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  4. 30 May 2000

Regional Development

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About this Item
SpeakersBlack Mr Peter; Slack-Smith Mr Ian; Martin Mr Gerard; Armstrong Mr Ian
BusinessMatter of Public Importance


    REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Page: 6086

    Matter of Public Importance

    Mr BLACK (Murray-Darling) [4.13 p.m.]: I ask the House to note as a matter of public importance the subject of recent New South Wales government initiatives for central west and western New South Wales. Today is the first day of the Broken Hill Exploration Initiative Conference, an annual conference that had its origin in 1990. It will continue tomorrow. What a delight it is to note that under Exploration New South Wales the Carr Government has allocated a further sum of $3.5 million towards exploration in the west of the State. I should also say that a sum of $1.7 million has been allocated for northern New South Wales—Bourke and Cobar—and in the shires of Wentworth and Balranald in the south a further sum of $6 million has been allocated for the continuing work being done with black sands deposits and potential petroleum products.

    It is great credit to the Government that it is concerned enough about regional development and remote New South Wales to ensure that this visionary program, which is designed to discover more mines in western New South Wales, proceeds. How does that funding stack up against the allocations of the Federal Government? Last year this House heard about cuts of 30 per cent to the Australian Geological Survey Organisation [AGSO]. I hasten to add that I salute the continuing contributions from South Australia to that organisation.

    The West 2000 program is another great initiative. That program has been in operation in western New South Wales for the past three years. About two months ago I had the pleasure of announcing at a Balranald conference of New South Wales Farmers that the Government has allocated $5.91 million towards the extension of the program—West 2000 plus. On the other hand, there was no funding in the recent Federal budget for the extension of the program, notwithstanding the earnest desires of New South Wales Farmers, the Western Darling Pastoralists Association and management committee of West 2000, which is under the leadership of Mr Ralph Hunt, a name that should not be unfamiliar to members opposite. However, nothing has been said. As recently as today I have heard that the Federal Government has taken an absolute pounding over its decision not to contribute to the extension of the program and later this week or next week it will perhaps try to redress that omission in its budget.

    The State budget refers to the Western Projects Fund. The House is not unaware of the massive structural change that western New South Wales has been undergoing during approximately the past decade. The honourable member for Lachlan is in the Chamber. He came out to western New South Wales in the last years of the Fahey Government, and at that time it was acknowledged that the State was undergoing massive structural change resulting from the collapse of employment in our great traditional industries, the pastoral and mining industries, and that western New South Wales would have to be accommodated. The Western Projects Fund is specifically designed to enable my shires, if I can put it that way, to pick up the ball and to consider projects that can assist them down the track to accommodate this structural change. I will speak about tourism later.

    Massive discussion programs have been undertaken on the subject of water and a draft exposure bill on irrigation will be before this House in the not-too-distant future. Another six months or so will be allowed for consultation with those involved in the irrigation industry. I am given to understand that the representations of Country Labor for a delay have been heard in the right places and the bill will not come before Parliament until October or November. There will be proper discussions, something that was ignored by the previous Government. But down the track a bill was inevitable and it was going be a plus or a minus for the irrigation industry. I am confident the draft exposure bill will allay or assuage many concerns that have been expressed through organisations such as the New South Wales Irrigators Council, a great organisation with which Country Labor is working closely.

    On the subject of road funding, it is marvellous that 58 per cent of the road capital and maintenance budget for last year was spent in regional, rural and remote New South Wales. Funding for road capital and maintenance in this year's budget has increased by 60 per cent. The drive is in the right direction; the end result will be more money spent on regional roads in western New South Wales, with $73 million allocated in this year's budget. It was a great delight that $10 million was made available automatically through the Minister for Transport, and Minister for Roads after the floods of north-western New South Wales.

