National Local Roads and Transport Congress
18th November, 2011
Australian Local Government AssociationMount Gambier, South Australia
Councillor Genia McCaffery, President of the Australian Local Government Association, Mr Patrick Secker, Member for Barker, Cr Steve Perryman, Mayor of the City of Mt Gambia that are hosting us today, other ALGA board members that are present, councillors, ladies and gentlemen.
And thank you for the opportunity to address you today about the Coalition's vision for transport and infrastructure.
When I spoke to you in Bunbury last year the government had just been formed and the first hung parliament since 1940 was in its fledgling stages.
Twelve months on and I don't think our very low expectations have been exceeded.
Labor
Infrastructure has been more talk than delivery. Over-blown rhetoric about roads expenditure, but not much to see. We've had roads paved by press releases and multiple announcements of the same money.
Take the government's grandiose May Budget infrastructure centerpiece, heralding an extra $1 billion for the duplication of the Pacific Highway in NSW. Sounded great... until you analyse the detail.
NO NEW MONEY.
It was a mish-mash of rehashed announcements. The billion dollars is made up of $700 million in funds previously committed to the highway and $270 million siphoned from other projects.
Minister Anthony Albanese embarrassingly conceded that not one centimeter of bitumen will be laid - instead, the $1 billion was earmarked for 'detailed planning'. Must be one hell of a plan!
It also meant that any hope of the government keeping its promise of completing the duplication by 2016 has been dashed.
Since the election of the new NSW government the federal government shifted tact to insist that if the construction was to be completed at all, NSW would have to front 50% of the costs.
No duplication, just more duplicity from this government.
But the budget delivered no new money for roads or rail.
All of the construction works announced with such great fanfare were reshuffled from existing allocations.
But there is a kicker in all this. Most of the funding announced for regional projects is inextricably tied to revenue from the proposed mining tax.
As many of you know, that's a lose-lose for your regional communities.
If the tax does not pass through parliament, regional development projects will not be funded. If it does pass, then those regional communities will lose the jobs and economic prosperity created by mining development and mineral processing.
It's a shabby slight of hand from a government promising goodies it cannot afford, based on a tax that has not passed the parliament and will hit regional Australia hard if it does.
In fact, as things currently stand the federal government has already committed $916 million from its Regional Infrastructure Fund, but there is only $400 million in the kitty.
That means a lot of communities stand to be dudded.
Coalition
By contrast, the Coalition has a strong track record in roads and infrastructure.
In 2004 we created AusLink, Australia's first-ever national transport plan. It was the first time for forward planning, with a four-year commitment industry could count on.
At the time, John Anderson, Minister for Transport and Regional Services noted that AusLink was:
"... made necessary by strong economic growth, but it [was] made possible by careful economic management."
Not about combustible roof batts and over-priced school halls - whoich has been part of this government's infrastructure spend to respond to the GFC.
The Business Council of Australia estimates that only 14% of the Government's stimulus spending actually went to productivity enhancing infrastructure. Just 14%!
The Jobs Fund was put in place to create jobs, but the Auditor-General exposed this scheme for not having any formal application process and not one of the funded projects was in an area the government itself had identified as of high unemployment.
The Building Australia Fund was announced with much fanfare in 2008 to be funded by future budget surpluses. However, as we know, these budget surpluses never eventuated.
Then, during the GFC, the Fund only contained the savings made by the previous government.
After all of that mess, we learned from the Auditor-General that many of the big stimulus projects still haven't started, others are only in their early stages of construction now and other abandoned altogether.
Astonishingly, the projects targeted to 'immediately' boost employment to get Australia through the GFC had hardly created a single job until a full 18 months later.
Meanwhile, government net debt now sits at over $110 billion.
As a nation, we've seen a river of money pour out, but that doesn't mean it has been invested.
Big ticket funding announcements make Ministers feel good and get you a splash in newspapers, but what do they return to taxpayers?
Through prudent financial management the previous Coalition Government was able to responsibly deliver much-needed transport projects.
We created the ARTC and invested in upgrading interstate rail networks.
In addition to creating the first national land transport network we established the Roads to Recovery programme, re-introduced the Black Spot programme and the Strategic Regional Roads programme.
