Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to begin my speech today with a direct quote from Prime Minister Albanese when he was in opposition, back in 2018. As the shadow minister for infrastructure at the time, he said:

This is a government that doesn't have a plan for long-term infrastructure investment, that hasn't produced a pipeline of projects, that has gutted Infrastructure Australia and, therefore, will damage Australia's future economic growth and prosperity.

I now think that he was perhaps looking into a crystal ball, because that is exactly what this government is doing right now. Australians were told by the now Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government that there would be a short, sharp 90-day review, which was to commence on 1 May. This review was designed to take a razor to $120 billion worth of planned, promised and costed projects right across the country, projects that had been deemed worthy by the department. Yet here we are, on 5 September, and we're still none the wiser as to which projects and funding programs will be continued and which will be axed.

While the government pats itself on the back for its budget surplus, which was achieved from those things we sell overseas—the Treasurer couldn't bring himself to say iron ore, coal and gas—the regions, not the cities, wait with baited breath to hear whether pipeline projects that are critical for the growth and prosperity of their communities will actually be delivered. Ninety days—it's fairly specific. It is not vague or open to interpretation like many other things the government has on the table. It's 90 days, yet it has been 128 days and we still have no answers or even any indication of the results of the review. These are critical projects: the Roads to Recovery Program—critical in the regions; the Bridges Renewal Program—critical in regional and rural Australia; the Black Spot Program; and the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program. These are projects that our councils, which is the level of government that is closest to the people, one would think, are desperately crying out for. These are successful programs that have saved lives and livelihoods in my electorate and are now being delayed or removed.

Then there's the money for regional communities that was promised and budgeted for in the 2022 budget. The most important project in my electorate was probably stage 2 of the Southern Cross University health precinct. This was a crucial piece of infrastructure that was funded; it was in the budget. This would've seen an operational health precinct for up to 48,000 patients a year. Can you imagine how much pressure that would take off the local doctors and the local hospitals? Yet that money was stripped away, and we see that pressure compounding with the cost of living. Over the next 15 years, Coffs Harbour's population is projected to grow by 25 per cent. I don't blame people for moving to Coffs Harbour—it's a beautiful place—but our health services are simply not coping with the current population. Without facilities like the health campus, we're just not going to cope. Further compounding the need is the fact that over 30 per cent of the Coffs Harbour population will be over the age of 65. The Southern Cross University Health Clinic would've provided quality, affordable and dedicated healthcare services across the board.

Rather than focusing on symbolism and partisan politics, I ask this government—I plead with this government—to focus on providing for its people in the regions and, in particular, the remote areas. It's time to deliver.