PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P J KEATING MP
SPEECH AT THE LUNCH HOSTED BY NEVILLE NEWELL MP,
TWIN TOWNS SERVICES CLUB, TWEED HEADS, 20 DECEMBER 1995
E& OE PROOF COPY
Well we are going to run a little quiz. Why do you think we are here? You
guessed it. We are here for the thing that Neville [ Newell] and Harry [ Woods]
and Bob [ Home] have been on our backs now for about three years and that
is the Pacific Highway. And it is, of course, the major civics works project of
the East Coast of Australia and it has been in its current state the major
inhibitor to development and, of course, the cause of so many deaths.
Now we have reached a point in our history where we are now as a
Commonwealth Government doing things with the States. We have
recognised, all of us, that the responsibilities to the nation, the communities,
the regions, go beyond anyone's sphere of Government. And in the Council
of Australian Governments, we have put together a tri-partite body which is
the Commonwealth, the States and Local Government. And, today, we are
working that same model across the sectors to do another great public work
and that is to modernise and renovate the Pacific Highway.
You understand the Commonwealth has now for many years, as a result of
the Council of Australian Governments processes, divided our responsibilities
between the national highway system and the urban and arterial roads which
were formerly, in part, managed financially by the Commonwealth. So that
they are the responsibility of the States and we carry the national highway
system. And the national highway running between Sydney and Brisbane is the
New England Highway and it is the highway for which the Commonwealth has
taken responsibility. But the development and the movement of people, of
course, in this State and in Southern Queensland, is along the coast. And
while this Pacific Highway has been the responsibility of the States of
Queensland and New South Wales, the financial responsibility and cost of
bringing it to the status of a major highway, are beyond the financial capacity
of any one State.
So my colleague, Laurie Brereton, brought to the Cabinet a proposal to fund
a dollar for dollar funding arrangement with the States of New South Wales
and Queensland, an augmentation of the national highway responsibilities
and road programs of the Commonwealth, in a way where we could attempt
to undertake this major work.
Now you might recall that the NRMA published a report, I think it was in July
this year, about the Pacific Highway and I understand it is about to publish
another. And it talks about the highway being the spine of the continent's
East Coast and the need to upgrade and renew it. And I think, by and large,
given that the Bureau of Transport Economics has now published quite a lot
of data on this project, that we will find probably in a reflection in the NRMA
report our own understanding of the costings of the project.
Essentially, what the Commonwealth is proposing today is that we will offer
$ 750 million in ten annual instalments of $ 75 million each to the States of
New South Wales and Queensland for the fast tracking and duplication of the
highway over ten years.
The offer is conditional on New South Wales and Queensland maintaining
their existing levels of commitment to the Pacific Highway and agreeing to
match the Federal Government's contribution dollar for dollar and we have
indications from both Governments that they will so make those contributions.
And just to make sure they will, we have got their name on the maker's, label
here. We have tied them right in.
Now what this will mean is, of course, that we will see $ 750 million from the
Commonwealth and $ 750 million from the two States and that will mean an
additional $ 1.5 billion will be spent on the highway over and above existing
State commitments. So there is already a State program. This will be rolled
together with this new program, but rather than simply dealing with black
spots and some of the more difficult areas, with the current program and
maintenance we would be looking at, of course, a complete rebuild of the
highway. New South Wales and Queensland will retain responsibility for the Pacific
Highway and we will maintain our commitment, of course, for the National
Highway system including the New England. But we realise, I think, that the
reconstruction of the Pacific Highway is a national transport priority and we
are prepared to pull our weight in it. We are very pleased by the indication of
cooperation from the two States.
This represents one of the largest public investments in the Commonwealth,
an investment especially in the future of Queensland and the north coast of
NSW. The Pacific Highway reconstruction project will develop a world class
highway up the Pacific edge of Australia. Currently only about 16 per cent of
the highway features dual carriageways and even if we continued funding at
present levels for the next 10 years, coverage would be less than 20 per cent.
