National Press Club Address - Making a Regional Statement
29th August, 2013
Thank you Laurie,And thank you to the National Press Club for hosting me this afternoon as the Wombat Trail comes to Canberra... wombat included [will have wombat on desk].
Over the past 26 days I've travelled more than 30,000 kilometres talking to people in over 50 regional communities and towns about the things that matter to them in this election.
I've spoken daily to local print, radio and television reporters in those communities, who have predominantly asked me about local issues impacted by federal politics.
Like people across the rest of Australia, regional Australians are worried about cost of living pressures, protecting our borders, access to health services and education, affordable housing, infrastructure and jobs.
I have met transport operators in Lingiari and Mallee, stock agents in Page, farmers and myriad small businesses across the country who shake their heads in gut-wrenching frustration over a carbon tax that hits them now and will bite them again when it attacks fuel for trucks for the first time next year.
Whatever you call the slug to those companies... a tax, carbon pricing, an Emissions Trading Scheme... the cost to people, businesses and communities is the same.
The higher costs ahead for trucking everything into regional communities will be paid by everyone in regional communities. Higher costs and fewer jobs... it's that simple.
I have also met with cattle producers near Katherine in the Northern Territory who tell me they are left with budgets in tatters and only a handful of employees following the live export ban to Indonesia. Those in the Kimberley, the Pilbara and up in the seat of Kennedy have similar stories.
Country Australia is a great place to live and work, but bad government and bad policy has damaged the country, leading to a scarcity of jobs, especially for our young people.
In my own electorate of Wide Bay, the unemployment rate has almost trebled since Kevin Rudd became Prime Minister in 2007 - up from 3.5% to 9%.
Labor has not even attempted to understand the regions but the impact in the regions of their policies is real and raw. It is being felt daily by real people.
This election, The Nationals have an extraordinary team of candidates standing in five states and the Northern Territory.
Once this was the party of farmers, as I once was, and agriculture will never be far from our heart. But in 2013 we have among our new candidates a doctor, a financial planner, a geologist, two accountants, a journalist, a bank teller, a teacher, a Hungry Jacks franchisee, a gym owner and of course a rock and roll singer. And we are proud of David Wirrpanda, a former AFL champion who is leading our senate ticket in WA.
That is what makes up regional Australia. And that's what The Nationals are - the voice of regional Australia and the only party solely fighting in Canberra for the regions to get their fair share.
This election & the regions
Federal elections are always a contest of ideas.
They are also about practical solutions to real world problems... and, for that matter, how we will seize the opportunities for our nation's future.
There has been a lot of the rhetoric and angry words in this campaign... but nowhere near enough about the vision we need for the future or the investments we need to make to grow the economy and the country.
So, today, I am not going to recount Labor's dismal record in government, especially in the regions. In fact, I won't even mention them again.
Instead, let me lay out The Nationals' policy agenda in government for regional Australia and the essential role we will play to make it a reality and to deliver a fairer share for those who live outside the capital cities.
Regional Australia produces most of our nation's export income and drives our national growth - but too many areas are at a crossroads.
Now, more than ever, the regions need to be front-and-centre in our national consciousness.
It's time for a grown-up government to recognise the modern role regional Australia plays in our nation's prosperity.
That requires a new pact... a better deal... to rebuild the regions and restore growth.
The attitude of take, take, take from the regions must end. It's time to return what the regions are owed - a fair share.
Vision
We need to pull the policy triggers that will re-energize and build the under-developed 97% of this country that is regional... because that's where opportunity lies.
Unless we can bring businesses and people to regional cities and develop new commercial hubs, the projected 42 million people we are expected to have by 2050 will grind our cities into gridlock.
In 2011, I launched our Regional Investment Strategy, to recalibrate the scales of inequality set against regional living.
On average, it costs rural residents five-times more to access essential services. The biggest disadvantages are for hospitals, residential care services, secondary schools, TAFE colleges and universities.
We can't make people move to regional areas, but we can create the case for businesses and families to relocate to follow worthwhile opportunities for themselves and their families.
