Cathy McGowan (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House:

(1) notes that:

(a)by the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development's own statistics, two thirds of Australia's export earnings come from regional industries such as agriculture, tourism, retail, services and manufacturing;

(b) Australian regional businesses and industries are highly exposed to global market forces;

(c) whether exporting or not, businesses and consumers alike are influenced and are in turn influencing regional Australia's future competitive advantage; and

(d)the future of manufacturing and industry in this country requires extensive skills development, training and employee development in key sectors such as farming, food production, engineering and value-adding; and

(2) calls on the Australian Government to:

(a) prioritise investment in regional infrastructure that supports growth in rural and regional industries and manufacturing businesses, such as:

  (i)improving telecommunications access for rural and regional Australians;

  (ii)improving passenger rail and freight rail timetables and services; and

  (iii)simplifying compliance for interstate businesses by reducing cross-border anomalies; and

(b)provide additional capacity for the regions to design their strategic vision to meet future industry, manufacturing and regional development demands in Australia.

Manufacturing, farming and food production are of major importance to Australia's regional economy. Agriculture in the Hume Murray region, which includes my electorate of Indi, contributes $2.3 billion to the economy. Indi is home to approximately 600 manufacturing businesses that generate turnover of almost $200 million. In 2014, manufacturing and industrial businesses were the major source of employment in Albury-Wodonga. This equates to 20 per cent of employment, and the industry sector accounts for 60 per cent of all business activity. Manufacturing is fundamental to regional Australia. On 29 May this year, Victorian Senator Madigan, Wodonga Institute of TAFE and Wodonga city council hosted the Australian Manufacturing and Farming Program—AMFP—in Wodonga. It was labelled 'Albury Wodonga—Position Perfect', signifying the region's location as a national hub. More than 150 regional businesses representatives attended, and they stressed the need for government to develop a big-picture plan to advance Australian manufacturing industries.

At the forum I heard how farmers, manufacturers and industry are now, more than ever, experiencing the impacts of a global marketplace. The regional business community told me they are concerned about the unintended consequences of trade deals, food labelling and foreign investment, as well as the adverse impact that occurs to their businesses when the goalposts continue to change. They said to me, 'We need consistency of legislation', and they want government to support Australian businesses through procurement. We know that future industries will require skilled personnel and a specialist approach to meet market needs. This requires government investment in education training and professional development for the next generation of farmers, engineers, business entrepreneurs, teachers and marketers, all of whom have the ideas and innovation to add value to our production. Rural and regional Australian businesses need to be listened to. They need to be involved in decisions and have their input acknowledged and advice considered in all aspects of planning. An example of government listening and acting positively occurred last week. Biofuel manufacturer, Andrew White, from ARFuels in Barnawartha, Indi, contacted me with concerns about the excise on domestically produced biofuel and fuel ethanol as proposed in the 2014-15 budget. Mr White, together with Gavin Hughes, CEO of Biofuels Association of Australia, came to Canberra and lobbied effectively. To the government and opposition's credit an agreement was reached on legislation that will benefit the whole industry. This type of cooperation brings confidence to the sector and has secured the future of a regional manufacturer and continues the momentum in the growth of biofuels. It works when we work together.

Indi abounds in manufacturing, with clever manufacturers applying cutting-edge science and entrepreneurial skills. Businesses such as Mars Petcare Australia, employs more than 500 people in manufacturing and corporate functions, with an additional 500 jobs created and more than $130 million spent annually with suppliers, Mars Petcare continues to grow and invest in regional Australia. Wilson Transformers in Wodonga produces high quality electricity transformers and employs about 70 people in its Wodonga factory. With a commitment to expertise, technology and safety, and an emphasis on training and education, they have a real competitive edge in the marketplace. Another example is Lucas Mills, in my local community of Wooragee, which employs 35 staff and exports portable timber mills all over the world. These are classic regional manufacturers and they need to be supported.

