Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) | Link to this | Hansard source

Beef roads are so very important. I can remember when I was the Deputy Prime Minister—in the golden age of Australian democracy!—going to a press conference with the erstwhile Minister Matthew Canavan and the then member for Flynn, Kenny O'Dowd. We were announcing significant funding for an upgrade—a $30 million project. We were contributing $20 million, because that's what we did when we were in government—we actually provided the lion's share of the funding. This mob, Labor, have reduced it to a fifty-fifty arrangement with the states. So many roads and so much infrastructure has not been built because the states don't want to stump up the additional money. But it was 80-20 when we were in government. Anyway, Ken O'Dowd, Matt Canavan and I were announcing, as part of the $400 million beef corridors road program, the sealing of 457 kilometres of roads in that great state of Queensland—cattle country, Member for Wright. There we were at the press conference, and it was Ken O'Dowd's turn to speak. He said, in true Kenny style, 'This is going to be so great, not only for the farmers, not only for the community, not only for the abattoirs but also for the cattle, because they're going to get to the meatworks quicker.' Only Ken could say something like that. But, in Ken's laconic fashion, he was right, because it was actually going to lead to the cattle getting to the processing plant faster and in a less bruised state than they would have otherwise on a rocky gravel road. Certainly for the truck drivers this was going to be good, if not for the cattle, who were going to be processed sooner.

Mayor Kerry Hayes of the Central Highlands Regional Council said that delays to this beef roads program—which is what those opposite are putting in place—were just wrong. When Kerry Hayes speaks, people should listen. He's one of those laid-back mayors, but, I tell you what, he's the salt of the earth and a pillar of his community. He said it showed Labor's lack of understanding on delivering infrastructure for regional Queensland, and he was right.

The roads that will be sealed under the funding are the Clermont to Alpha Road, May Downs Road, Kilcummin to Diamond Downs Road, Alpha to Tambo Road, Dawson Developmental Road and Fitzroy Developmental Road. Whilst they might not resonate—they might not be household words, names, projects or roads in Canberra—rest assured they make an absolute world of difference to those people in Central Queensland and in northern Queensland, where cattle are so very important to the local economy for food. Rest assured it is cattle country.

The coalition government got on with the job of supporting major Queensland road investments. Now Labor is putting vital road upgrades at risk and therefore putting lives at risk. I have to give a shout-out here. The member for Wright, if he has a dictionary handy, might throw it at me, but I worked well with Mark Bailey. Mark Bailey was a good minister. He was certainly a good minister to projects that needed upgrading. I know he was minister for main roads for nearly nine years. For six years and five days he was Minister for Transport, until 17 December 2023. He and I worked well because we put the politics aside. We put the national interest and Queensland's interests first and foremost. I pay credit to Minister Bailey for getting things done. It's a shame Minister King can't do the same and have the same spirit of cooperation with Queensland and with the national interest.

David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I may be from Canberra, but the Smith ancestors are from Capricornia.

I will start by saying this: the funding for this project has not been delayed. Talk about funding profiles and funding being cut is a furphy. The coalition allocated paper funding to this project before the work had actually been done to ensure that it was ready for delivery. The Queensland government has now undertaken rigorous planning of these projects, and they are now moving into construction. The truth is that the Albanese government is delivering the beef corridors projects, something the coalition talked about but never delivered. They are all sizzle and no sausage.

Queensland's beef corridor network stretches across nearly 218,000 square kilometres and runs from east to west across Central Queensland. This strategic web of roads carries world-class beef product and contributes $1.7 billion to the Australian economy. We agree that upgrading the beef corridor network will increase productivity across the agriculture and resource industry sectors and also improve safety. The Australian government, in partnership with the Queensland government, will work with seven local government mayors and key industry stakeholders on the identification of short-, medium- and long-term beef road priorities to inform a 10-year Central Queensland beef roads investment strategy.

