David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mallee for her question, and I acknowledge that she represents one of the richest agricultural regions—and one of the proudest regions—in the country. Despite droughts as well as COVID, our regions are having a renaissance, not just because of rain, but because of the infrastructure and the environment that we, as a federal government, are backing them with. That includes over $110 billion worth of infrastructure projects, over 20,000 projects right across Australia. Many of these are in regional Australia, empowering them to continue to be the powerhouse of our national economy.

It is part of our Ag2030 plan. It is one of the key pillars of our Ag2030 plan. Part of that is not only about building roads and rail and airports; it's also water infrastructure—$1.6 billion has been committed to this plan. Spending has started for over $3 billion worth of projects, in building dams and plumbing this country. We are not only building capacity in the agricultural sector, but supplying critical water supplies to many of our regional communities. This is about infrastructure, like the Emu Swamp Dam in Stanthorpe, which will not only grow the horticulture industry in Stanthorpe but also supply it with critical water they've been missing for so long. There's the Rookwood Weir, which the member for Capricornia has fought so hard to secure. It will bring new agricultural jobs and supply water for those townships across Central Queensland.

It's also about diversifying the economic base: $1.2 billion into our Building Better Regions Fund; $607 million under our Stronger Communities Program, which is about letting these economies diversify so that they're not just relying on agriculture and resources, but looking into new ones—into tourism, for example—and going further through supply chains to create more jobs and give greater strength in times of hardship, whether it's drought, fire or flood, so their economies are more resilient.

We're also making sure we're connecting our people with the rest of the world, and connecting our product with the world, with our road infrastructure. The $3.5 billion Roads of Strategic Importance program is making sure we're connecting the paddock to the ports, getting our product out and supporting the free trade agreements this government continues to negotiate. It's also about the roads we're building across this country, opening it up and connecting places. There's the Outback Way, from Winton in Queensland across to Laverton in Western Australia. It will open up mining, agriculture and tourism as Australians awaken to the real travel opportunities here in Australia. This is the environment and infrastructure that our government is investing in regional Australia, not just to help them through tough times of drought, fire, flood and COVID-19, but to take them to the next level while continuing to be the economic powerhouse of this nation.