Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Since the last budget was handed down a little over seven months ago we've seen interest rates continue to rise and have had cost-of-living pressures we have not experienced in recent memory. While inflation may have seen a small drop over the last month, it's still a volatile situation and nowhere near what we need it to be. The government has a very fine line to walk between supporting the needs of Australians, particularly as we face unprecedented cost-of-living challenges, and addressing inflation. While there may be a modest surplus, it is expected that the economy will begin to slow down at a rate not seen since the height of the pandemic, driven by consumers tightening their spending.

We know that the cost of living is being driven by a range of factors, including supply shocks and adverse weather events. Domestic policy is also a significant factor. I am acutely aware of the struggles facing many in our community. It is something I witness first-hand through the sheer number of visits or calls to my office from far too many who are struggling to make ends meet or, worse, to find a suitable place to live. When I talk about the housing crisis, it is not hyperbole. I've had far too many conversations than I can count with parents who are living with their children in cars.

I welcome the increase in rent assistance of $31 a fortnight, but I'm cautious, as I do hope that this does not then lead to another increase for those who can least afford it, making the increase negligible. It's for this reason that I supported Labor's recent housing policy. Although I may have views on how the policy will be funded, I simply cannot stand in the way of delivering more housing to our state, which I know so desperately needs it.

Over the April break from parliament I caught up with several local charity organisations that are witnessing unprecedented demand for their services, particularly from households where one or even both parents are working and still struggling to keep up with rising costs. This of course has a flow-on effect. As demand for charitable services increases we also see a parallel downturn in the ability of these organisations to meet the demand due to increased overheads and lower levels of charitable giving.

Of course, we must look at JobSeeker. As co-chair of the bipartisan Parliamentary Friends of Ending Poverty with the Labor member for Canberra, I've been continuing my lobbying to increase the rate of JobSeeker, as I did when the coalition was in government. Whilst noting that the government must get the budget balance right, it's hugely disappointing that they have committed to raising the rate of the allowance by just $40 a fortnight. This is less than the rate raised by the coalition in 2021 and it still falls chronically below the poverty line.

I do question whether they are living their own values. When you have a Labor government that has talked about putting people first and went to an election saying that nobody will be left behind, this is not yet hitting the mark. Lifting our communities out of poverty should be beyond political lines, as it benefits all of us in the long run. Just a few weeks ago I was speaking to a young man who said, 'How do you realise aspiration if you never get an opportunity?' Equality of opportunity is critical to boosting productivity and more must be done to equal the playing field.

I'm pleased that as we head into winter there will be support for pensioners and people on other income support payments. They will receive up to $500 off their electricity bills this year. I'm also supportive of the government reversing its own cuts to single parenting support that it implemented back in 2009, with the cut-off age for receiving support for children raised from eight years of age to 14 years of age I acknowledge the government for providing temporary electricity bill relief and for partly tackling the bulk billing issue, where GPs will see an increased incentive to bulk bill pensioners, concession card holders and children on top of their rebate. However, this doesn't go far enough to address the retention and recruitment of doctors in our local practices. This is an ongoing conversation that I am continuing to have with health professionals in my community. Also cheaper child care is welcomed, but more reform is needed to ensure that places are available when and where they are needed for working parents. Cost means little if you can't access the service.

But it's where the government has chosen not to put its money that has me puzzled. Cutting the successful Entrepreneurship Facilitator Program is just one. The intent of the program is to promote and encourage self-employment and entrepreneurship, and it has been running in my region for a number of years, with Taz Devadass as one of the key facilitators of the program since its inception in 2017. In my electorate of Bass, several successful local businesses have started through the support of the program, including Method Plus Action, the Tasmanian Hazara Market in Launceston, Launceston Snake Catcher, Launceston Paint the Town Red and HYPE Disability disco just to name a few. As of July last year, the program in northern Tasmania has been facilitated by Taz and Em Rigby from Futures Isle.