We know that the government has a commitment to infrastructure. Today I call for a national plan for significant infrastructure to connect rural and regional areas and to prioritise investment in nationally significant infrastructure to support growth in rural and regional manufacturing industries, such as high-speed, reliable internet, high-speed rail, a review of legislation affecting agriculture and manufacturing and cross-border anomalies, and capacity to enable regions to be part of the long-term planning for their future. I am very proud to represent regional Australia and in doing so I am committed to working with my parliamentary colleagues to develop the vision of a strong and prosperous rural and regional Australia alive with opportunities for all. I am very pleased to seek support for this motion. Thank you.

Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

Yes, I second the motion.

Does the member wish to speak to the motion?

I do indeed. It is my great pleasure to speak on this motion. As the member for Indi knows, the best friend of regional Australia is the coalition government. That is why we are rolling out a $100 million mobile phone black spots program with announcements due very shortly, and it has been a great pleasure for me to advocate for further funding. Of course, this is an area where Labor failed to put one single cent. We know how important mobile phone communication is in regional Australia. That is why we are delivering $1 billion over five years under our National Stronger Regions Fund. That is why we are rolling out the NBN. In my electorate, the preconstruction work for Torquay and Jan Juc has just begun—fantastic news! Forty thousand premises in Corangamite are on the rollout and, as I say, we are again giving priority to areas that need it the most. That is why we are delivering three free trade agreements—the agreement with China, of course, was signed just last week. The modelling from the Centre for International Economics shows that by 2035 the FTA will lead to 178,000 new jobs, an extraordinary boost for our GDP and for our exports. I say, shame on the CFMEU for running the scare campaign as they have done and are doing in a number of electorates, including mine in Corangamite. They need to focus more on remedying their unlawful and illegal behaviour.

We are investing very heavily in the jobs for the future. Our Geelong Region Innovation and Investment Fund has already delivered some 750 new jobs. That is why I am also pushing for an industry growth centre in advanced manufacturing. I am going to be looking forward to speaking more about this in a moment.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 13:00 to 13 : 13

As I was saying, I am delighted that our government is working so hard to invest in the jobs of the future and in infrastructure, and I reference the Geelong Region Innovation and Investment Fund. This is a $29.5 million fund, but it should be a $37 million fund. The Victorian government has refused to hand over $7.5 million that it committed to this fund unconditionally. There is $15 million from the Commonwealth, all of which has been spent by our government, and $5 million from each of Alcoa and Ford, but the Victorian government has so far only committed $4.5 million. It promised $7.5 million. The member for Geelong, Christine Couzens, even made that statement a few weeks ago at an event which I was attending.

The industry minister, Minister D'Ambrosio, has written to the member for Western Victoria, Simon Ramsay, confirming that the government will not put this money into the fund. It is an absolute disgrace. This commitment was unconditional. This is damaging jobs and is an attempt to sabotage the fund. The minister writes, 'The Victorian government has decided to go it alone and assume administrative responsibility for the fund once existing funding has been fully allocated.' This is a disgrace. The minister does not understand that this is a jointly run fund where agreements have to be reached amongst the various contributors to the fund. Shame on the Victorian government for breaching this commitment and hurting Geelong jobs and Geelong workers.

Similarly I also note that the Victorian Labor government continues to fail to make any contribution to an incentive package for the Land 400 $10 billion defence contract. We are working very hard to attract a big slice of that project and I am very hopeful that part of that project, from at least one of the bidders, will be partly based in Geelong. The member for Corio has made some false statements in relation to Land 400. It is fully funded, it is on track and the request for tender is underway. In fact $117 million appears on page 158 of the Defence portfolio budget statement. That is the allocation. It is an absolute disgrace that Labor in Victoria and the Labor MPs in Geelong are doing nothing to drive the incentives package that we need. South Australia has delivered $100 million in incentives. The Victorian government is sitting on its hands, as it has done with the East West Link. It has destroyed 7,000 jobs. It has also completely thrown away the opportunities on Bay West, another complete and utter broken promise. And we now see the Victorian government sabotaging the GRIFF, which is so important for local jobs, and sabotaging our chances of attracting important work under the Land 400 defence project. (Time expired)

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for Indi on her motion before this parliament. The standard of representation of Indi has increased substantially since the last federal election.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 13:17 to 13:32

When it comes to regional infrastructure, this government has failed dismally. The National Broadband Network is absolutely critical at overcoming the tyranny of distance that Australia has been disadvantaged by. That is why the rollout of the NBN fibre-to-the-premises was so important and at the core of overcoming regional disadvantage. If businesses can set up in Tamworth, in Bendigo and in Toowoomba and have the same access to international markets as companies based in the CBDs of Sydney and Melbourne, then the other advantages in regional Australia will kick in to grow jobs and to grow those regional economies.