Young families contemplating a move to job and career opportunities simply will not move without the modern essentials and support services they should be able to expect in today's society.
That's why The Nationals have led the charge for rural and regional-specific announcements in this election campaign... like the $106 million for rural and regional health initiatives covering training, hospitals, allied health workers, cheaper medicines and bowel cancer screening and support for country general practice.
The Nationals would like to see a dedicated frontbencher for Regional health to specifically oversee regional healthcare and the needs of regional people.
It's why The Nationals keenly support the Coalition broadband policy. Our fast broadband will be delivered sooner and cheaper, and at speeds that country people can only dream of right now.
By 2016 every regional and rural Australian will have access to speeds of 25mbps with many people receiving much more.
But while broadband is a priority, most Nationals members receive many more complaints from people who still don't have mobile phone coverage, than we do about broadband.
The Mobile Phone Black Spots program and work on filling in the reception holes has stalled. That is why we've announced $100 million for a new plan to pick up where we left off six years ago and fix mobile phone black spots.
By far and away the largest number of unemployed Australians live in capital cities. We have announced a policy to encourage jobless people to move to the regions to take up work. It will particularly target young people and will offer $6000 to long term unemployed job seekers if they move to a regional area to take up a job.
Government can take a lead by locating departments and agencies in regional centres and The Nationals will be pushing hard for this to become a reality.
Many regional employers are unable to attract labour for their business. They often rely on backpackers, overseas harvest labourers and 457 visa holders to keep their doors open. The alternative to overseas workers is often no workers at all... therefore, not business.
We will keep these labour programs, but make sure that they are used only when the jobs cannot be filled by Australians.
And wouldn't it be so much better if Australians who are out of work moved to regional areas to take on those jobs?
National Stronger Regions Fund
There are many parts of Australia facing real problems and which are falling behind standards taken for granted in the cities. These communities are entitled to a helping hand.
Today I am announcing that The Nationals, as part of a Coalition Government, will deliver a dedicated National Stronger Regions Fund to build social and economic infrastructure missing in the regions.
These projects will make regional communities a place where more people choose to live as they pursue opportunities for themselves and their families.
This Fund will have the capacity to generate billions of dollars of investment in the most depressed regions of our nation, with an initial allocation of $200 million per year - at least a billion dollars over five years.
We expect to increase the amount as the condition of the Australian economy improves.
We have already announced funding for a large number of community projects during this campaign. We will meet the pre-election commitments in the interim while we promptly move to establish the Fund, so that money can be flowing by the year after next - at the latest.
It will be targeted to regions with low socio-economic circumstances and where unemployment levels are higher than the national average.
The National Stronger Regions Fund will help build the social and community infrastructure so important to modern life, including community facilities and local services to address the disadvantages regional people often experience relative to their city cousins.
Each project will require a 50% matching contribution from the proponent or the local or state government like the old Regional Development Program under the Howard Government.
As Leader of The Nationals, I will make sure we put regional Australia at the heart of the national economic discussion and every Cabinet decision.
This fund is long-overdue recognition that when the regions are strong, our country is strong.
Indigenous Australians
The Nationals believe in a fair go for all, including our indigenous Australians, most of who live in and care for regional Australia, as we do.
We believe properly allocated resources must address disadvantage and encourage personal advancement, while respecting the special and unique contribution Indigenous Australians make to our national identity.
The Nationals also support the move to appropriately acknowledge indigenous Australians in the Australian Constitution. We are dedicated to 'closing the gap' and are determined to ensure the programs in place at the federal level practical and effective.
Education
The Nationals believe that from preschool to university the highest standards of education and equality of access to lifelong learning are fundamental for all Australians regardless of where they live.
We will ensure that the new funding arrangements for education with the states genuinely address local disadvantage and give country children the best possible start in life.
The Nationals approach is to work closely with local school communities, not lock them out, to ensure regional communities remain active participants in the educational outcomes of young people.