    The Salinity Summit was conducted at Dubbo not long ago. What a delight it was to learn that funding for dealing with the salinity problem has increased by 5 per cent in this budget. Salinity problems are not limited to my electorate. Most salinity problems may be in my electorate, but I am pleased that the honourable member for Barwon is in the Chamber because he also has salinity problems in his electorate. With the Government increasing expenditure on salinity by 5 per cent, I ask the honourable member for Barwon why the Federal Government, to its everlasting disgrace, reduced expenditure by $6.4 million to the Healthy Rivers program.

    On the subject of health, the lifting of the two-year limit on overseas-trained doctors and the like by the Minister for Health has been a great success. Western New South Wales now has in the order of 20 overseas-trained doctors filling vacancies that could not be filled by Australian-trained doctors, either through unwillingness or whatever. The overseas-trained doctors are there, and people are getting the medical service they want. I congratulate the Minister for Health on that initiative. Of course, we also had the recent announcement with respect to nurse practitioners.

    We heard today, in debate on the urgent motion, the benefits that will flow to western New South Wales from the First Homeowners Scheme. I congratulate the Minister for Regional Development on that great initiative. For example, people in Bourke and Broken Hill will be exempt from paying stamp duty up to $7,000; it will cost them nothing to move into a home, except for conveyancing fees. That is an enormous step forward for western New South Wales and it will encourage people to consider western New South Wales when buying a house.

    During question time today a question was asked about capital works. Again, the direction for capital works is back to the bush. Some 35 per cent of the budget—and the percentage is increasing year by year—will benefit the 27 per cent of New South Wales citizens who live outside Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong. On the subject of national parks, the system of national parks in New South Wales is a credit to the Government. The National Parks and Wildlife Service is leading the way in tourism development in western New South Wales. Recently the Government announced the addition of Lake Perry as a national park, increasing the number of national parks in western New South Wales to five and complementing them. Many people now journey to western New South Wales to look at our national parks.

    On the subject of emergency services, funding for the State Emergency Service [SES] since the first Carr Labor Government's budget has increased by 92 per cent, and funding for the SES in western New South Wales alone has increased by 32 percent. The budget for the Rural Fire Service has been increased by a similar amount. The headline "Bush forgotten again: Souris" in the Barrier Daily Truth of 25 May, last Thursday, is a disgrace. The Deputy Premier is doing the right thing by consulting with the community, because the Government is thinking about putting a heritage order on the honourable member for Upper Hunter as the last Leader of the New South Wales National Party. A heritage order on the Leader of the National party would be a good thing. [Time expired.]

    Mr SLACK-SMITH (Barwon) [4.23 p.m.]: It is always said that self-congratulation is the lowest form of congratulations one can get. Obviously, no members on this side of the House will congratulate the honourable member for Murray-Darling on his contribution today. He commenced his speech by referring to mining exploration and increased funding for mining. Funding for mining has not been increased; frankly, it is simply a continuation of a National Party Minister's initiative. Ian Causley introduced the Exploration 2000 initiative to find mineral deposits in this State. A National Party Minister started this project, and the honourable member for Murray-Darling is taking it on board.

    Interestingly, the honourable member referred to national parks. The number of national parks in New South Wales has increased greatly. Indeed, much of the land that has been taken for national parks was used previously used for farming. It is ironic that national parks are expanding while funding for the control of feral plants and weeds is no longer provided in the budget. Therefore, the value of the land adjacent to national parks has decreased simply because feral animals are moving from national parks onto adjacent land and destroying crops, and feral plants and weeds are spreading. The lack of funding to control that is an absolute disgrace.

    The honourable member for Murray-Darling referred to the Rural Fire Service. I cannot understand how he could say that spending on the Rural Fire Service has increased when the number of tankers provided for in this year's budget is 11 fewer than what was provided for last year. The honourable member should have another look at his books. I acknowledge that West 2000 is a great project and a much-needed initiative for western New South Wales. The budget provides a paltry $5.6 million for the next three years, or $1.8 million a year, for West 2000, although I am reliably informed that it needs more than $2 million a year to continue doing a good job. That shows what priority the Government has given to West 2000. The Government has simply thrown out crumbs, and it hopes that someone will pick up the project.

