road; Ophir Road reconstruction near Abercrombie House; and Dunkeld Road near the Mitchell Highway.

Orange, at the same time, will get $400,000 for Huntley Road, Ploughman's Road and an upgrade to the Northern Bypass.

As you can see, councils are actually doing things that all our constituents and residents make use of every day. I think that this is such a good program that the previous government were not even game to change the name of it—that is how good it was. At the moment, we are in a double payment round, and our councils are making very good use of it.