Speeches: 2004
Federal Labor's transport priorities: To the election and beyond
This year has been a big one on the transport front and I would suggest the spotlight from a local government level, and others, will remain on it. Considering the significant infrastructure backlog in Australia it was more than time that the Commonwealth turned its attention to addressing that backlog through a long-term, strategic plan.
Address to National Local Roads Congress
Mr Martin Ferguson MP
Australian Labour Party
12 July 2004: Adelaide
Introduction
I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land.
I also acknowledge Councillor John Legoe, President of the Local Government Association of South Australia who's hosting this year's Congress; ALGA President Councillor Mike Montgomery; and Chair of this morning's session, Councillor Lynne Mason.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the opportunity to address your annual conference. I've been pleased to attend ALGA's Local Roads Congress over the past three years and I address you today with a Federal Election in the wind.
During my time as the Shadow Minister I have enjoyed a good relationship with the local government sector. As some of you can attest we might not always see eye to eye but that personal interaction is the only way to do this job properly.
Today I want to assure you that a Latham Labor victory at the upcoming election will not change the way I do things - I won't be sitting in Canberra behind my ministerial desk making decisions. I'll still be out there, constantly travelling around Australia talking to local people and representatives about their communities.
This year has been a big one on the transport front and I would suggest the spotlight from a local government level, and others, will remain on it.
Considering the significant infrastructure backlog in Australia it was more than time that the Commonwealth turned its attention to addressing that backlog through a long-term, strategic plan.
But is AusLink the right plan? Federal Labor says no.
AusLink
The long-awaited and much-anticipated AusLink White Paper is, frankly, a major disappointment.While Federal Labor welcomes the additional funding for AusLink and the Howard Government's adoption of the long-held Labor policy of a national land transport plan, AusLink falls well short of the Commonwealth accepting its responsibility for Australia's national land transport network.
As I had flagged on many occasions prior to the release of the AusLink White Paper, gone is the Commonwealth's full responsibility for the construction and maintenance of the National Highway Network.
In its place is a plan whereby projects are imposed on state governments, with only a part-funding, scatter-gun approach from the Howard Government and the states are left to pick up the tab for the remainder.
This is not a cooperative approach to transport infrastructure funding — it is buck-passing on a grand scale and it will foil.
There are no longer clear lines of responsibility between the Commonwealth and state governments, instead we now have AusLink corridors with a freight focus imposed by Canberra with take it or leave it funding arrangements for state and local government.
AusLink has created more uncertainly than ever about how transport infrastructure is built and maintained.
My key concern is that the states have clearly been left out of the negotiations in developing the details of the land transport network. AusLink was, instead, parachuted onto the desks of state minister's and they were told, "cop that".
I want to make it very clear to all of you here today that this is not how Federal Labor in government will do business.
A responsible Commonwealth Government should not do business by imposing plans from Canberra. Instead it must be done in open, transparent and accountable ways, working with all other stakeholders not in spite of them. That is the very firm basis of Labor's approach.
An integrated transport plan should achieve multiple outcomes:
- efficient freight movement and efficient passenger systems
- integrated transport networks and systems
- best use of existing infrastructure
- environmental, health and safety benefits
- planning for future land use and transport
Labor's National Integrated Land Transport Plan will focus on all of these objectives based on one very clear principle - we accept that funding for the construction and maintenance of the National Highway is a full Commonwealth responsibility,
Our Plan will ensure that transport planning does not consider the different transport modes in isolation, Instead planning will consider the inter-connectivity between the modes and how it impacts on the movement of both freight and passengers.
Importantly, we will work with the states in developing intergovernmental arrangements and establish clear lines of responsibility. Local government and the private sector will also play a key role,
Labor in government will also implement our long-held policy of a National Infrastructure Advisory Council to ensure that funds are allocated openly and to the highest priority projects,
All levels of government, including local government will have a key seat at the Council table, as will the private sector,
The National Infrastructure Advisory Council will bring a strategic approach to infrastructure development that stacks up financially and in fine with national priorities.
Those priorities will be determined by engaging all stakeholders so that the political games on road funding are put to bed. It will also guarantee that government is upfront about its responsibilities and on what it can and can't do on the infrastructure front.
AusLink fails on all counts to make this commitment.
Roads to Recovery Mark Two
The confirmation in January this year that financial parameters will allow for the continuation of the Roads to Recovery program was welcomed by the Federal Opposition and I will take this opportunity to confirm Labor's support for the program.
I have already had discussions with ALGA as to the way the program will operate in the future, I have listened to your concerns and discussions will continue.
I will confirm that the $200 million per year allocation directly to local councils is locked in as part of Labor's policy but we do not accept the Howard Government's intentions for the allocation of the remaining $I00 million per year.
While the notion of introducing a strategic element to Roads to Recovery is justified, the Minister for Transport has quarantined one third of the program funds each year for spending at his discretion.
That is not a strategic program - it's a ministerial slush fund.
Roads to Recovery funding must be allocated in a transparent, open and accountable way and using strict criteria — not at the whim of the Minister.
Program funding must be allocated without fear or favour, it must ensure the best use of tax payers' dollars and deliver the best outcomes for our communities, regional economies and in turn the national interest.
An example of how Roads to Recovery under Federal Labor will achieve real outcomes is in the agreement we've reached with the NSW Government to construct a new bridge at Pambula.