Just yesterday, on Sunday, the Regional Rail Link began for commuters in Victoria. If you want an example of nation-building infrastructure empowering regional communities, this is it. It is of great benefit to Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong as well as commuters in Melbourne. It has created 15,000 jobs. It will add 54,000 to the capacity of the Victorian rail network. It is the first new rail line in Victoria for passengers in 80 years. In our 2013-14 budget, Labor invested $1.6 billion in rail. Compare that with what the Abbott government is doing: by 2017-18 it will reduce rail spending by 80 per cent.

If you look at roads, the investment in the Pacific Highway has continued to decline under the Abbott government. In Labor's last year in office, we committed $1 billion as part of our $7.6 billion commitment. In last year's budget, the government committed to spend $672 million in the coming 2015-16 financial year, but the budget papers show a cut on their own figures of $129 million for that year. With the Bruce Highway in Queensland, successive coalition governments at the state and federal level have cut funding rather than invested. The Howard government, over 12 years, spent only $1.3 billion. If you compare that with the former Labor government, we invested $5.7 billion over half the time. That is why this budget's disappointing cut of $93 million, based on their own figures for the Bruce Highway and what was promised last year in 2015-16, is so disappointing.

Similarly, for the inland rail project, we had already invested $600 million to upgrade parts of the existing track that will be a part of this project and we allocated a further $300 million in the 2013 budget. Not a single dollar, indeed, not a cent, has been added to that vital project. Importantly, projects like the Murray Basin Rail Project, which would standardise the rail line from Mildura to Victoria's major ports, has received $200 million from the Victorian government in funding, but nothing from the Nationals or from the coalition. If you look at the investment that we put into the ARTC it was so important over our period in government. What is this government's response? They want to privatise and flog off the network, which will mean the freight rail in regional, rural and agricultural communities in particular simply will not receive the investment. High-speed rail has a future not only for travel between our capital cities but is also particularly important for regional centres such as Albury-Wodonga, Wagga Wagga, Grafton, Newcastle and Shepparton. And yet, under this government, they have shelved the high-speed rail authority that was planned to make sure that this route, and this future nation-building project, was turned into a reality.

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

I rise to speak to the private member's business motion put forward by Ms McGowan, the member for Indi. It relates to the difficulties faced by regional Australia, and calls for government to provide assistance. I would go as far as to say that I acknowledge her statement regarding the importance of regional businesses and industry and the turbulent global market. There are very few businesses that are not global anymore, particularly in agriculture and mining. In fact, everything we do in regional Australia is influenced hugely by the global market.

Ms McGowan has called upon the government to prioritise investment in regional infrastructure and provide additional capacity to fulfill what is obviously an immediate but also long-term vision. I do not doubt her sincerity in that, not for one second. However, unlike the previous speaker, the shadow minister for infrastructure, I do not believe it has happened until recently in current politics. Taking my own electorate into account for a while, Calare is one of the powerhouses of Australia: it is where mining, energy production, agriculture, manufacturing, forestry and transport, not to mention tourism—or 'visitorism', as I sometimes call it—occur. All of those things are a very big deal to us, and all of them are very affected by global affairs.

Could I just talk for a minute talk about the NBN? Prior to our government coming to power, Calare was not even on the horizon. It was not mentioned in the future of the NBN. We now have over 20 fixed wireless towers; fibre to the node has actually started in my hometown of Molong, the first part of Calare to have started it. We were not even on the horizon with the previous government. So as far as communications go now, we have definitely stepped up to the mark: we are concentrating on areas of need for the NBN rather than the capital cities and areas with large populations.

