STATE COMMUNITY BANK CONFERENCE 2008

GS01/2008
28 March 2008

Closing Speech
SA/VIC/NT & TAS
State Community Bank Conference 2008
Friday 28 March 2008

Thank you for the warm introduction Chris, and good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.

I am pleased to have been able to join you here today for the close of this important conference celebrating 10 years of community banking in Australia.

I am actually here at the suggestion of one of Labor's regional members of parliament, Steve Gibbons, the Federal Member for Bendigo who has an obvious interest in this very important industry of Community Banking.

In fact, I was so committed to joining you here today that I left home at 4.30am!

I can see from your agenda, you have covered a lot of ground in the past couple of days and have been able to proactively share your views for the future.

I am the member for the Western Australian electorate of Brand and Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Northern Australia. While I consider myself a Western Australian through and through, I actually arrived in Australia as a ten pound pom in the mid sixties as a young boy. My family settled in state housing in Whyalla which was to be our home for the next 13 years. Consequently, I have always had a bit of a soft spot for South Australia.

Oddly enough, as a young man, I worked in a bank here in South Australia and went on to earn a degree in Economics from the ANU in Canberra.

My early working life and chosen field of study have given me a great appreciation and empathy for the work of the Community Bank network.

I understand that June 26 of this year marks the ten year anniversary of the opening of the Community Banks in regional in Victoria. I am sure that the first customers of these banks had an inkling of the potential of this new initiative but could not have imagined the rapid growth of Community Banks in Australia.

The motivating forces for the birth of community banking in Australia, have as much relevance today as they did ten years ago in regional Victoria. Australian families ... especially in regional areas ... are under immense pressure and they are looking for real and innovative alternatives to protect their future.

As I travel around Australia, I keep hearing about the impact of dehumanising bank services, when the major players expect their customers to be satisfied with arms-length service. People keep telling me that they are just not satisfied. And, I understand this growing up in Whyalla and also having lived and worked in the Northern Territory in the mid 80s.

People in regional communities understand the tyranny of distance, they understand economic forces and market pressures - just like Australians who live in our capital cities. But we are a vast nation built on strong regional foundations and the tyranny of distance is not a reason to overlook regional Australia.

Regional Australia is a vital and dynamic part of Australia's economic future - generating around 65 per cent of our export income - much of it from natural resources, but also from visitors to Australia's natural attractions.

The Rudd Labor Government recognises that support for regional Australia needs to have its base in the empowerment of local communities. When local people drive the agenda, its local people who make the decisions about the world they live in ... it's local people who can reap the benefits of their own social and financial circumstances.

Academic and community banking researcher, Dr Graeme Byrne of La Trobe University, explains, the real strength of the community banking model is the authentic involvement of the community, which is often generated by a core group of local business people determined to solve their own crisis.

Dr Byrne writes, "communities are brought together by a genuine commitment to seeing something get done." He goes on to make the observation that this results in more positive communities.

As the newly elected Government, this sentiment is at the forefront of our minds as we develop and implement regional policy.

During the election campaign and since being elected, Labor's focus has firmly been on delivering outcomes in the key areas of economic prosperity, skills and training, the drought and climate change, workplace relations and health.

We have been getting on with the job.

The challenges are real and the challenges are significant but we are committed to finding solutions. We need to:

• Tackle inflation and boost productivity;
• Help our manufacturers, farmers and miners get their goods to market as quickly and cheaply as possible; and
• Ensure all Australians - no matter where they live - have access to a reliable water supply.

A lot has happened since the election but as the Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Northern Australia, I would like to focus today on my portfolio responsibilities.

As part of our plan to strengthen the economy, the Government is offering a truly national, long-term approach to the provision of infrastructure - the fresh ideas of new leadership we promised before the election.

Australia's size, our scattered population, and our heavy reliance on export industries mean we are particularly dependent on efficient infrastructure which is well planned and adequately financed.

I am pleased to say we have already passed legislation to establish a strategic new body - Infrastructure Australia.

Infrastructure Australia will be headed by Sir Rod Eddington, a man who brings formidable experience to this role. His career began in transport and aviation. He spent five years service as CEO of British Airways, and was also part of a joint commission by the UK Government to examine the long-term links between transport and the UK's economic productivity, growth and stability.

Infrastructure Australia will have 12 members drawn from industry and all levels of government. It is significant that five of the twelve members, including the Chair, will be from the private sector, signifying the importance this Government places on private sector partnerships.

The composition of Infrastructure Australia will provide the grunt needed to deliver on Australia's infrastructure needs.

