Page 2249 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 3 August 2022
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The proposal included the feasibility, design and construction works for upgrades to priority unsealed sections totalling approximately four to eight kilometres of the remaining unsealed sections of Boboyan Road, which could include, following the feasibility study, construction of sealed road surfaces; gravel re-sheeting; grading; road widening to meet minimum carriageway standards; trimming of vegetation to improve line of sight issues; and improved signage and road delineation.
But in March this year, Minister Joyce rejected the proposal, agreeing to only 50:50 funding on the basis that they classify these patently regional and rural roads as urban roads. I raised the funding shortfall with the then Senator for the ACT, Zed Seselja, but nothing changed. He was happy to take credit for any funding, even if it was less than our community deserves.
The ACT’s regional roads deserve their fair share of funding just like every other regional road in the country. The ACT government has put forward further funding for regional roads in the budget yesterday, including Boboyan Road on the basis of 80:20 funding. We have also agreed to fund upgrades to Brindabella Road to improve safety under the Road Safety Program.
I am very pleased to say that since 21 May we have a different federal government, one that is prepared to work collaboratively, and a Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, the Hon Kristy McBain, who understands the important role these roads play for her community and the ACT’s regional community. We are already engaging with her. I am meeting her at Parliament House tonight, and we are already engaging with the new government very well on how we can work together to improve transport outcomes. I will be raising this issue of regional roads.
The new government has made a substantial commitment to upgrade Brindabella Road in the New South Wales section of the electorate of Eden-Monaro. They did that at the election. And we have offered to work collaboratively with the Australian government to explore further opportunities to co-invest in upgrading our end of regional roads—the same roads—to improve safety and provide connectivity and economic benefits for our whole region.
As we continue to make the case to the commonwealth, I call on the Assembly to back our call for fair funding for our regional roads in this motion today. I have seen an amendment that has been circulated by Mr Parton; and, rather than speaking again, I will indicate that the ACT government will not be supporting this amendment. That is because we have already made a decision yesterday in the budget to fund Boboyan Road on the basis of 80:20 funding. We deserve the same fair share of funding as what every other jurisdiction gets for the same roads that go into New South Wales that are classified as regional and attract a higher funding level. To support this amendment would be to take the same approach as former Senator Seselja, which is to accept a diminished level of funding and celebrate it. We simply do not accept that our communities—our regional communities—should have to have less funding for the roads. When we get less funding, it means we do less.
We want to make this argument as strongly as possible to the commonwealth: we will fund Boboyan Road upgrades, but we want to do so on the basis that they will make their fair share of contribution to the upgrades to that road. I am very confident that if
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