When flooding cuts the Princes Highway at Pambula, as it does too often, the economy of South-East NSW effectively grinds to a halt.
The NSW Government, local councils and local business groups all identified the Pambuia Bridge upgrade as a priority infrastructure project in the region and a strategic economic link in southern NSW,
Projects like this - a Strategic Economic Link - derive significant benefits on many levels and show how regional cooperation can maximise government funding.
Federal Labor is also prepared to consider three and four way funding partnerships for local roads - involving all tiers of government working to leverage private sector financing to get more projects completed more often.
Labor's Roads to Recovery-style program will also see the type of project's eligible for funding extended to include public transport infrastructure projects, such as Park and Ride facilities at rail stations in key urban centres, as well as walking trails and runways at regional airports.
I am also committed to sorting out once and for all the anomaly that has existed in South Australia with regard to Commonwealth funding to local councils, The allocation of top-up funding to South Australian councils over the next three years is welcome, but it doesn't address the issue in the long term.
Discussions have already begun with the South Australian Local Government Association about how that is resolved in both a financial and legislative sense.
I make a similar commitment to addressing the issue of funding for the unincorporated areas of the Northern Territory. Again, the additional money that has been allocated this financial year is welcome, but inadequate.
It is also important that attention is paid to the unincorporated roads that serve both the cattle industry and our indigenous communities.
Funding and the fuel tax debate
On the issue of road funding, at regular intervals and indeed most recently on the release of AusLink, we see state minister's and others popping their heads up, complaining about how their state gets dudded by the Commonwealth in relation to fuel taxes.
I put it to you that it's about time this debate was given some perspective.
Fuel taxes, like the majority other taxes, go directly into consolidated revenue which is used to fund a raft of services across all states and territory's like health, education, social security and Infrastructure. Even Financial Assistance Grants.
All are vitally important to the Australian community and the challenge for governments is to get the balance in spending right. It must always be recognised that there is a limit to the amount of funding available and a limit to what governments at all levels can do at any given time.
So, do you reduce funding for health services in favour of increasing spending on transport infrastructure? Do you decrease funding for education in order to increase it for social security programs?
Good government is about managing competing priorities in a financially responsible way with the best possible outcomes. The petrol tax debate over-simplifies this reality.
This is why Labor's National Infrastructure Advisory Council is needed - to prioritise projects in a fair and equitable manner, based on transparent criteria and within the financial means of govemment. I would also point out that the criteria will not just be about economics. The projects will also be assessed according to their social and environmental outcomes, meaning that the smaller states and isolated areas will not be forgotten.
We need financial accountability, particularly in an area such as transport which deals with large amounts of money and governments need to be accountable for the promises they make with tax payers' money.
I do not want to see a repeat of the 200I election and the Black Spots Program/Roads to Recovery funding debacle.
As many of you are aware, Federal Labor in 200I could not commit to the continuation of the Black Spots Program because under the Charter of Budget Honesty we could not see where the money was coming from.
I copped a lot of flak about that decision but I stood by my decision not to make promises I couldn't keep.
The Howard Government, on the other hand, said funding wasn't a problem - they committed to continuing the Black Spots Program but they came up short.
The result was the need to re-profile money from the Roads to Recovery Program. This was nothing short of a blatant dishonesty by the Government at the last election and this kind of behaviour has to stop,
The current Black Spots program will continue under a Latharn Labor Government - it is a valuable program that assists in making our roads safer for all road users and in reducing the road death toll.
We should not accept that road deaths are inevitable and under any land transport program making our roads safer and reducing road trauma must be at its core.
The SaferRoads Project launched earlier this year is an important initiative in concentrating our attentions. I was pleased to attend the launch in Canberra in March and I congratulate all involved.
The motto of Safer drivers in safer vehicles on safer roads clearly underlines the need for a whole of government and whole of industry approach to road safety and it is one that I take seriously.
Labor's National Integrated Land Transport Plan will include a comprehensive road safety strategy driven by strategic national initiatives that complement the good work already being done by local and state governments and the transport industry.
Conclusion
As the Federal Election draws closer the full details of Labor's transport policy will be released. In the meantime I will be continuing my discussions with all stakeholders and fine-tuning the details of that policy.
A number of positive policy announcements have already been made, including:
- The start of negotiations on a new Pacific Highway Agreement vAth the NSW Government.
- Full funding commitments for a number of road upgrades such as the Deer Park Bypass.
- Partnership's with state governments an the full Calder Highway duplication, the Townsville Port Access Road, Pambula Bridge and key highway works in Tasmania.
And today I have reinforced Federal Labor's commitment to:
- Full funding responsibility for the National Highway
- Putting in place a National Infrastructure Advisory Council
- Roads to Recovery and the Black Spots program
- Labor's commitment to making our roads safer for all road users
It is a positive agenda for a new Government and one that I hope becomes a reality.
All commitments that Federal Labor makes in the lead up to the election will be fully costed and accountable under the Charter of Budget Honesty.
They will be responsible, open and honest commitments that deliver long-term benefits for the entire Australian community.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.
Enjoy the rest of the Conference.
Martin Ferguson MP
12 July 2004
2004 National Local Roads Congress
Tanunda, South Australia
For information contact: Blythe Hamilton 0407 099 104