So, even if we carried on as we are, we would only have 20 per cent of it as a
dual carriageway in a decade. But, under this new proposal 81 per cent of
the highway will feature dual carriageways by 2005 and 2006. All 192
kilometres of poor alignment and all 206 of narrow pavement will be removed
all of it removed. All 63 narrow bridges will be eliminated and all major
towns will be bypassed by the highway. This, of course, will make them more
safer and more pleasant places in which to live, which will increase tourist
potential. They are, of course, Nerang, Coolangatta, Tweed Heads,
Chinderah, Brunswick Heads, Ballina, Woodburn, Cowper, Ulmarra,
Woolgoolga, Coffs Harbour, Uranga, Kempsey, Kew, Taree, Bulahdelah,
Karuah and Raymond Terrace. None of them will have the highway running
through them.
In other words, we can get on with, essentially, recognising the needs of a
dual carriageway highway, a safe road for conveyance and one which will be
an artery which provides the building of greater communities along the coast
as the natural shift to the coast takes place. As we see the growth in
population and the growth in demand, we will be able to put this major
national asset into place.
There are, I think, many people have been supportive of this being done for
many years. My colleagues have made an enormous difference in this
debate and I want to acknowledge that. There are things said in public life,
people say things about members of Parliament in the due course of events,
but let me assure you that Neville, Harry and Bob have made this, I suppose,
amongst all of the things in which they have been involved perhaps the
principal thing which they knew the Commonwealth had to be involved with.
So, the point of electing local members of Parliament to take their place in the
national Parliament and in the government is to be able to decipher what is
needed, what can be delivered, what should be done by the Commonwealth,
what other things should be left by the States or how we do things
collaboratively. They have worked together and as a consequence of their
membership of the government, this project is going to happen. I would like
to acknowledge that. I would like to also acknowledge Laurie Brereton's role
in this. Laurie has put down more cubic metres of concrete, built more
bridges, more roads and had more local and regional arguments than anyone
in the country I think. Maybe I could rival him, but the fact is I need to say, in
NSW, " Mr Builder, thank you." I actually think that is going to be the case
here again. Of course, he has seen the need for this to be done and neither
he or I are into the semantics of what is a national highway and what isn't.
There is a major need here and that is what we are responding to. We are
not trying to find characterisations. I'd like also to acknowledge the work of
the NRMA. I am delighted that Don MacKay could be with us today, for the
conscientious effort as a Roads and Motorists Association, you represent the
interests of people in the most difficult stretch of road in the country. They
have done that consistently and conscientiously and their views about this
have been material to the way in which the government has responded. I
want to take this opportunity to thank Don and the Association.
But, I think, what it means, more than all of the technical things, is an
endorsement by the Commonwealth, again, of the importance of this region of
Australia. It is such a beautiful area. We were sifting in the plane coming up,
we were just to the landward of the coast on the way up, looking at all of the
coastal towns as they came by and also the river mouths. And you see what
a wonderful stretch of coast it is. It has got to be one of the most naturally
beautiful places in the world and what a great bequest we have been left as a
nation, to manage this coast line well, to give people their enjoyment of it and
at the same time secure it as economic assets for the States and for the
country. This is, I think, where we have seen a very big change in the
government's policy with Better Cities. I was here just a week ago taking the
first ride on the train from Robina back towards Brisbane were it will link up
with the main electrified line out of Brisbane and I'm sure we are going to see
a time too when that railway will come down here to Tweed Heads.
This is another thing that both Neville and Harry have been talking about now
since under the Better Cities program we join with Queensland in the funding
of the railway from Robina and given that this area of coast, particularly from
Brisbane to Coolangatta, is the fastest growing area of Australia and, of
course, the area from Tweed Heads down through Grafton et cetera has also
got the same buoyancy of growth. What we do need to see in place are the
appropriate bits of public infrastructure and the good thing about the railway,
for instance, is that it is actually going to design the way in which the
development moves around it. In other words, it is not coming simply at the
end of the process, even though we have seen a lot of development in the
Gold Coast and the hinterland, it is going to define, in fact, the way in which a
lot of this development occurs.
So, there is a role for the Commonwealth. We see it under Better Cities. We
have seen it where we have introduced stimulatory statements like
One Nation, where we have put funding into various projects that are beyond
a municipal government's capacity or the states's capacity and we have got
now some very large rolling programs running as well. The main message is,
I think, that we are very interested in the north coast of NSW and this area
between Tweed Heads, Coolangatta and Brisbane. We have been happy to
join with the Government of Queensland and now the Government of NSW in
doing these things.
