Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories) Share this | Hansard source

I note the previous speaker's focus on marketing. It's something that exercised the minister at the table, the member for Hasluck. He reminded me that the greatest spending on marketing was actually by the previous Labor government. So, when we talk about spin, we just need to look at the previous Labor government.

In looking at the pressing needs—the MPI today is on 'answers to the pressing needs facing the nation'—I look at my own electorate and some of the simple things that matter most to families and to people who live in our areas. I look at the over $10 billion that's been spent by this government on the listing of important medicines on the PBS. There's not much more pressing than this issue when you talk to people out in our communities. The fact that the economy—the budget we're running—allows us to list these medicines and put over $10 billion worth of new listings on the PBS is just an extraordinary achievement and one that I'm particularly proud of.

When I meet the people most affected—those who otherwise might not be able to afford these medications; Kalydeco is now available for infants aged from 12 months to 24 months—when I meet families in my electorate for whom that means everything, that's when I know that we are meeting the pressing needs facing the Australian people, which is what this MPI is supposed to be about. That's exactly what we're doing. It matters so much that we understand and listen to what the Australian people want and need and respond to that. The Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services talked earlier about the medications for leukaemia and lung cancer. When you're out listening to your community you hear that this is what matters most to them. It's not this debate today; it's how the government takes action on matters that matter most to families and people.

The personal income tax cuts matter there most as well. Many of us have thousands of small businesses in our electorates. It is the tax cuts and the instant asset write-off that enable them to keep doing what they do very well and invest in themselves and jobs for people in their businesses. That matters.

The government moved to protect the privacy of farmers. I saw it directly in my own area and in Harvey. It protected the privacy of primary producers and even the abattoirs. There was legislation to protect members in this sector from the unlawful actions of animal activists—the Criminal Code amendment bill. Those opposite obviously don't feel that that is important, but when you are a farmer whose family is being put at risk by this sort of action it is these sorts of simple things that matter most. This is what we in government are focusing on—the simple things that matter most to people.

I look at the investment in headspace. Young people in my part of the world in Busselton and Margaret River have benefited and are benefiting from new headspace centres. These are real genuine grassroots achievements.

Another one introduced by our government—and this matters so much to us—is the Mobile Black Spot Program. For those of us who live and work in rural and regional Australia, connectivity is a critical issue. This is something the previous government had zero interest in, yet we saw this as being absolutely critical. The mobile black spot towers have proven enormously beneficial, particularly for our emergency services. We've had the bushfires. In Northern Queensland we've had floods, and in rural and regional Australia we have the drought factor as well to deal with. Communication is critical to us. This Mobile Black Spot Program has been invaluable in rural and regional Australia, as has the investment in aged-care facilities.

In my own part of the world there is Hocart Lodge and Tuia Lodge. The minister who is at the table, the member for Hasluck, previously had responsibility for aged care. He understood perhaps better than so many the real and critical needs of rural and regional aged-care providers and why they're so important to a small community. Any funding provided to those facilities for capital works makes an enormous difference, as you saw, Minister, in Tuia Lodge in Donnybrook and Hocart Lodge in Harvey. (Time expired)

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