SUBJECT | Funding for Victorian regional roads | 17 October 2022
PETE STEFANOVIC: Let's go live now to the shadow immigration minister Dan Tehan. He is in Canberra. Dan, good morning to you. We'll start off with the flooding. How is your electorate coping?
DAN TEHAN: Well, Pete, serious. Thank you to the SES for the way they've coordinated this flood. The CFA has done a remarkable job and everyone else who has volunteered and supported the flood effort. It has been quite remarkable. I was in Skipton on Saturday morning, thanking all the people who had helped save houses there. Obviously, some houses couldn't be saved and have been inundated, like Goldsmith; in my electorate, Beaufort and Lexton have all been impacted. But the combined effort of everyone involved, the police, the SES, the CFA, they've done a remarkable job. Now obviously, they've got to deal with the flood situation further north and in central Victoria, but what they're doing and how they've gone about it has been quite remarkable.
STEFANOVIC: What about the Government's rollout of cash and the cash promises so far to those affected? Dan, are you happy with that?
TEHAN: Well, that's a start, the immediate impact. But what we now are going to have to see is a remarkable level of investment in Victoria's road network. And what I would implore the Government to do is to defer their $2.2 billion payment to urban rail, get a proper case done by Infrastructure Australia, as should happen, and put that to build 2.2 billion into our regional and rural road network in Victoria. It has been smashed by this flooding and this rain event. There are potholes the size of kids' swimming pools and parts of the road-the basis of the road-have been eroded by the water. I have never seen a road network more damaged. We're going to need federal government funding, and we're going to need State Government funding. Obviously, local governments are going to need help and support with their road network. My great concern is, Pete, it's been quite remarkable that we haven't seen the loss of life-Sadly, we've seen one loss of life-If we do not fix this road network properly, we will see more loss of life because of that, rather than the flooding. So we have to see investment into our road network.
STEFANOVIC: As for the suburban rail loop, though, I mean, Dan Andrew is still for it, according to the polls. He's going to win the next election, too. And Anthony Albanese says he's still pushing ahead with the $2.2 billion project because isn't it an election commitment that he's got to follow through with?
TEHAN: Well, it's an election commitment, but one that he should put through Infrastructure Australia, as he said it should happen with all these types of projects. So that's what he should do. And while that is occurring, that $2.2 billion should go into Victoria Road Network. 20 minutes down the road from where Catherine King, the Infrastructure Minister, lives is the Western Highway; the main road between Melbourne and Adelaide has holes in it. 20 minutes further south than that, there are parts of the state road network where there is asphalt dragging out. The road has no base to it. I've never seen the road network more dangerous in my life. There are bridges which have been severely damaged and will need repairing. The road network has been smashed, and that should be the focus going forward of the Albanese Government. And then once the business case has been done, they can then look at funding urban rail.
STEFANOVIC: Just a final one. Outside your portfolio here, I admit, Dan, but I just want to get your thoughts on these alarming stats that point to widespread rorting of Medicare across a number of decades It's been. So, there are a few different governments at fault here, doctors taking courses in some cases on how to game the system. It's all very troubling. But do you think there needs to be an inquiry?
TEHAN: Well, we definitely have to ensure that there is integrity in any payments system, including the Medicare system. And the government will need to act on this to ensure that there's integrity in Medicare. Obviously, we pay billions and billions of dollars to our doctors to care for us. We do that because it's the right thing to do, but if there is rorting taking place, then we need to act quickly to stop it because we can't afford at this stage when we can't get doctors in regional and rural Australia to be seeing money going to doctors who are rorting the system. It has to go to doctors who are doing the right thing by patients and making sure that we can provide a medical workforce right around Australia.
STEFANOVIC: Okay. Dan Tehan, good to have you with us, as always, on a Monday morning.
