Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

The government says this budget is temporary and targeted. Well, I have another 'T' word for it—transactional. It seems they will do anything to try and buy the vote of Australians. The irony is that it's full of reannouncements and missed opportunities.

The Prime Minister has bragged about caring for the Hunter for over a year yet he has patently failed to deliver. He has ignored calls from our business and industry groups, community groups, and has completely disregarded the needs of the electorate of Paterson. We have seen no new money to secure the future of GP access, which has been cut. We have seen no commitment from those opposite to fully fund the MRI machine that we have at the new Maitland Hospital, which is currently going through a world of pain in staffing as well, all at a time when people have never been more concerned about their health and, quite frankly, their healthcare system. We have seen no commitment to youth mental health in Port Stephens and no new money to fix the $97 million worth of maintenance backlog for the LGA of Cessnock. Kurri Kurri is in that LGA and the roads are just dreadful. There is no local commitment for our endangered koala population, no commitment to Paterson or the Hunter at all from this government.

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