Reporting regularly to the Council of Australian Governments, Infrastructure Australia will advise governments, investors, as well as the owners and users of infrastructure, on matters including:

• national infrastructure priorities;
• the policy and regulatory reforms needed to improve the efficient utilisation of national infrastructure networks;
• options to address impediments to the development of efficient national infrastructure; and
• possible financing mechanisms.

Importantly, Infrastructure Australia will advise on ways in which barriers to investment in nationally significant infrastructure can be removed. This will include:

• improving the efficiency of delivery of projects;
• aligning infrastructure plans across all levels of government;
• harmonising guidelines, legislation and regulations across jurisdictions; and
• standardising formats in tender documents and contracts to promote best practice procurement.

Infrastructure Australia's first priority will be to conduct a national audit of Australia's infrastructure within the first year of the new Parliament.

This work will allow us to make evidence based decisions, and allow a better matching of investment dollars with the nation's infrastructure priorities.

According to a 2004 estimate by the Australian Council for Infrastructure Development, a lack of investment in public infrastructure over many years is now costing the Australian economy some $6.4 billion a year in lost production.

Infrastructure Australia will provide advice about infrastructure gaps and bottlenecks that hinder economic growth and prosperity. It will also identify investment priorities, policy and regulatory reforms that will be necessary to enable timely and coordinated delivery of national infrastructure investment.

Infrastructure Australia will also provide advice on nationally significant infrastructure, including transport, energy, communications and water infrastructure where further investment will improve national productivity

Infrastructure Australia is only part of our commitment to communities across the length and breadth of our country. Another key component of the Government's vision for our regions is the creation of Regional Development Australia.

Regional Development Australia will build on the Area Consultative Committee (ACC) network to provide a mechanism for greater synergy across all levels of government. Regional Development Australia will ensure that the concerns of regional communities are heard in Canberra.

I understand that many community Banks have formed partnerships with their local ACCs. This is a positive alliance and with the transition to Regional Development Australia, community banks will be able to strengthen dialogue with the Commonwealth.

The Area Consultative Committee Network was established by the Keating Labor Government in 1994 under the Employment Services Act. ACCs originally provided advice and generated support for labour market programs. Over time their role changed and focused more on identifying projects for the former Government's Regional Partnerships program.

There are 54 ACCs across Australia, which are not-for-profit, community-based organisations.

Hundreds of Australians give their time to serve their communities as members of ACCs. Only the Chairs and their Deputies are appointed by the Government.

Committee members are volunteers from all walks of life: business people, farmers, retirees, local government representatives and educators. ACC volunteers are united by their commitment to their local communities and are a valuable source of local knowledge and advice for Government.

The new Regional Development Australia network will improve the coordination of regional development initiatives and ensure effective engagement with local communities.

We want to hear from local communities on a range of issues, including:

• community infrastructure;
• regional issues and opportunities;
• local implementation of specific Commonwealth initiatives in the region;
• economic development planning and investment attraction;
• unique local attributes that would favour the development of new and innovative industries;
• initiatives to retain and expand skills and local businesses and industries;
• adequacy of service delivery in regions including for example banking and the issues you have discussed at this conference;
• social inclusion; and
• ways to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and coordination of Commonwealth regional initiatives.

Our Government's new vision for Regional Australia is based on building partnerships so that the Government is responsive to local priorities and needs, but is underpinned by major new investments in the areas of infrastructure, broadband, housing, health care, education, skills development, innovation and water.

The message to regional communities is clear - this Government will work with you to make your solutions work.

We will bring fresh ideas and a new approach which will harness the potential of our regions and develop them for a better future.

I know that a number of you here today are from the Northern Territory and will be particularly interested in the establishment of The Office of Northern Australia.

The Office has been established to improve cooperation and planning for major initiatives across Northern Australia. There will be a focus on seeing that these Australians share in our national prosperity.

The Office will provide high level policy advice to Government on sustainable development, economic, social and environmental issues.

It will work across agencies at Commonwealth and State/Territory level in a consultative capacity to coordinate the approach to key issues in Northern Australia and broker solutions.

Through the initiatives I have outlined, the Rudd Government will make certain that investments in regional Australia promote sustainable economic growth and benefit the community.

We will build partnerships between the community, business and all levels of government that can be responsive to local priorities and needs.

The concept of Community banking fits well with these objectives. It is about finding local solutions to local problems. It is about empowering people to take charge of their own destinies. Australia is renowned for innovation and Regional Australia has often been at the forefront of development and change.

In a country the size of Australia, local creativity, local innovation and local communities are the core of development.

The Community banking industry is an excellent example of Australian creativity and I congratulate you on your achievements over the past ten years.

Thank you