The mobile black spot program is another one that is very important for infrastructure, particularly for businesses as well as for safety. The black spot program is the first attempt by a government in eight years to actually put more mobile phones out there. I hope to see Calare listed as one of the recipients in the very near future when that comes out. We were also the people in government previously who made the inland rail—put it on the table—and we are the ones now who will carry through on that. There is already $300 million there to do it. Previous Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson is there, making sure that it is done in a practical way, and hopefully there will be a sod turned on that one sometime this year. I certainly hope so. It is a very big project for eastern Australia, but also for the whole of Australia in effect.

I would say doubling the Roads to Recovery Program and the Black Spot safety program for two years are serious infrastructure issues and ones that we are following through. As someone who chairs Black Spot in New South Wales, I am happy to say we are making sure that it is not the state government that takes advantage of this. It is the local councils, be they in urban or, particularly, in regional New South Wales, and hopefully they save lives and improve those things. The National Stronger Regions Fund in my electorate of Calare is already putting out $8.7 million in parks and to fix a treatment plant and a recycling plant, and CareWest is getting $750,000 to help it develop its care of people with disabilities in the community.

I commend Ms McGowan for bringing it to parliament's attention, but let me say our government is acting on it. Our government is putting infrastructure to the fore.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the Federation Chamber for allowing us to continue to discuss this issue this afternoon. This issue, in the motion raised by Ms McGowan about regional businesses and industry, is a critical issue that this House should be talking about.

My electorate of Bendigo, like Ms McGowan's electorate, has proud manufacturing and agricultural sectors, and many jobs in my own electorate are part of both those industries. For example, in my electorate we have Keech Australia, which produces cast irons like a good old-fashioned, traditional foundry. Many people think that foundries are redundant in this country. Well, far from it. They have a workforce 200 strong, and they are continuing to export their product overseas. One of the reasons that this business does so well and can continue to produce equipment for the mining and rail sectors overseas is that attached to their foundry is an innovation centre where they are able to custom design the parts that their customers want. This is how they saw they could help grow their business. They have a high number of people working in their innovation centre. These are those high-skilled jobs we keep talking about.

But, when I am out there at Keech Australia, the one issue that is holding back their innovation centre is the fact that they cannot get fast, reliable internet speed. Bendigo was on the map for the NBN. We were about to get the NBN—that is fibre to the premises, the proposal that was put forward by the last Labor government—and then the coalition got elected, and we were knocked off the map. We have missed out on getting fibre to the premises in our area of Bendigo. Greenfield sites and new housing developments continue to get it, but not our business sector, whether it be the CBD or our manufacturing sites like Keech Australia. We have been put back on the map, but we still have no idea when or what. It is a mess. It is Malcolm Turnbull's mess. That is the only way to describe the NBN proposal for my electorate.

Some people opposite have said, 'That's okay; we're bringing forward black spots.' The trickle of money that is going into black spots will go nowhere near fixing the black spot issues that we have in regional Australia. The minister wrote to me and asked me to put forward the top three black spot issues in my electorate. I could not decide. I could not put forward three because there are multiple black spots issues in our part of the world. Anybody talking to these businesses or these homes knows that strong investment in NBN and fibre to the premises will help alleviate the mobile phone problem. So one area that this government is not investing enough in is the NBN and it is not ensuring our businesses and industry in the regions get connected sooner.

Another area is a rail. The previous speaker on our side, the member for Grayndler, spoke about how great it was to have the Regional Rail Link opened a few weekends ago—an extra 54 passenger services connecting people from Bendigo and Ballarat to the city, freeing up the metro and regional lines to ensure that more people can get to their city appointments or to work on time. But this government has not followed through with that investment. They have not committed, as the member for Grayndler mentioned, to matching the state government's funding for the Murray Basin Rail Project. This project will help get freight to port sooner. This government is not listening to the people of Victoria. It is not listening to the farmers. It is not listening to industry, who want a freight option. This government is silent on that issue. Another area where this government is not doing enough to support regional business and industry is clean energy. I am very proud of the fact that we have a solar power plant in my electorate, in Newbridge. That solar power plant is helping to power, through clean energy, local mushroom farms. A mushroom composting facility will benefit from cheaper electricity generated through clean technology.

