Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lingiari for the question—one of the largest electorates in the country. Her strong advocacy for Territorians is well noted across this parliament. Like 30 per cent of all of this country, I live in the regions, and I love talking about the importance of the regions to our economy and to our nation. Our budget is delivering for regional Australia. In fact, there are 760 budget initiatives to boost our regional communities and industries. Unlike those opposite, our policies will increase jobs in the renewable energy sector across the regions. The regions will be able to access more secure housing, better connectivity and investment in local ideas.

Those opposite thought all regional Australia needed was grants spending, but for 10 long years they short-changed our regions—because our regional programs need transparency, they need fairness and they need a level playing field. We all know that the North Sydney Olympic Pool should not have received regional funding via a closed, invitation-only grant process. We know regional Australians deserve better than that, which is why we committed a billion dollars towards two major regional programs, which will be delivered in a fair and transparent way.

In every country town I go to, students and families tell me that they need connectivity, which is why we are delivering $2.4 billion to the NBN, and $656 million to improve mobile coverage in rural and remote areas. But we also know that regional Australia is hamstrung by housing. The chef, the childcare worker, fruit pickers—all need a roof over their head before they can take up a job in our region. That's why this government has taken up the challenge. Through our $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, we know we'll make a huge difference. Over a thousand regional Australians have already taken advantage of the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee. We are also giving regional Australians priority access to 20,000 additional Commonwealth supported university places and $158½ million worth of measures to address teacher shortages in our regions.

But good regional development isn't just about investing in our roads and our infrastructure. It's about investing in our people, through skills and training. It's about investing in our services like NDIS, Medicare and early childhood education. We know regional Australia has borne the brunt of natural disasters, which is why we are investing $200 million per year into the Disaster Ready Fund. Our communities need our help, which is why regional Australia is at the centre of the nation's growth and at the forefront of our agenda. We are committed to delivering a better future for all Australia, no matter where you live, no matter your postcode, leaving no-one behind. Only the Albanese government will deliver that.

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