    Tomorrow people in Sydney will receive a $3 million giveaway in free transport. I welcome the honourable member for Murray-Darling's reference to road and bridge funding for rural New South Wales. Some $1.8 million would fix the Mullins swamp bridge, which has a 12-tonne limit; Marthaguy Creek bridge near Carinda, which has an eight-tonne weight limit; Merri Merri bridge near Quambone, which has a 12-tonne weight limit; Mundadoo bridge on Mara Hall Road, which has a 12-tonne limit; and Collins bridge at Wee Waa. Last year the Government promised to provide $60,000 to repair Collins bridge, but that funding has been taken from the Roads and Traffic Authority and placed somewhere else.

    The honourable member for Murray-Darling did not mention the Stock Squad. Honourable members know that stock theft is increasing rapidly, especially in western New South Wales. Funding for the Stock Squad has gone from $1 million to nothing. That is an absolute disgrace. That shows that Country Labor has no say as far as Sussex Street is concerned. I endorse the comment of the President of New South Wales Farmers that the Carr Labor Government has no long-term vision for rural and regional New South Wales. That was the headline across the top of his press release. Members opposite should put on their glasses and have a closer look.

    Mr Black: Walt didn't write that one, though.

    Mr SLACK-SMITH: No, Walt did not write that one. It was written by John Cobb, President of New South Wales Farmers. The Government has acknowledged the importance of agriculture to New South Wales. The Central West and the western division of New South Wales rely almost entirely on agriculture; it is the biggest employer and the biggest export earner. However, only 2 per cent of the State budget is allocated to agriculture.

    Mr Black: That is absolutely wrong.

    Mr SLACK-SMITH: Only 2 per cent of the agriculture budget is allocated to the Western Division and to the Central West of New South Wales, where my colleague the honourable member for Lachlan comes from. Agriculture is an important employer; indeed, it is the biggest employer. To prove that the Government is not genuine, the agriculture budget has decreased by $6.7 million, and 35 jobs will be lost. Country Labor seems to operate its agenda by continuing to say how great it is. I have just given several examples to prove that Country Labor has no say at all. I am pleased that the honourable member for Murray-Darling referred to the proposed white paper on water in the Murray-Darling Basin, especially the south-west Riverina.

    The white paper refers to taking away riparian rights. It says that if a person wants to water his stock in the Murray-Darling River, for example, he must fence off the area of the river and pump the water for his stock. Is that what Country Labor is all about? Country Labor says we should forget about riparian rights. It also says that if the Minister decides with no scientific evidence at all that the environment needs more water, he will say, "I am going to take water tables from you, I am going to give that to the environment with no scientific basis whatsoever for doing so and I will give you no compensation at all." That is the way the Carr Labor Government has treated people in regional and rural New South Wales.

    The Central West, the Far West and, indeed, virtually all of New South Wales has a problem with noxious weeds. The budget has increased funding for the control of noxious weeds by a mere $6 million. About $18 million is needed to bring noxious weeds back to a controlled level, but the Government has decided that $6 million is enough. There are also problems with serrated tussock and parthenium weed, which is coming through from Queensland. There is a good checking station a Mungindi, but no-one knows it is there because there are no signs. In addition, it took 18 months for the checking station to be relocated. That is where the parthenium weed is coming through. It is coming through simply because the contractors do not know there is a checking station there, and that is why it has been found recently in Deniliquin.

    What has the Labor Party done about the train to Broken Hill? It has pulled it off the rails. There was a great fanfare about putting it on the rails, but there has been no fanfare about pulling it off again. It is now a patch-up job, and Labor has decided that it will make some allowance in the budget for more rolling stock for the Broken Hill line. Big deal! I turn now to the Darling Electricity Construction Agency scheme. Many producers in western New South Wales have not had the opportunity to repay their loans, simply because things have been pretty crook out there. But the Government has provided nothing whatsoever in the budget to address the issue. The Pastoral Association asked the Government, through the honourable member for Murray-Darling, whether the producers could make interest payments to reduce their capital costs. Not one cent has been allocated in this budget for that. Country Labor has no power; it is merely a lot of noise. There is no way in the world that the Government support the people of western and central western New South Wales. Everything that has been said is a lot of hot air, and nothing at all has been delivered.

