Mr McADAM - 2004-10-06
At the last sittings of the Assembly, members unanimously supported a motion calling for the Commonwealth to restore $20m of funding which the Territory had been short-changed for roads in unincorporated areas. Can the minister advise the House on what actions have been taken in respect of the aforementioned motion?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. It is a vitally important issue. As has been said many times in this House, we have 9000 km of unincorporated roads. Last sittings, there was unanimous support for the Commonwealth to restore $20m in funding for roads in unincorporated areas which the Territory has been short-changed over the last four years.
A letter was forwarded to the Coalition minister responsible for roads. It was signed by myself and the member for Brennan. I remind members of the motion which was passed unanimously in the Assembly. The Assembly noted that:
And also:
I table that letter, which was jointly signed by myself and the member for Brennan.
I was pleased to co-sign that letter, but what has the response been? The Commonwealth shadow minister for roads, Mr Martin Ferguson, who has been here quite a number of times since I have been roads minister, has committed a Latham Labor government to an additional $19m of new funding for roads in our unincorporated areas. That is in addition to $1m which the Territory has already received, and fulfils, I believe, the unanimous motion passed by this Assembly.
The contrast - what has the Howard Coalition offered the Territory? The Coalition has announced $3m over the next four years for the Outback Way in the Territory, and totally ignored other roads in unincorporated areas. I could be wrong. There is another one-and-a-half days until things wind up, but we are still waiting for all those promises which were made. Senator Campbell came up here, promised $30m or $40m extra, met with the cattlemen and said: ‘Don’t worry fellas, $30m or $40m extra’.
These are all the unincorporated roads in the Northern Territory, in red, still not addressed by any Coalition undertaking. However, Mr Ferguson has committed $19m extra for our unincorporated roads. I welcome that. Once again, it highlights the poor job the current incumbent, Mr Tollner, has been doing in lobbying on behalf of the Territory.
I believe Territory roads are going to be a hell of a lot better off under a Latham Labor government.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. It is a vitally important issue. As has been said many times in this House, we have 9000 km of unincorporated roads. Last sittings, there was unanimous support for the Commonwealth to restore $20m in funding for roads in unincorporated areas which the Territory has been short-changed over the last four years.
A letter was forwarded to the Coalition minister responsible for roads. It was signed by myself and the member for Brennan. I remind members of the motion which was passed unanimously in the Assembly. The Assembly noted that:
- (b) promises made to Territorians by the Prime Minister and other Commonwealth ministers that the inequity in the Territory’s road funding would be addressed; …
And also:
- calls on the Commonwealth to urgently address this shortfall in unincorporated road funding for the Territory by:
- (1) immediately providing $20m to cover the existing shortfall;
I table that letter, which was jointly signed by myself and the member for Brennan.
I was pleased to co-sign that letter, but what has the response been? The Commonwealth shadow minister for roads, Mr Martin Ferguson, who has been here quite a number of times since I have been roads minister, has committed a Latham Labor government to an additional $19m of new funding for roads in our unincorporated areas. That is in addition to $1m which the Territory has already received, and fulfils, I believe, the unanimous motion passed by this Assembly.
The contrast - what has the Howard Coalition offered the Territory? The Coalition has announced $3m over the next four years for the Outback Way in the Territory, and totally ignored other roads in unincorporated areas. I could be wrong. There is another one-and-a-half days until things wind up, but we are still waiting for all those promises which were made. Senator Campbell came up here, promised $30m or $40m extra, met with the cattlemen and said: ‘Don’t worry fellas, $30m or $40m extra’.
These are all the unincorporated roads in the Northern Territory, in red, still not addressed by any Coalition undertaking. However, Mr Ferguson has committed $19m extra for our unincorporated roads. I welcome that. Once again, it highlights the poor job the current incumbent, Mr Tollner, has been doing in lobbying on behalf of the Territory.
I believe Territory roads are going to be a hell of a lot better off under a Latham Labor government.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016