Road Construction
Mr. Speaker, I thank Dr. Broad for bringing this matter of public importance to the parliament today and to the minister for his contribution.
Having been in local government for the past 20 years with a few breaks in between, I know roads well. I know road construction well and I know the responsibility of maintenance well and where they go into disrepair and many of the causes.
Not wanting only to take my own experience and knowledge, given some of the comments across the Chamber about people's ability to understand this issue, I will speak to an article on asphalt published publicly. It is really important.
When the minister makes comments about the amount of money that is invested into road maintenance or about the condition of roads, that there is relativity in this. You may have a certain amount of funds in your budget for maintenance, but is it enough?
That is the question. Do we actually invest enough? Does the Government invest enough to maintain the roads to the standards expected, not only technically but also by our community? Is it enough that over time going into the future, that they will continue to go into more disrepair?
I will read from some of their own reports in a minute. We know that pavement distress is when it ages and traffic pounds them. The minister has said this. If timely maintenance is not performed, distress is compounded. Cracks become potholes and potholes become craters. The cost of addressing minor deficiencies is much less than addressing major deficiencies. The only time to fix a repair is when it presents.
The minister says that this is not a new issue. Clearly, it is not a new issue. People have known and understood how to build and maintain roads for many years. In fact, the first road was constructed in about 4000 BC, first sealed in Paris in 1824.
Mr. Ferguson - Where?
Ms. FINLAY - In Paris. The world's knowledge about how to manage, construct and maintain roads is well known. This is not a new issue under your leadership, minister. The rain has not only now arrived. Yes, there may be more, and trucks have not been running on our roads for very long –
Mr. SPEAKER - Member for Bass, through the Chair.
Ms. FINLAY - However, this is something that is well understood. If the appropriate funds were delivered to the budget then it is not just on the contractors and their ability to deliver the work but it is on the commitment of the minister to deliver the funds required to maintain the roads in Tasmania. In the report of the Auditor-General, No. 6 of 2020-21, on the maintenance and management of the state road network, there are matters the parliament needs to be reminded of. One of the things that is important, the whole purpose of a road, the fundamental infrastructure across the state, is to connect communities. It is also really important for the economy.
It is important for safety, for function, for connectivity. It is also important for reputation. Where we have our local families travelling on the roads, we also have tourists travelling on the roads. For the reputation of Tasmania to be undermined by the quality of our roads, many of them connecting up our prime tourism regions, this should be a priority focus for the minister. In the report it says the audit: assessed how well the Department met this objective by evaluating whether there was strong governance … the minister - … planning and appropriately focused operational activity to maintain the Network.
We assessed whether there was a strong approach to planning for the maintenance, renewal and upgrade of the Network. … Despite this strong approach to planning and investment there was no formalised structure to reviewing strategies and plans to ensure they remained up to date and reflected changing priorities, thereby ensuring the Network was maintained in the most effective and efficient way. So, there was no formalised structure for this.
We assessed improvement was possible where repairs were not being efficiently undertaken due to not having a fully integrated and coordinated approach to maintenance. … The current State Roads maintenance and renewal budget cannot sustain current road condition levels into the future. Despite increased funding in recent years the maintenance budget has a shortfall of around 15% to ensure the Network is maintained to the optimum level and meets the prescribed [levels of service] … State Roads was not fully managing its risks as it had not integrated risk identification and mitigation as well as it could have.
In the back of this report, it says: In … 2018 … Not a new issue, something that has been well-known for a long time: State Roads projected the amount of available funding would not support sustainable maintenance of the Network. State Roads predicted, when combined with road asset renewals gained through road improvement projects, funding levels equated to approximately 85% of the funding required to maintain …[levels of service].
The minister, when receiving these recommendations has acknowledged and accepted the findings and recommendations of the audit. He has acknowledged that the Department of State Growth will continue to focus on improvements in line with the asset management framework but noted that there were more efforts required. It is easy for the minister to say, 'This is not a new issue, I'm on it, I'm requiring better outcomes', but the reality is that we have families putting their lives at risk every day.
They might be towing a caravan, towing a trailer. People are going through potholes in the dark, not being able to see them, causing tyres to blow out, having to pull over on the side of the road in the middle of the night to change their tyres. People are not being able to see them in the lead-up to when they are arriving to them.
One person who has written to the paper is concerned about the potential, particularly for motorcyclists, for death or great harm to people that might also come off in this. One pothole on the road between Deloraine and Launceston is so large people are having to swerve into the other lane. If you cannot see that on approach, this can cause great harm.
