Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health) Share this | Hansard source

I just wish the government did listen to the science. This government has had eight long years in power and, in that time, they have failed the community I represent on the Central Coast of New South Wales. The cost of living has never been higher. House prices are soaring, petrol prices are skyrocketing as we get back on the roads and local jobs are hard to find. As we faced COVID-19, the government sat on their hands and watched as vaccines were ripped away from our community and sent to Sydney. They've overlooked local businesses, who have struggled during lockdown, with many still waiting on their COVID payments.

They've failed the recognise the Central Coast as a standalone region. At the start of this year's statewide lockdown in New South Wales, the Central Coast was lumped in with Greater Sydney. Then, in the middle of lockdown, we were reclassified as regional. Then, once the New South Wales lockdown was lifted, the Central Coast was 'metro' and coasties were forbidden to travel to travel to other regional areas in New South Wales. Then we were promised, with the road map, that we could travel to the regions when we hit 80 per cent fully vaccinated. I fully support the health advice, but we hit that milestone and the goalpost was moved again. This government has failed to act during this pandemic. The Central Coast was recognised as a standalone region by Labor over a decade ago, and this government needs to treat it like one.

They have failed to act and protect coasties from COVID-19. When the vaccine rollout first began, we were overlooked. The first hospital hubs were in Newcastle and Hornsby. There were none on the coast. Healthcare workers were told they'd have to travel to RPA, Westmead or Liverpool to get their vaccine to protect them and to protect the people they care for. The government then promised to deliver by June a vaccine hub for people living with a disability on the coast. That wasn't set up and running until September, four months later, while vulnerable people were at risk and not protected by this government.

At the height of the pandemic, with cases on the coast, hundreds of vaccines were ripped away and taken to Sydney. When I asked the Prime Minister about this in question time he said, 'It's a matter for the Premier.' It's always someone else's fault with this Prime Minister. He never takes responsibility and he always blames others.

The Prime Minister has failed to help businesses across the Central Coast and many other parts of regional Australia that have been hit by bushfires, floods and the pandemic, especially during this latest lockdown. Thousands of businesses across the coast were forced to wind back or shut down completely during lockdown. Some won't reopen. They were promised support and they were let down. This government failed to help them. They passed the buck to the states to provide COVID support payments instead. There were many businesses on the coast who were eligible for the payment, but some of them have told me that they're still waiting to receive any support. It's not good enough. After four months in lockdown, supporting their families and their workers, business owners deserve proper support. While they didn't offer support to businesses, the government did offer COVID supplements to individuals—if only more people had been eligible. The eligibility criteria for COVID support payments were so strict that many people were ruled out altogether. They were forced to go without help, in the middle of a lockdown, for week after week.

Clearly this government has completely forgotten the people of the Central Coast and regional Australia. We have been completely overlooked on all fronts but especially when it comes to regional funding. In the lead-up to the last election this government promised to deliver commuter car parks on the Central Coast of New South Wales. We're now at the end of 2021, and still no work has been done. Then, earlier this year, we learnt that around 90 per cent of grants under round 5 of the Building Better Regions Fund went to coalition-held or marginal seats—90 per cent of the grants. None of the money went to projects in Dobell in the community I represent on the northern part of the Central Coast, but a number of projects in the neighbouring Liberal-held seat of Robertson received a slice of the funds. Now, in the latest round of regional rorts, we've learnt that 55 per cent of all regional grants announced by this government since 2018 have gone to projects in big cities. They've completely overlooked regions like the Central Coast in favour of people living in big cities.

This government's inaction during the pandemic is typical of their pattern of failure to protect Australians over the past eight years, especially those living outside of big cities. They've completely ignored regional Australians, especially people living in my community on the Central Coast and especially younger people living in my community on the Central Coast. Clearly we're not a priority for them. Eight years of their inaction has been eight years too many. Regional Australia deserves better. The coast deserves better. We deserve a Prime Minister for all Australia.

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