The one bit left undone was, of course, the highway and, with this
announcement today, that will be done as well. As a consequence we can
start thinking in a unitary way of the whole region. That has come by virtue of
the fact that the Commonwealth recognises and has a role in these regions
with the States and with local government.
So, I think, this is a very big change and it also recognises the urbanisation of
the coast and how important it is for us to get it right and how the devotion of
public assets can be important. There is a place for private growth and
private assets, a place for the public ones and invariably where the public
ones are set, it will set the pattern of development which then follows it and
this is what we have been seeking to do. As well as that, can I just mention
that you might recall our Working Nation program which is a statement
designed to deal with long term unemployment. Simon Crean announced
recently under our New Work Opportunities project that we are going to see
1750 jobs created in the region here under that program and also we
supported under Working Nation, Regional Economic Development
Organisations. We have established one in northern NSW and the point of
that is to focus on what the region needs and how best it should develop. We
have found in the McKinsey study that the regions doing best and there are
many regions of Australia growing faster than the capital cities the ones
doing best are the ones that are locally led by the Federal members, by State
members, by local government, by the business organisations, by unions, by
non government organisations coming together and providing leadership.
In other words, if a community knows what it wants itself then it will draw its
own investment to it and what we find happens is that most of the investment,
in fact, doesn't come in from outside, it actually comes from the region, that
existing businesses grow faster and it is giving a signal to the State and to
the Commonwealth governments about what they might do with the area.
One of the great challenges, but I think one of the most exciting prospects for
us, is to do all these things but to do it with an eye to nature and a beauty.
The first thing you always think about flying in here is the nature and the
beauty of it because it is an absolutely exceptional part of the country. It
doesn't matter where you go in the world, when you come back here it always
strikes you.
Just three weeks ago we made key decisions about the forests of this
country. In what must be the biggest public decision in respect to the forests
ever, six million hectares of Australian native forests have been reserved
under Deferred Forest Areas for broader assessment into Regional Forest
Agreements. In doing this, we will see I hope, the dual commitments to the
environment, to representative stands of native species of trees and to the
forest products industry, so we can have a sustainable forest products
industry. And where those two objectives clash, we are going to have a very
large reconstruction package of financial measures to support those
industries and the people in those industries who have got difficulties dealing
with the reconstruction of the forest industries arising from that package. But,
I think we can do it and, in doing it, I know there are two things here: there is
substantial environmental conscientiousness, as naturally you would expect,
given the beauty of it and the forest resources in this region of Australia.
I think, people should be assured that no government has ever done more
and more conscientiously something to actually keep important
representative stands of forests in this country. But, we are also conscious of
the jobs and the employment and the costs of reconstruction of these
industries. And on this occasion we have been, I think, very cognisant of that
and the financial commitments and adjustment packages we have announced
recognise that too.
So, if you take the region as a whole, just looking at the difficulties of, say,
development from Newcastle up to Brisbane, all the demands for population
growth, all the demands for traffic, the settlement difficulties along the coast,
the importance of the preservation of the hinterland, the importance of
agriculture and timber industries, what we are seeking to do is to do it
together as a whole policy, and to focus that on the whole region. I think,
what we are talking about today, the transport spine, the link that runs
through it, important as that is going to be to all of these communities, what is
I think, important beyond that is how we approach the whole region and we
underline the beauty and preserve it, we secure the prime natural assets and
we develop the place for the quiet enjoyment of those who have chosen to
live here.
Can I thank you very much for coming to lunch today, to be here at this
important announcement and let me again thank my colleagues Neville
Newell, Harry Woods and Bob Home for their interest in this and say that
when communities get serious about their own needs and prospects, and
they get serious members who know they have got to earn their freight and
are not sitting there with some sort of God-given right or to be hearing voices,
of being tapped on the shoulder by some supernatural force to represent the
rest of us, that people are actually out there working and doing, this is the
result of that sort of representation.
Thank you very much indeed.
ends