    Mr MARTIN (Bathurst) [4.33 p.m.]: I support the remarks of my colleague the honourable member for Murray-Darling in relation to this matter of public importance. During the 12 or 14 months that I have been a member of this House the Carr Government has worked hard to get the message to those on the other side of the sandstone curtain that people in Macquarie Street are prepared to listen. The Government has been helped in doing that, of course, because after March 1999 there was an influx of Labor Party members from regional and country areas, not only in this House but also in the upper House. Country Labor worked particularly hard to get the message across to the Government that there is a perception, at the very least, that people need more help. As the honourable member for Murray-Darling has demonstrated, we have been very successful.

    Little has been said in this debate about tourism. Traditionally, tourism has not been regarded as a major player in rural economies. The Minister for Tourism has spent a lot of time in the regions and has announced a number of initiatives, particularly for the Central West and the Far West. Only a week or so ago she visited my electorate. She then visited Dubbo, where she launched the Newell Highway brochure, which seeks to encourage people to use the Newell Highway as a way of travelling to the Central West and Far West. We all know that the Newell Highway is a important link from north to south and from east to west. The Minister's visit to Dubbo to launch the brochure, with the co-operation of the various local tourist authorities and local government, has been a real boost.

    Early this year the Minister launched the regional conference planner in Bathurst. We have always thought of major conferences as being city-based, and Sydney is probably now considered to be the conference capital of the world. However, the Minister, together with Tourism New South Wales and the Conference Bureau, has promoted country areas as conference centres. The new $7.5 million memorial entertainment and conference centre in Bathurst will be a great addition to the infrastructure. Other major centres in western New South Wales, including Orange and Dubbo, have similar facilities. The Government is now doing something meaningful about helping Bathurst. There have been a number of other important initiatives in tourism. Previous speakers in the debate have touched on transport infrastructure. The Great Western Highway is a major link. The Carr Government, in conjunction with the Federal Government, has given the Great Western Highway high priority for major upgrading. A study shortly to be released into the Bells Line of Road will earmark that road as a possible future link to the Great Western Highway.

    The honourable member for Barwon referred to the Broken Hill train service. I will leave it to my colleague to set the record straight on that matter. The Government can be proud of the fact that it is the first Government in 30 years to reopen branch railway lines in western New South Wales. Coincidentally, both of them are in my electorate. An amount of $1.5 million has been spent on the Bogan to Cowra line, and $15 million is currently being spent on the Kandos to Gulgong line, which will once again serve as an important rail link through to the port of Newcastle when it is reopened later this year.

    [Interruption]

    I would not have thought the honourable member for Barwon would interject at this time, because the former Coalition Government's record in rail infrastructure in the bush is deplorable. It was a great slasher and burner. The Government has also listened to Country Labor with regard to health. In succeeding budgets record amounts of money have been spent on regional health services, and this budget is no exception. An amount of $1.6 billion, close to $2 billion, has now been injected into regional health services funding. There are new hospitals in my home town of Lithgow and in Broken Hill. Now that the Sinclair report has been received by the Government, multipurpose services are springing up everywhere and are being embraced by small communities. Only recently a new hospital was opened in Oberon in my electorate. Currently planning and consultation are being undertaken in Rylstone and Blayney, and I am sure hospitals will result from those processes. The Government is listening to the people of the Central West and Far West and is delivering big dollars in areas that are important to them. I commend the motion to the House.

    Mr ARMSTRONG (Lachlan) [4.38 p.m.]: Mr Speaker —

    Mr SPEAKER: Order! The standing orders provide for only three speakers on a matter of public importance after the House has debated an urgent motion. I call the honourable member for Murray-Darling in reply.