The beef corridor project was developed by seven councils, with the aim to seal nine sections of eight unsealed roads, upgrade three sealed roads and improve access to Gladstone port. The $500 million project is funded 80-20 with the Queensland government. The member for Capricornia made the accusation that this project has been further delayed, but, curiously, the member's motion does not recognise that, on 13 March 2024, the Queensland government announced the first stage of construction, starting with the following projects—funnily enough, projects that the previous speaker has informed the House about:

I note the member's frustration with this funding not coming sooner, but I also reminded the member that her party was in government for nearly a decade. The question should be: if the former LNP government believes so strongly in this project—and it is a good project—why was it relegated to an election commitment and not properly funded? It was paper funding by a government that loved the announcement but did little to deliver. I can understand the member would be so frustrated that they might have some beef with their own side on this issue. After all, politics is a high-stakes game. The previous government had a particular penchant for making grand funding announcements and not delivering on them. Take the Molonglo Valley bridge in my electorate. It was announced but is only properly funded and now being delivered by this government.

We are a government focused on actually delivering projects, not just delivering on press releases. Undertaking proper design, consultation and procurement for these projects takes time to ensure the projects that are built are the right ones in the right locations and for the right budget. I recognise the important work that the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government has done to rein in spending to ensure that we can deliver the infrastructure the federal government has actually committed to.

Finally, Australian beef is a byword for quality, which is why there's always a place for it on plates across our country and far beyond our shores. Supporting infrastructure for safer roads that protect truck drivers and produce is critically important for this Albanese Labor government. In conjunction with the Queensland state Labor government and in partnership with local councils, we will continue to invest in the mighty beef corridors to ensure that the $1.7 billion economic corridor continues to operate safely and deliver the high-quality beef Australians and the rest of the world enjoy.

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to acknowledge the work conducted by the member for Capricornia in the amazing advocacy that she has persisted with whilst in this place. There is never a time that I'm in her company that she doesn't mention the Northern Australia Beef Roads Program or Roads of Strategic Importance, both of which I was the assistant minister for and had carriage of whilst in government—$110 billion. Before I make my contribution about the member for Capricornia 's beef roads program, I want to say that it's ironic to hear the member for Bean—a good man in this House—boasting of the Labor government's ability to rein in spending and yet bring forward and fast-track events. Only one of those statements is correct. If you want to test the theory, I direct you to the seven mayors who are advocating in Central Queensland for this beef roads program. They have not been a single voice. I had the great opportunity to catch up with the seven mayors recently, in Rockhampton—my birth town and a great community to grow up in. It's got two rather large meatworks facilities, one that was owned by AMH but is now owned by the Swift company, JBS. The Teys family—Teys and Cargill—have the other meatworks.

Central Queensland, a catchment area for our national herd, holds about 30 per cent of the national herd numbers. There's a huge capacity for breeding and fattening in Central Queensland. There's a lot of traffic that comes through the beef road network to Rockhampton for processing, notwithstanding the additional feedlots that have gone in in the last decade in Central Queensland. It is right that the member for Capricornia advocate for more money for her domestic roads.

These roads were all funded; do not misunderstand that. When I was the assistant minister, every announcement we made had funding tied to it. But what they regret to inform the House is that the funding on these state roads was tied to the state government. If you're looking to lay blame for where the go-slow has happened, if you're looking to understand who has turned their back on the beef producers of Central Queensland, if you're looking for where fault should lie, I direct your attention to the Queensland state government, and rightfully so. They have had pressures on their infrastructure budget. Look at the Cross River Rail project in Brisbane, a $3 billion tunnel underneath the river which, I think, was going to be $3 billion but has now blown out to $9 billion. Don't quote me on that, but that blowout of cost is significant. When you're looking at which programs are going to get clipped for these signature milestone infrastructure programs of the state governments to be funded, it will be these beef road projects.

During COVID, there were two sectors that kept our economy afloat: the resources sector and the agriculture sector. If we're going to protect ourselves into the future as good economic managers, these are not difficult decisions for us to make as coalitionists. They are not difficult decisions for those of us that have strong economic management credibility. We need to make sure that we invest in the future in these programs. We need to make sure that we build the infrastructure. We committed to it when we were in government.

One of the ways that we can help the seven councils who are looking for the beef road programs in Central Queensland is to get rid of a tired Queensland Labor government and to install an LNP government in Queensland that we can work with, that understands the value of those people from the regions and their commitment and that understands how hard it is for councils to raise funds to get these projects done. In doing so, we build greater wealth. In doing so, we enable the agriculture sector to look after its own destiny. We create safer roads. We get families home safer. We look after an industry that's looked after us as a nation. I commend the member for Capricornia's motion to the House.

Zoe McKenzie (Flinders, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Sitting suspended from 13 : 24 to 16 : 00