Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Hunter electorate has never had it better. The Albanese Labor government has delivered for the Hunter in spades. The recent budget shows that Labor is the only party that cares for the regions, with more than $400 million of investment directly into the Hunter electorate. This is a budget that invests in the things that regional Australia need to be able to build a better future.

When those opposite were in power the Hunter regularly missed out, despite being in regional Australia. Who can forget the regional grants program that saw millions go to projects like North Sydney Olympic Pool instead of electorates like mine? If that's what those opposite consider regional and rural Australia, then you can understand why electorates like mine continued to miss out under the former government.

When they were found out, they tried to justify the rorting by saying that it was definitely a regional facility because people from all over New South Wales came to use that pool. I mean, come on! The Liberal Party are responsible for more cover-ups than a dodgy tattoo parlour. They have turned rorting into an art form. The former government and nappies have one thing in common: they should be changed regularly.

In May, the Australian people put the adults back in charge. We're not wasting a single day in government. We've been fixing the mess that those opposite left, when it comes to grants programs. Community development grants programs were only so-called grants programs under the former government—no community organisations could apply for money and those opposite kept using it to top up the slush funds for their own electorates, like the regional ones in North Sydney.

The Building Better Regions Fund—or, it should have been called, the 'Building Better Nationals' Electorates Fund'—favoured National Party electorates, and decisions were made on laws that applicants didn't even know about. Now that the adults are in charge, we have committed $1 billion in the budget, over three years, to two new regional programs. The Growing Regions Program will provide new funding opportunities for social and economic infrastructure to local councils and not-for-profit organisations through an open competitive grants process—that's right, open.

Our new Precincts and Partnerships Program will provide a strategic, nationally consistent mechanism for funding and coordinating large-scale projects that will transform places to benefit communities in regional cities and wider regional and rural Australia, like the Hunter electorate. It is only the Labor government that understands the depth and diversity of regional, rural and remote Australia. We know that Muswellbrook is different from Mildura, and we never take a one-size-fits-all approach to regional Australia. That's why our budget delivers targeted investment to regional Australia, including an urgent care clinic for Cessnock—which is in the region, just in case those opposite are unaware. This is really important, as the Hunter electorate has some of the lowest bulk-billing rates in the country.

We're investing over $600 million to enable infrastructure in the Hunter and regions to support new industries. There's over $268 million in funding for the much-needed Muswellbrook bypass; more than $400 million invested in the nationwide Freight Highway Upgrade Program, which is once again in the regions; hundreds of millions of dollars invested in our universities; and, most importantly, comprehensive funding for the upgrading of sporting and community facilities, like Olympic Park in Muswellbrook, the Alroy Oval precinct in Singleton, the regional skate park and BMX track in Cessnock, and Mum's Cottage and the Edgeworth Eagles facilities in Lake Macquarie.

Unlike the former government, the Albanese Labor government is listening to rural and regional Australia. We know that our communities need infrastructure investment and we know that our communities need a government that is committed to the essential services that they all rely on. That's why the Albanese Labor government is committed to delivering for regional and rural communities, like those in the Hunter electorate. Those opposite continue to say that we don't look after regional and rural communities. That's a deadset lie. The Labor Party are the only ones who care for rural and regional Australia. Now that we're back in the adult seat we're making things happen again.

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