    Mr Armstrong: Point of order: It is important to make the point that this afternoon we have heard the rhetoric, but the fact is that the farmers of New South Wales have had a 56 per cent loss in housing in New South Wales, which s the largest loss of housing ever within New South Wales.

    Mr Black: This is a point of order, is it?

    Mr Armstrong: The honourable member for Murray-Darling may well wave his hands: he is fanciful and full of air.

    Mr BLACK (Murray-Darling) [4.40 p.m.], in reply: Being full of air is better than being a vacuum. I will respond to the points made by the honourable member for Barwon with assistance from my friend and colleague in Coastal Labor, the honourable member for South Coast.

    Mr Slack-Smith: Coastal Labor?

    Mr BLACK: Yes, Coastal Labor. The honourable member for Barwon made some extraordinary statements this afternoon. I will address them one by one, as it were. I have noted eight points made by the honourable member, although there may well have been others that did not justify my taking notes. The honourable member referred to funding for Exploration New South Wales. During my contribution to the debate I acknowledged the manner in which Exploration New South Wales began. I mentioned 1990 when I was assisting throughout the program by supervising honours students, and I have no hesitation in recognising that. But, for the benefit of the honourable member, I point out that whereas this Government extended the scheme, Hansard shows that the Commonwealth Government has walked away by maintaining a cut of 30 per cent. What more can be said about a Federal Government which makes a cut here and a cut there and provides no funding for the bush?

    The honourable member for Barwon also referred to the West 2000 Program that has been operating for three years. The Carr Labor Government has extended the program and is funding it. The Commonwealth Government has not picked up its share, namely, 50 per cent, and that is the point I was making. Who knocked back the Federal Government's 50 per cent share? It was Warren Truss, and all honourable members know the political party to which Warren Truss belongs—the National Party. The honourable member for Barwon also referred to the issue of regional road funding which, in this Government's previous budget, benefited from an increase of 58 per cent for capital and maintenance expenditure in rural areas. The most recent budget brought the increase to 60 percent, which indicates this Government's schedule, namely, back to the bush!

    The honourable member for Barwon also mentioned agriculture—and so he should, because the Barwon electorate has lots of agriculture, as does the electorate of Murray-Darling. The topic of the debate relates to an amendment that has been moved by the Carr Labor Government. I mentioned water resources and the honourable member for Barwon referred to cutbacks. The Ministry of Land and Water, which is the Berocca of this State, has received a staff increase of 23 for a single office, namely, Baronga. The increase brings the total number of staff in that office to 40 people who will be looking after agriculture, land and water.

    The honourable member for Barwon spoke absolute nonsense about irrigation systems. He does not know what is in the draft bill but he will find that this Government's close working partnerships in water resource management involve participants such as the New South Wales Farmers Association and members of the New South Wales Irrigators Council Ltd. They will be more than content with the result of discussions related to the draft bill. The honourable member also referred to train services to Broken Hill and has provided me with an easy topic to which to respond. CountryLink previously offered only one service per week to Broken Hill, whereas currently there are three train services per week, two Indian-Pacific services and a train service to Adelaide with connections to the Ghan. I suspect that the honourable member for Barwon would not know what the Ghan is because he would not know very much about camels.

    The honourable member also referred to the Darling Electricity Construction Agency [DECA] scheme. I point out to the honourable member that a decision has been made and interest will be reduced on a case-by-case basis. The matter has been addressed in the recent budget; once again, the honourable member for Barwon has demonstrated that he has not done his homework. I welcome the comments made by the honourable member for Bathurst relating to health, hospitals, rail services and rail lines. I conclude my remarks by reiterating the headline to which I referred at the outset which states "Bush forgotten again Souris claims". "Heritage Order" George, the Leader of the National Party, will be the last leader of the National Party. I have it on good advice that members of the Coffs Harbour branch of the National Party want to walk away from the party and perhaps even devise a new name. Therefore, the last leader of the National Party might become the first leader of the extra digit chromosome party. [Time expired.]

    Discussion concluded.

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