Yes, minister, we recognise you identify this. We recognise that you know that this is important. However, underfunding maintenance in a Budget where you are committing to increased investment, the investment in new infrastructure and maintenance infrastructure needs to be maintained to ensure the safety, the connectivity and the functionality of the road network across Tasmania.
Even your own people of your past, former roads minister Ian Braid said recently he has never seen potholes like this. He has said that delaying the repairs to deteriorating roads is false economy and it shows up in these wet seasons. In this portfolio, you need a hands-on minister who is actually going to address these issues. Minister, this is on you.
Video - YouTube
27th October 2022 - 11:43am
Energy Minister
Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise tonight on adjournment to make another contribution for the day around this Government and the way they treat people with disrespect, the way they say all sorts of things that they are going to do for the community, or imply that they will do for the community, and the way that they say they stand up for and back in people of our community.
On a day that is so important for Tasmanians, on a day that in our private members' time I raised, on behalf of Tasmanian farmers, serious issues that are causing them great distress in terms of the impact of transmission lines on Tasmanian farms, tonight at 5.59 p.m., right before the bell of adjournment, the minister for Energy put out a press release having a go at Tasmanian Labor. I want that minister to either come into this Chamber and stand up and face me when he puts out a media release or, at least, be honest about what happened in this place today.
Be honest with the people of Tasmania and with Tasmanian farmers about what happens in this place. I choose, and many of our colleagues choose, to leave our families behind to come to this place, to spend our lives committed to working hard for good, to be positive in this place and to put up with people being so - I have not quite learnt the words you are allowed to use in this place yet. I know the words you are not allowed to use but today I am furious. It has not been a week since the Tasmanian Labor Party and I were misrepresented in this place and it has happened again today.
Mr Barnett, do not ever misrepresent me, do not do it again, because today you have put out a press release saying that we have voted against the interests of farmers, that we have voted against the interests of our farmers being in a position where they can be supported to get ongoing and contemporary compensation under contracts for the transmission lines that impact their productive land. I spent 40 minutes this afternoon repeating clearly the work we have been doing with Tasmanian farmers. I have spent time in this place this afternoon, having spent months working with, meeting with and meeting on farmers' lands.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER- Ms Finlay, I need to alert you that you are not allowed to reflect on –
Ms FINLAY - I am reflecting on a media release that was put out this afternoon at 5.59 p.m. by Mr Barnett saying something that is not true about me in this place. I am responding to a personal reflection in a media release that was put out at 5.59 p.m. today that said we voted against the interests of farmers. That is not true. Mr Barnett cannot continue to misrepresent the facts in this place in media releases. The facts are that Tasmanian Labor supports Tasmanian farmers.
The facts are that Tasmanian Labor supports Tasmanian farmers who are attempting to be treated respectfully, who attempted to trust this Government because they have been told repeatedly, and were told again today in a very light-hearted manner, that they would be supported in their attempts to be compensated in a fair way. In a media release this afternoon, which I am reflecting on in this place, Mr Barnett attempted to say we voted against that. What we did was we put a motion towards this parliament this afternoon.
You cannot say to the Tasmanian people in your media release, Mr Barnett, that we do not support Tasmanian farmers. Tasmanian Labor and I, as the shadow for Primary Industries and Water, stand strongly with Tasmanian farmers. If there is anybody who reads what has been put out by Mr Barnett and questions that, or questions our support, I ask them to come and speak to me. The farmers we are talking to, the farmers we know who are being disrespected and feel like they are, to quote a farmer, 'second-class citizens' in the contributions that they are trying to put up on behalf of themselves, their families, their children and future generations, they are feeling disrespected.
What you have just done this afternoon is make it feel worse for them. They are already anxious and stressed. When you continue to put out in the public realm information like this, which is just untrue, it is appalling. Tasmanian Labor were proactive and today we stood up for Tasmanian farmers, we backed their need to have ongoing, contemporary contracts for compensation around transmission lines and I will not have anybody, Tasmanian Labor will not have anybody, intentionally misrepresent us in this place.
Video - YouTube
18th October 2022 - 6:36pm
TasNetworks
Ms FINLAY question to PREMIER, Mr ROCKLIFF
Primary producers across the north and north-west are growing increasingly concerned about the impact TasNetworks' proposed transmission lines will have on their valuable productive land. Will you commit to ensuring the owners of primary production land affected by transmission lines will be fairly compensated using ongoing contemporary contracts?
Video - YouTube
18th October 2022 - 10:20am