Speeches: 2005
6th National Local Roads and Transport Congress
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Closing address
Senator Kerry O'Brien
Shadow Minister for Transport
5 July 2005, Launceston, Tasmania
Introduction
I'd like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we gather today, and extend my thanks to Cr Paul Bell and Cr Lynne Mason for the opportunity to deliver the closing address of the National Local Roads and Transport Congress 2005.
Let me open this closing session by offering you a warm welcome to Launceston - my home town.
I hope you have enjoyed your stay and intend to visit again soon with family, friends and colleagues in tow.
Appointment
I was appointed Shadow Minister for Transport just eleven days ago, and welcome this opportunity to make some comments about how I'm approaching my new role.
This is, I hope, the first of many National Road Congresses at which I will have the opportunity to address you.
I can't help but reflect on the fact I'm making my first comments on the transport portfolio during the closing session, while the soon-to-depart John Anderson delivered his last address to you during the opening session of this congress.
Mr Anderson's speech to you will figure among his last as Minister for Transport and Regional Services.
I first had occasion to cross swords with Mr Anderson during the waterfront dispute, and, to be frank, we've shared little common ground since.
I would, however, like to acknowledge his long service to the National Party and the Howard Government, not least as leader of the junior coalition partner and Minister for Transport and Regional Services over the past seven years.
I'm sorry his return to the back bench has been caused by ill health, and wish him and his family well for the future.
Challenges for new Minister
As you are aware, Minister for Agriculture Minister Warren Truss will be sworn in as Minister for Transport and Regional Services tomorrow.
It remains to be seen what Mr Anderson's resignation, and Mr Truss' appointment, will mean for transport policy under the Howard Government.
There's plenty of unfinished business sitting in Mr Anderson's in-tray awaiting Mr Truss' attention.
Not least of the new Minister's tasks will be the effective implementation of AusLink - the delivery of the government's promise to integrate the planning of Australia's land transport systems.
It's a task he'll need to embrace while turning his mind to other policy challenges including finalising a major aviation policy review, unblocking critical transport infrastructure bottlenecks and securing our airports.
Let me turn now to some of the issues on my plate as the new Labor spokesman.
Challenges for Labor
The first task for me - the one I'll check off my 'to do' list today - is rebutting the claim that Labor hasn't taken transport seriously since last year's election loss.
That's bunkum on at least four grounds.
First, responsibility for transport matters has rested with the Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations, Stephen Smith - a senior member of the opposition team holding a major shadow economic portfolio.
Stephen was supported in this task by Kelvin Thomson, formerly Shadow Minister for Roads, and Bernie Ripoll, Labor's Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure.
Second, Labor has got policy runs on the board.
During May Stephen Smith announced a key element of Labor's transport policy architecture - a national infrastructure authority - about which I'll have more to say shortly.
Third, Labor has effectively pursued the government over weaknesses in airport security and the extended absence from duty of Australia's Inspector of Transport Security, forcing an independent review.
Fourth, Labor has exposed last year's commitment of $93 million to marginal electorates under the AusLink strategic regional projects program.
A commitment not preceded by any merit-based assessment.
In fact, it wasn't even preceded by an application round.
Now obviously Kim Beazley thought Labor could sharpen its attack on the government by creating a stand alone Shadow Minister for Transport.
I'm mighty pleased he did, and I'm even more pleased he selected me for the job.
Stephen Smith and Bernie Ripoll have maintained their infrastructure responsibilities in Labor's new frontbench line-up.
My Queensland colleague Arch Bevis has picked up homeland security with a particular focus on securing our airports, roads and ports.
I acknowledge that you've all heard a lot about Labor's internal processes over recent weeks.
Just from reading the Australian newspaper, some of you probably know more about the workings of the Labor caucus than your own councils.
In my view, it's time for Federal Labor to stop focusing on our own navels.
Time to put the last election behind us and get on with the job.
Accountability
That brings me to my next and most immediate challenge - the job at hand - holding the Howard Government to account.
An important element of this task will involve monitoring the implementation of AusLink.
With AusLink the government promised to 'revolutionise' the planning and funding of Australia's national roads and railways through a new strategic approach to our transport future.
Even failed revolutions begin with high spirits and goodwill among comrades, so excuse me if I reserve my judgement on the AusLink project thus far.
I hope AusLink's objectives will be realised because this country desperately needs better, more strategic, longer-term land transport planning.
What we don't need is the government using tranches of road funding - like AusLink's strategic regional funding program - to achieve short term political objectives.
Nor do we need the government importing industrial relations objectives into bilateral funding agreements accompanied by a threat to walk away if it doesn't get its own way.
Neither of these practices has much to do with the stated objectives of the AusLink initiative.
A critical test for Mr Truss will be his ability to develop an effective working relationship with the states and territories.
Councillors and CEOs from rural and regional Australia will know that cooperation with the states and territories hasn't been Mr Truss' long suit.
His failure to reform delivery of Exceptional Circumstances drought relief can be almost solely attributed to his incapacity to sit down with state and territory colleagues and negotiate an agreed outcome.
Commonwealth-state negotiations involving Mr Truss have become bogged down in side issues like cost-shifting that have been as welcome and productive as kerosene in a bushfire.
I genuinely hope he has learned a thing or two from past failures.