Roads to Recovery
I know that much of this conference is dedicated to the future of the Roads to Recovery programme beyond 2014.
Let me say at the outset, the Coalition created Roads to Recovery and in government we will keep it.
Travelling around Australia, and in particular through regional Australia, I have seen its vital importance first-hand.
Roads to recovery has been a vehicle through which federal government can assist local governments to maintain over 650,000 km of local roads.
That requires a lot of bitumen and gravel, a lot of curb and channelling, a lot of flood mitigation and a lot of bridges.
As a former Councillor and Mayor, I know local governments cannot undertake those costs alone and state governments can be unreliable at the best of times.
At the last election the federal Coalition committed to maintaining the Roads to Recovery programme. We readily acknowledge that the obligation to maintain local roads is costly.
In fact, in 2006 it was estimated to cost local government $3.8 billion a year. So, the Roads to Recovery programme gives local government a major boost in meeting this infrastructure need.
The first review of the Roads to Recovery programme jointly conducted by ALGA and the Department of Transport in 2003 found that in the first two years of operation the programme had made a tangible difference, reducing the decline in the condition of local roads.
The Report also found that Roads to Recovery improved road safety, improved the quality of life for communities - through better driving experience - and had measurable economic benefits.
Over the last decade the Roads to Recovery programme has funded around 34,000 projects across the country, but there is still more to do.
Road maintenance is an ongoing task that will never be completed.
According to the ALGA's report into the Local Roads Funding Gap, released around the time of my last address to this Congress, road projects over the next 15 years will have to increase by an average of $1.2 billion per year to avoid deterioration of the local road network.
So, today I commit to you that the Coalition will extended the Roads to Recovery programme beyond 2014 and we will ensure that is adequately funded, taking account of current budgetary constraints, so that local councils can continue to provide essential transport infrastructure for your communities.
Should a Coalition Government be elected, the next transport funding agreement set to commence on 1 July 2015 - AusLink 3 - will include funding for Roads to Recovery.
Black spots / strategic regional roads
The Coalition is also committed to the Black Spot programme.
As you will be aware, the Coalition re-introduced the Black Spot Programme in 1996 after it was abolished by Labor.
The Black Spot programme has formed a vital part of our road safety strategy, reducing the risk of accidents at dangerous locations on our roads by funding traffic lights, roundabouts and other safety upgrades.
We remain committed to the programme and will restore it to its original objective - fixing black spots on local roads and streets - and not as a mechanism to divert funding to the National Highway Network.
Additionally, the Coalition remains committed to re-introducing the Strategic Regional Roads programme, which is designed to support strategic regional infrastructure off the national highway network that supports the growth of established and emerging industries and strengthens regional economic and social opportunities.
In the past, this programme provided around $350 million for local road upgrades.
Bridges to Renewal
In addition to local roads, it is important to understand the role local bridges play in our transport network.
Many of our 20,000 local bridges across the country are nearing the end of their life. Despite this, substantial upgrades to local bridges are often beyond the financial resources of local governments and, as a result, many bridges now have strict mass limits imposed.
Not only does this have a significant economic impact on national productivity and the efficient movement of goods from the farm or the factory to consumers, but it has a significant social impacts.
In many cases bridges are often the only way local communities can access work, school or vital emergency services.
You may be familiar with the situation of the railway line through Scone in New South Wales: every time a coal train goes through town it isolates half the community from accessing essential emergency services for extended periods of time.
Our ailing bridges across the country can to have the same impact.
For this reason the Coalition announced a Bridges Renewal Programme at the last election. This programme would provide $300 million over four years, to be matched by the state or local governments, to restore and rebuild local road bridges. The funding was to be allocated on using a transparent, merit-based competitive assessment.
The Coalition remains committed to the programme because we recognise the economic and social importance of this infrastructure.
Access to transport services in regional areas is a vital part of building and sustaining communities.
Australia's population is the most densely concentrated in the OECD. In fact, it's almost double the OECD average, with 88% of our people crammed into around 3% of the landmass.
It is often forgotten how important our regions are in driving our economy.
