Fund our Future

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL (16:04): I rise today to speak about the Fund Our Future campaign. Last week, Australian Greens senators Scott Ludlam and Janet Rice announced that the Greens are throwing our support behind the Fund Our Future campaign, which is a plan that ensures people living in the expanding outer suburbs of Adelaide's capital cities have access to the same services as inner city residents.

The Fund our Future campaign was launched last week as an initiative of the National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA) which represents 24 of Australia's fastest growing municipalities, including the City of Playford and the District Council of Mount Barker in South Australia. In fact, the National Growth Areas Alliance is currently chaired by our very own City of Playford mayor, Glenn Docherty.

The Fund our Future campaign is a response to the fact that population growth has exploded in the outer suburbs over the last decade but there has been nowhere near the same growth in essential services for the residents of those suburbs. Analysis commissioned by the National Growth Areas Alliance and conducted by SGS Economics and Planning has found that the almost five million residents of these areas are significantly disadvantaged and have demonstrably poorer access to health and transport infrastructure when compared to what is available in neighbouring areas closer to city centres. They also found that the infrastructure backlog currently stands at over $50 billion, with more than $20 billion needed to keep infrastructure on a level playing field to the year 2031.

The campaign is calling on the federal government to establish a dedicated infrastructure fund for fast-growing outer growth suburbs to address the infrastructure backlog and future proof these areas. People are encouraged to email the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The campaign has a proforma email for residents of the City of Playford to use which reads as follows:

To

The Hon Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia

The Hon. Bill Shorten, Leader of the Opposition

The City of Playford is one of the fast-growing suburbs on the outskirts of Australia's capital cities. Five million Australians—and counting—already call areas like ours home, but in just 15 years, the population will have jumped by half again to around 7.5 million people.

Residents in our areas lack the same access to quality roads, public transport and health facilities as those who live closer to city centres. Too often we are forced to drive for hours to get to work and basic services, which means high fuel costs, stress and time away from family and friends. I call on you to commit to

A policy shift and a dedicated national infrastructure fund to address the infrastructure problems in our fast-growing outer suburbs and 'future proof' them as they continue to grow.

Fund Our Future—Finish the Gawler line rail project which is a prime example of a desperately needed infrastructure project that is shovel-ready, but waiting for Federal Government support.

We need the Federal Government to fund the completion of the electrification of the Gawler rail line and possible extension to Tanunda. This would drastically improve the commute for thousands of residents who work or study in the city. It would also open up the northern suburbs, Gawler and Barossa as a more viable location for business, employment and education.

Successive governments have failed to fund and build the infrastructure that fast-growing areas like the City of Playford need and deserve.

Continuing population growth is further compounding the problem. As the years roll on, the scale of the problem will become bigger: more congested roads, more pressure on scarce public transport and stretched health facilities.

My community has been denied long enough. A growing community should be a vibrant resource, but instead we are being held back. My intention is clear—my vote in the Federal election will be guided by a commitment to these vital projects.

That is the proforma letter that residents of the City of Playford are urged to send to federal leaders.

With populations in our outer suburbs growing at double the national rate and predicted to remain strong for the next 25 years or more, investment is urgently needed for infrastructure projects and public transport as well as education and health facilities. Access to local education and health services, combined with easier and less time commuting, will also ease road congestion and it will improve people's quality of life and reduce the cost of living. For our cities as a whole to function effectively and fairly, these growing outer suburbs need this investment so that they may be connected with the opportunities that others take for granted. They are merely asking for a fair go, for the same opportunities as communities elsewhere.

The Greens are pleased to support the Fund Our Future campaign and to echo the campaign's call for the federal government to rethink its infrastructure policy and create a dedicated national funding mechanism to fix the infrastructure problems of fast-growing outer suburbs in the long term.