Keynote speaker at the recent National Local Roads and Transport Congress in Mackay, former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson said that as far back as 1992 the then Transport Minister in the Keating Government shelved a report into the ‘too hard’ basket that some $3 billion would be required to bring the nation’s local roads up to scratch.
When the Howard Government came to office in 1996, it set about winding back public sector debt and building surpluses, so additional money to fix local roads did not look promising.
“The then Treasurer, Peter Costello, went so far to say that local roads were not a Federal responsibility,” John Anderson said. “Yet everything we do and produce begins on a local road.”
But he said change is all about leadership and seizing the opportunity when it comes along. As Federal Transport Minister when the GST was introduced in 2000, John Anderson explained how this presented just that opportunity.
“In 2000 after the GST was introduced, the Coalition was losing ground in the polls, small business was not happy about collecting the GST and most of all, fuel prices had increased and not stayed neutral as promised,” he said.
“If people believed we were overcollecting, then lets give back three cents per litre for local roads.
“The argument that the poor condition of many local roads was also holding back economic growth as well as funding councils directly to decide their own local priorities was put to the Prime Minister.
“The PM liked the idea and agreed to run with it but he stipulated that City councils must be funded as well.”
John Anderson said that the $1 billion project initially over four years and subsequent extensions has been well received and delivered very good outcomes.
“It was all about seizing the moment and ensuring when that moment arrives you are ready,” John Anderson said. “The Moree Congress assisted greatly in this.”
He said the Moree Congress was about identifying a problem and then finding a way through it – articulating a vision and building confidence in others that you could make it happen.
Turning to the current state of play, John Anderson said that Australia has managed the global financial crisis well but is not out of the woods.
He pointed to other challenges, including climate change, reaching peak oil and predicted population increases.
“The era of cheap oil has gone,” he said. “Within ten years we will not be able to meet our own fuel needs. We must plan for Australia’s energy future including use of our abundant gas supplies.”
He said that Australia needs to increase its population – we produce enough food to feed many more people and with more care will have enough water – but regional areas will be the key.
“We can’t put more people into the Sydney basin, we need to make regional areas more accessible such as freeway access with tunnels to open up Orange, Bathurst, Lithgow and Parkes for further growth and development,” he said.