Not only the mining and resources sector, which has changed the dynamic of many regional areas, but the agricultural and horticultural industries, forestry, fisheries and tourism, just to mention a few, contribute a large amount to our nation's economy.
In fact, the majority of the economic wealth of Australia is generated in regional areas, so it's high time a fair share of investments flowed back in.
Road safety
Of course any government's road investment programme has to have road safety at its forefront.
Every death on our roads is a tragedy and has far-reaching consequences on families and communities.
Last year almost 1,400 people lost their lives on Australia's roads.
This figure is tragic but it is important to recognise that progress has been made over the past few decades. Annual road deaths have dropped from a peak of 3,798 in 1970 to an average of 1,641 between 2000 and 2008 even though the number of vehicles on our roads has tripled.
Tougher policing, better roads, safer cars and cultural changes have all contributed to reducing the road toll.
The Safe System model for road safety has four tenets:
* Building safer roads
* Encouraging safer behaviours
* Enforcing safer speeds, and
* Driving safer vehicles
I've already discussed in some detail our plans for building safer roads but I should also mention that the Coalition is committed to using the Australian Road Assessment Programme, AusRAP, as a planning tool to direct funds for the maintenance and upgrade of our national highways.
In relation to encouraging safer behaviours, the Coalition is committed to working with the Australian Automobile Association and Rotary to improve driver safety through successful driver training programmes such as the Keys to Drive programme.
Additionally, the Coalition is keen to work to promote the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) and encourage the installation of seatbelts in regional school buses to encourage the use of safer vehicles on our roads.
We are also looking into ways that road safety considerations can be further integrated into the project assessment process through Infrastructure Australia, including for motorcyclists.
Nationals' vision
Putting on my hat as Leader of The Nationals, we are keenly aware of the broader role regional Australia plays.
We argue that it is only fitting that a fair share of the revenue created in the regions should be returned to the regions.
A 2009 study by the National Institute of Industry and Economic Research revealed that, on average, it costs rural residents five-times more to access essential services as it does metropolitan residents.
At our Nationals' Federal Council earlier this year, I launched our 'Regional Investment Strategy'.
It is clear that access to good infrastructure - be it roads, rail, telecommunications, bridges, dams or airports - is a vital key to truly unlock regional Australia's potential.
But we know that a lack of soft infrastructure - such as health, including allied health services, education, childcare and other social institutions - are barriers to regional development.
We must set about the task to overcome these obstacles and capitalise on our national potential.
Conclusion
Earlier today I had the opportunity to spend some time with the local Member for Barker, Patrick Secker, and have seen first-hand the important work that local councils here are doing to make this region a better place to live, work, raise a family and retire.
Local councils across Australia are tasked with the same responsibility and the work they play is invaluable not only to productivity outcomes but also in enhancing the social fabric of communities around the country.
As we all know almost every journey starts on a local road whose maintenance is the responsibility of a local government.
Local government must accept its responsibility to do its share to build and fund better roads.
You cannot expect other governments to pick up the tab - or expect the federal government to make up for restrictions placed on your fundraising capabilities by state governments. These problems should be resolved at their source.
Councils must also be seen making their own efforts to increase road building.
But, at a federal level, it is vital that we provide the necessary support for local governments. You know what your communities want and need and we need to work together to ensure that positive outcomes are reached for local communities.
In concluding, I want to make what I think is an important point.
Whenever we talk about roads and infrastructure we always do so in the context of costs... hardly ever in terms of benefits and opportunities.
The importance of better road and rail networks that actually link into ports to get products to markets - here of overseas - in the most efficient way possible cannot, and must not, be under-estimated.
Those productivity gains are the difference between winning and losing in the ever-changing domestic and global market place.
So when I look at infrastructure across Australia I see not just costs, but I also see opportunities. As well as the costs of not getting on with the genuine nation-building to take us into the next 20 years of meeting bourgeoning demand.
Our miners will continue to mine and process resources for the world. Our farmers will continue to produce food and fibre for an ever-hungrier world. We will continue to move product to stores and components for manufacturers.
We have to ensure that our infrastructure is geared to meet those growing demands and that our communities can share in that growth.
Thank you, again, for the opportunity to address your Congress.
I am happy to take questions.
[ENDS]
