Cathy McGowan (Indi, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to second the comments of the member for Wright. It is just fantastic to see the passionate interest he has in education and to see him acknowledging all those wonderful people who do the work that they do, and I would like to be associated with his comments.

Today I would particularly like to talk about Financial Assistance Grants to local government. I have previously addressed this House regarding these grants and regarding the decision to freeze their indexation as part of the government's budget cuts. I wish to talk about the impacts of this indexation freeze on my electorate of Indi, and to highlight the unintended consequences of this policy for the small rural and regional councils that I represent. Firstly, Madam Deputy Speaker, let me make it clear that the impact of this policy on local government budgets is hitting small rural and regional councils far more heavily than their metropolitan counterparts, as you would know. Small rural and regional councils, including those in Indi, rely on this funding to support operational activities. The impact of the freeze becomes clear, Madam Deputy Speaker, when you understand how this money contributes to councils' overall income—

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