Most importantly, I hope he recognises that the states and territories aren't going anywhere, and that effective transport planning is a misnomer if the Commonwealth and the states can't negotiate in good faith.
Before the last election, Labor described AusLink as a good start, and that's my view today.
I know this congress has discussed AusLink at length, and I look forward to you sharing your views with me.
Of course the government's transport commitments extend beyond AusLink.
Labor will do its best to ensure all the promises made by Mr Anderson ahead of the last election are honoured in full by his successor.
Accountability - that's the first of my challenges.
Policy development
The second challenge is developing an alternative policy agenda for Labor ahead of the next election.
I'm fortunate to have a solid policy legacy on which to build.
As noted earlier, Labor has renewed its long-held commitment to national integrated infrastructure planning.
It's clear that our road systems, our rail networks, our ports and our airports don't exist in isolation from each other.
It's equally clear that Australia is confronting an infrastructure crisis.
Organisations as diverse as the Australian Industry Group, the Regional Business Development Analysis Panel, the Australian Council for Infrastructure Development and the Business Council of Australia have urged all governments to take action to address the parlous state of our national infrastructure.
The recent Victorian infrastructure report card by Engineers Australia is the latest wake up call in a series of wake up calls ignored by the Howard Government.
While the government has slept through the alarm, Labor has heard the call.
Labor believes the absence of effective national planning is a contributing factor to our national infrastructure deficit.
We believe it is time to fill the planning void.
That's why, in government, Labor will establish an independent statutory authority known as Infrastructure Australia to develop a strategic blueprint for our nation's infrastructure needs.
Local government will have a critical role to play in developing this blueprint.
Not only will local government be represented on the board of Infrastructure Australia, but input from the local government sphere will be vital to its mission.
The blueprint developed by Infrastructure Australia will identify, and develop a plan to redress, inadequacies in Australia's nationally significant infrastructure.
This body will also have responsibility for implementing the plan, in partnerships with the states, territories, local government and the private sector.
Infrastructure Australia won't just be concerned with road, rail, sea and air transport, and it alone won't solve for our nation's infrastructure needs.
But it will be an effective vehicle for cooperation between stakeholders in our nation's infrastructure development.
An important element of Infrastructure Australia's work will be its long term focus.
This body won't be charged with finding short term fixes to get governments out of short term political trouble.
Backflips, double pikes and triple twists won't be in its repertoire.
Of course, Labor's transport plan for the 2007 federal election won't be informed by the work of Infrastructure Australia.
In the absence of this standing national body, I'm determined to consult as widely as I can to ensure our transport policy work is informed by organisations and individuals with a genuine interest in Australia's transport future.
State and territory governments, private transport operators, local governments, investment funds, transport unions, road safety groups, aircraft owners and operators, freight companies, airlines, auto clubs, airport owners, public transport user groups and the people that design, build and maintain our transport connections are among those that deserve a seat at the table when national transport policy is discussed.
It's my firm view that decision-making driven by short term political objectives rarely delivers good, or sustainable, policy outcomes.
In this regard, 'Exhibit A' for the prosecution is the Regional Partnerships program, administered by the Department of Transport and Regional Services.
The budget for this program now tops half a billion dollars, yet no overarching economic or social objective governs the allocation of its program funds.
Funding decisions are matters of Ministerial discretion, and, until exposed by Lenore Taylor of the Australian Financial Review late last year, the program operated with a secret set of funding guidelines known only to select Members of Parliament and certain Area Consultative Committees.
Even putting to one side the creek that dredged itself, and the steam train that thought it could but couldn't, it's hard to argue this program has delivered everything that hundreds of millions of dollars can deliver if directed to the right ends.
That's not the fault of proponents or Area Consultative Committees that have fought for public project funding.
Nor is it the fault of local governments that have supported good local projects.
It's the fault of a Federal Government that has put political expediency a long way ahead of the public interest.
My approach to transport policy development has been galvanised by my participation in the Senate inquiry examining the administration of the Regional Partnerships program.
I won't be approaching my policy development task in this portfolio with the Mackerras pendulum in one hand and Newspoll in the other.
And I won't support transport funding decisions that have more regard for campaign announcements in marginal electorates than good policy outcomes.
A third round of the Roads to Recovery program has already been canvassed as a local government funding priority for the next federal election.
I know how much local road funding matters for you and your communities.
Labor has been a supporter of Roads to Recovery and I've got an open mind on a third round of R2R.
I welcome local government's role in the ongoing debate about Australia's transport needs, and the inevitable role your sphere of government will play shaping in Labor's policy priorities.
When approaching this task I'd urge you not to constrain yourself to thinking about transport infrastructure exclusively in terms of concrete, steel and bitumen.
While good physical infrastructure is, of course, critical to our transport network, there are other key ingredients, including skills development, transport safety, management training, transport security, and decent wages and conditions for transport workers.
Conclusion
Australia's transport infrastructure deficit needs attention, and it needs attention now.
Tough, long term decisions are needed to secure Australia's future.
As Labor's transport spokesman, I'm determined to play my part.
I look forward to the part you will play, and the work we will do together.
Thank you for the opportunity to address you today.
Have a safe trip home.
Senator Kerry O'Brien
Shadow Minister for Transport
5 July 2005
Launceston, Tasmania
