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

I thank the member for her question. She is a proud, regional woman delivering in her regional electorate. Like everyone on this side of the House, I'm incredibly proud of the budget on Tuesday night, which delivers for regional Australians. It's great to see that the government recognises regional Australia for what it is. It's resilient, it's diverse and it's innovative. We on this side of the House see that it's much more than the electorate you live in. We know that regional Australians are the economic drivers of our nation.

We've delivered more for regional Australia in one year than those opposite did in 10. Those opposite loved to release a press release and they loved the 30-second media grab, but they actually forgot the bit about delivering. You cannot win votes, you cannot deliver for regional Australia and you cannot build a bridge with a press release. You can't do a new playground with a 30-second media grab. You've actually got to put the hard work in. Just so you know, a shovel helps you get there—or even sometimes a calculator because what you did was add 800 projects to the infrastructure pipeline but forgot to add the extra money. You can't half-deliver a project to people; you actually have to do it.

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