These are just some of the areas where this government is failing to get behind regional businesses and industry. I call on the government to take seriously what has been proposed in Ms McGowan's motion. It is only through unlocking the regions that this country will continue to grow.

John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to this motion by the member for Indi. Australia, through a lack of forward planning, has entered a period of lower than optimal growth. This is characterised by the imbalance between our major urban areas and regional areas, highlighted by the strange anomaly that a country whose greatest asset is land suffers from some of the highest priced real estate in the world, in its major cities. This imbalance has seen our major cities outgrow their infrastructure—compromising their efficiency, productivity and quality of life—while regional areas have suffered decline in their economies, leading to higher levels of unemployment then flight. This imbalance, while producing very high costs of living in major cities, has resulted in comparatively inexpensive housing in regional areas and therefore, while our cities are often priced out of the market, there is now the opportunity for regional areas to take this cheaper cost of living as a significant competitive advantage. There is ample evidence that living costs in our major cities are creating a two-priced economy and therefore exposing an opportunity for competitive advantages for regional areas.

The northern Australia initiative of this government is a magnificent example of big-picture vision—strategically utilising a non-performing asset to provide for the needs of the burgeoning middle class of Asia. This initiative will develop the vast regions of northern Australia to provide, in a timely way, for our strongest trading partners. This is a policy that is considerate of climate change and the need for adaptation, and furthermore is an initiative of pure growth. This project is complemented by evidence-based policies informed by a broad suite of white papers, a record $50 billion investment in infrastructure that will improve connectivity to our regional areas, and investment in small-scale infrastructure projects through the $1 billion National Stronger Regions Fund to create job opportunities and enhance liveability in regional communities. Further untapped opportunities lying closer to our urban areas should be explored. As Australia has become increasingly urbanised, the regions have suffered. Our capacity to grow and our potential growth have been and are being constrained by our major cities' ability to accommodate this growth. The cost of retrofitting infrastructure and the acquisition of land or tunnelling are significant factors that constrain growth in our cities. And when growth does occur it occurs at a very high cost. The corridor between Melbourne and Sydney and the surrounding regions of these cities offer strategically positioned regional development opportunities of a scale and duration that can provide optimum sustainable growth, at very low cost, for generations. This is an opportunity that should not be ignored but at the same time requires deep consideration.

Historically, Australia and its cities have not been the beneficiary of any strategic planning whatsoever, resulting in an extraordinary imbalance between our cities and regions, and our cities being congested, expensive and inefficient. It is time to plan our future, for the liberation and full realisation of the potential of our regions, while the retrofitting of infrastructure to facilitate urban renewal and densification is undertaken.

The member for Indi has regularly informed the House of the disparity in wages between her constituents and their city cousins. This is also reflected by a significantly lower proportion of regional and remote adults completing bachelor qualifications—around 17 per cent compared to over 32 per cent in the city. Simple inputs will produce a simple output, not necessarily an enlightened one. Enabling people to make an informed decision about where it is best to live and where it is best to operate their businesses requires more than just a comparison of wages. Regional areas have, based on a real competitive advantage being realised, a great opportunity to attract business investment and people.

A competitive advantage is determined when wages are placed into an equation with cost of living and quality of life. It is not difficult to develop an index, based on a full suite of factors, to determine which regional area offers the best bottom line for investment and families. These calculations may challenge the Einsteins, but luckily you do not have to be an Einstein to work out that, when you are being paid 80 per cent of what you may be paid in Sydney or Melbourne and when housing values are less than 30 per cent, it is a better result for your bottom line. Only when this is commonly realised will the regions reverse the trend of recent decades and play a vital part in Australia attaining its optimal growth and playing at full strength.

Alex Hawke (Mitchell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Proceedings suspended from 13 : 52 to 16 : 00