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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-05-03 Daily Xml
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TRANSPORT POLICY

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg) (15:36): This week, we have seen the Minister for Transport Services drowning in her mismanagement of bus contracts. We have not seen the Minister for Transport leap to her rescue, throw her a life raft or even say, 'Well, I signed the contract, so I could probably take a bit of blame here. How can I help out?' No. The Minister for Transport has actually been a very busy boy. He has been attending, under his transport folio, a very interesting schedule of meetings, one of them relating to setting the standard of the new government's accountability, for example, during caretaker mode prior to elections, a stunning example of which has come to my attention, where the Minister for Transport was complicit in attending a meeting of ministers of transport, both state and federal. He was attending the Standing Council of Transport and Infrastructure, which was held on 21 March 2012, three days prior to the Queensland election.

Attending that conference, as well as our own minister, was the then Labor minister for transport in the Bligh government. That minister signed up with all the rest of them to an agreement that would ravage the financial base of transport operators, particularly in South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. To even attend a meeting relating to the signing-up to a major income revenue review (in this case, the registration of vehicles), knowing that the minister was in the middle of an election campaign, I think is despicable. I raised this matter in correspondence with the minister. I have not yet had a response to my letter of 17 April 2012. Nevertheless, as I have said, he met with this group to sign up to an agreement on the registration review, also noting that a very significant fuel tax increase of 10.4 per cent (or 2.4¢ a litre) was coming courtesy of the federal government.

I raise this matter because the announcement from this meeting of ministers was not made public until the afternoon of Friday 23 March. How convenient! On the eve of the Queensland election, this was finally made public. This was no instant communiqué out of their meeting. No, this was very secret—and it was kept secret, under the veil of the eve of the stunning win of the Liberal National Party in Queensland. Nevertheless, that occurred, and it was trickled out.

We need to understand that what had essentially been agreed upon was that the states would go back and review the registration costs for heavy transport vehicles. The smaller ones would have a reduction in registration costs and the road trains, the larger vehicles, were going to be belted with a major increase. South Australia, in particular, was going to be affected by this because we use road trains. This is going to severely affect, ultimately, not only the cost of delivery of consumables to country people but also potentially result in a loss of revenue to this state in relation to those who might register in another state that were not going to impose this agreement, such as the Northern Territory. The third alternative would be that they would all just whack off a trailer off the road trains and use smaller vehicles.

Many members would have read today's newspaper—a full-page advertisement about how household costs are going to go up; bread, fruit, vegetables, and 50 per cent more truck emissions, noise and safety risks on the road as a result of this stupid decision. It is even more absurd when we know the Northern Territory has already said, 'We are not lining up to that agreement; it is not acceptable to us.' Western Australia has said, 'We are going to review the same.'

Not even the most stupid minister in South Australia would remain involved in an agreement that is going to rip off country people in this state, knowing that all transport operators have to do in this state is go and register in Darwin. It is just a stupid decision in the first place, but it is not even smart for South Australia. I ask the minister to get smart and not agree to this, and to go to the May meeting and listen to what the people of South Australia are saying. Do not place this burden—Madam Speaker, these are people in your electorate, who are going to be paying—

Time expired.

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