The Nationals will also continue to work to deliver a Tertiary Access Allowance so that regional students who must live away to go to university can afford to do so
Small business
Small businesses employ seven million of Australia's 11.5 million workers, which is why they are so important to Australians, particularly in the regions.
Whether corner stores, hardware dealers, farms, the local mechanic, small retailers, a pub or a post office, we know small business powers the regional employment and the economy.
The Nationals have always been the party for small business.
It was the Nationals who began the fight against the emissions trading scheme. Now we will get rid of the carbon tax and the mining tax and tackle the red and green tape which is strangling small business.
In government, we will cut red tape by $1 billion a year and institute a review the Competition and Consumer Act to makes sure trading is fair and small businesses are not disadvantaged.
We want to encourage, not inhibit, the growth of small businesses in regional Australia.
Infrastructure
Modern infrastructure... be it roads, rail, telecommunications, bridges, dams or airports... is a key to stronger regions.
I have already announced that the next Coalition government will again strongly support the Roads to Recovery program and the Black Spots program to eliminate accident spots across Australia.
We created these initiatives - or restored them - to address the deplorable conditions on many local roads and streets, especially in regional communities. For us, they are sacrosanct.
On Sunday I announced $300 million for a new Bridges Renewal program, to be matched by local councils and state governments, delivering a total investment of at least $600 million in replacing old bridges.
Across this country some 30,000 local bridges are approaching the end of their lifespan. These bridges are vital in connecting towns and communities and doing so safely.
Many are anything but safe. Some do not permit the school bus to cross or allow people to travel to town by the closest route.
But these bridges are also vital arteries in keeping our economy moving.
Many are simply impassable for standard trucks, let alone the B-Double and B-Triple trailers that bring produce from the regions to our cities and ports efficiently.
Highways
Of course, before the election campaign even began I made major announcements about the national highway system and the Coalition has committed to a major boost to highways in regional Australia.
We have guaranteed $5.64 billion for the Pacific Highway to finally fund the federal share of its duplication from Sydney to the Queensland border. It will be completed within this decade.
We have announced the biggest works program ever undertaken on the Bruce Highway, committing to a $8.5 billion package with the Queensland Government to boost capacity, reduce flooding and improve safety on the most treacherous road in the country.
We have also committed $700 million to the Toowoomba Range Crossing, $615 million to the Perth to Darwin Highway and, today, I can announce that we will commit another $508 million to rebuild the Warrego Highway from Toowoomba to Miles. Heavy traffic associated with mining and gas development means this road is not fit for current traffic and we will get on with the task of fixing the road.
Regional travellers are entitled to the safest and most efficient roads we can supply and The Nationals are seeing to it that they are.
Inland Rail
But we also need to take pressure off our major highways.
Over the next 20 years Australia's freight task will double.
This week I announced that a Coalition government will commit $300 million to bring the iconic Inland Rail line to a stage where it can commence construction in our first term.
When completed this new freight corridor will link the Port of Brisbane to Port of Melbourne. And, in between, create commercial opportunities for regional centres as freight hubs and drive storage and handling expansion and create whole new industries.
Northern Australia
Opening up northern Australia, with its vast untapped resources, has long been a part of our national vision. It will create a stronger Australia.
Building dams and water storages to protect us from droughts and floods have the capacity to make regional Australia even more productive.
Getting Australia back into the black isn't just about Budget savings. It's about making the right investments that will improve productivity to build a stronger
The Wombat Trail took me to Kununurra and the Ord Stage 1 and Stage 2 developments.
I wish more Australians could see the boundless opportunities these development offer. It's the same elsewhere in the Kimberly and the opportunity also exists in the Pilbra and Gascoyne as well as through the NT and across Queensland.
The world is entering an era of food shortage and shrinking farm production as water and farmland are eaten up by urban sprawl.
Australia has a great opportunity to capitalise on growing world demand.
The rising populations and bourgeoning middle-classes among our nearest neighbours mean they are looking outwards to countries like Australia for solutions... so we must be ready to respond to their needs.
Australia must work hard to rebuild relations with our northern neighbours especially following the live cattle trade debacle.
This trade is vital to the north and it will be a priority for us in government to restore trust and confidence with Indonesia and other Asian markets to enable the restoration of the trade.
Agriculture
This morning at the Farm Writers' Association of NSW breakfast in Sydney, the Shadow Agriculture Minister John Cobb and I announced the final elements of our $147 million plan to support agriculture as one of the five pillars upon which we will build a stranger national economy.
To recap... We will increase agricultural Research and Development with a direct $100 million injection to increase the productivity and profitability of Australian farms.
For every dollar we spend on farm research, $11 is returned to the economy.
Australian farmers have a proud track record of innovation and success through research innovation to lead virtually all Australian industries.
As a nation that exports 60% of everything we produce on farms, international market access is essential. We will commit $30 million to bolster our export performance.
$15 million will provide rebates to small exporters to assist with Export Certification costs - to encourage them to crack new markets.
We will invest $8 million to reverse unnecessary and overly-prescriptive restrictions to better access new technologies and safe, effective pest and disease control options.
$2 million will be provided to assist in integrating modern agriculture into the school curriculum. These days city people have little knowledge of agriculture and its importance. Building understanding at a school level can help to encourage people into agricultural careers.
A new Coalition government will restore $2.2 million to, once again, co-fund Native Title respondents in legal proceeding taken up by taxpayer-funded claims against them.
This restores natural justice to the Native Title system. If governments are going to fund one side in a dispute, they must be able to fund the other.
It is too easily forgotten that during the global financial crisis, the Australian food production industry played the major role in keeping this nation out of recession.
This election, we have also announced funding boosts for customs and quarantine, as strong and secure borders are not just about people smugglers.
We will provide an extra $20 million for quarantine to put more people on the frontline to increase inspections to keep pest and diseases out of this country.
The Coalition has also announced important new measures for our fishing industry. We will suspend and review the flawed Management Plans for Marine Protected Areas, create a National Recreational Fishing Council, streamline the required regulatory audits, work with stakeholders to improve engagement with indigenous communities and fight illegal foreign fishing.
And we will pursue an ambitious but productive trade policy - seeking to break through in key trade negotiations with countries like China, Korea, Japan, India and Gulf Co-Operation Council.
Failure to gain full market access to these key markets has already cost Australian agriculture dearly.
People have to eat.
That's why The Nationals insist that the communities or the Murray-Darling Basin and the food they produce are important, like the environment in which they live.
We will not impose narrow, ultra-prescriptive and, ultimately, pointless restriction on Basin livelihoods or lifestyles. Any water management plan The Nationals approve will take full heed of economic and social needs.
On foreign ownership, the Nationals, as part of a Coalition Government, announced some time ago we would create registers of foreign land and agribusiness ownership and reduce the threshold which triggers a "national interest test" by the Foreign Investment Review Board from $244 million to $15 million.
And we will broaden the skills base of the FIRB to ensure it includes people with practical expertise in business and agriculture.
Agriculture has always been a mainstay of the Australian economy and it's time we recognised its modern contribution and backed our farmers for success.
The Nationals plan for regional Australia
The regions will need to play an even bigger role if we, as a nation, are to see a return to the brighter future Australians want for themselves and expect for their children.
It has always been the case that regional Australia drives our country's economic prosperity.
When the regions are strong, so is our nation.
Our regions are not just a memory of the past, they are vital today and must play an even more important role in our nation's future.
They are our modern opportunities... in mining, farming, manufacturing, tourism, small business and a wealth of others like hard and soft infrastructure, new communities, growing regions and a sustainable population.
The nation's must back the regions and invest in their growth if we are to reap the rewards and opportunities ahead and deliver better living standards for all Australians.
A vote for The Nationals will ensure that regional voices are loud and strong in the next government.
Should we win government in just over one week's time, I will continue the proud tradition of leading a strong National Party in a strong Coalition that will ensure regional Australia's interests are heard and acted upon.
The regions have been ignored for too long and we won't let them down.
Thank you.