In just the past nine months they have impacted over 1,500 people directly through the service, with the overwhelming majority of their participants engaging with the service on multiple occasions. They have led collaborative ecosystem building activities and events with a focus on collaboration and stakeholder engagement, holding more than 300 stakeholder meetings and discussions. In fact, they have held 332 stakeholder meetings and discussions. They have collaborated with the City of Launceston on a series of events promoting small-business pathways for people living in our northern suburbs, with over 77 people attending those events alone. They have hosted 78 varied events and workshops covering topics as vast as time management, financial literacy and social media strategy. They have made 266 formal referrals to other service providers such as Workforce Australia, accounting specialists, mental health professionals and relevant state based business supports.

In a region like northern Tasmania, whose economy is built on the back of small businesses and entrepreneurs, programs like this fill a gap in services available to assist those who want to have a go at creating their own future. It's a proven program that costs very, very little, and to cut the program without any warning or consultation, and with a few years left on the local contract, is unconscionable. 'We were devastated to hear of the scrapping of this program, because of the significant community value we see for this service in our region,' Taz and Em told me in the days following the budget.

Then there is support to veterans provided through the independent not-for-profit organisation Soldier On, which delivers holistic support for veterans, from health and wellbeing programs to employment support and learning and education assistance, enabling current and former ADF personnel and their families to lead meaningful civilian lives. For the past few years I have supported a local group of veterans as they've raised money for suicide prevention programs for Soldier On by walking 96 kilometres, the length of the Kokoda Trail, in less than 24 hours. This year I joined the team on their walk, completing just under 50 kilometres, and I am committed to joining them for the full distance next year. From my discussions on the walk and my involvement with the team over the past few years, I have seen how committed they are to the organisation and to raising funds for suicide prevention programs. This year they raised over $20,000. To see a $1½ million funding cut to this veterans' organisation at a time when we know veterans need more assistance makes me again question whether Labor is truly living their own values.

It is when I look at where infrastructure development is heading that leaves me with the most cause for concern. For councils, the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program has provided the opportunity to deliver priority local road and community infrastructure projects in their region, creating jobs and long-lasting benefits for communities. Across my electorate, this has delivered a new skate park for youth in Bridport, new roads in Grindelwald and an all-access beach ramp at East Beach in my local area of George Town, just to name a few. The phasing out of this program that is delivering demonstrably better outcomes for communities, particularly in rural and regional areas, is concerning.

It's the future of the Launceston City Deal which has me particularly concerned. The city deal was first launched in 2017, with the goal of bringing the three levels of government—federal government, state government and the local City of Launceston council—together to work collaboratively on a number of projects to position Launceston as one of the most livable and innovative regional cities. The coalition's investment of just over $250 million has paved the way to ensuring much-needed and long-awaited projects could get off the ground, creating a future for our city that is creative, vibrant and livable and will attract further investment in the region.

Some of the highlights of the city deal include $130 million for the relocation of the University of Tasmania's Launceston campus from Newnham to Inveresk, closer to the CBD; $49 million to improve the health of the Tamar Estuary through infrastructure upgrades and catchment management actions; $30 million to develop a defence and maritime innovation and design precinct at the University of Tasmania's Australian Maritime College; $15 million to support the development of a purpose-built community hub in the northern suburbs of Launceston, which will help to address some of the dire sports court shortages that our region is currently experiencing; $10 million to contribute towards the Albert Hall renewal project; $7½ million to rejuvenate Launceston CBD through the Launceston City Heart Project; and $4½ million through the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program.

This deal is delivering on the objectives set out in the deal, and to see Labor let it die a slow death without any funding certainty beyond 2025, and no commitment to implementing something in its place, is concerning to me when you weigh up the investment and deliverables from the Launceston City Deal and compare it to the $240 million the federal government has thrown at developing a third stadium in Hobart. I'm not anti progress, anti AFL or anti development in the south, and I think it's absolutely terrific that Tasmania will have its own team. I also welcome the $65 million announced for UTAS Stadium not because it's in the north but because it is a step towards redeveloping a facility that already exists.

I come at this from the point of view of there being more pressing needs in our community where these funds could be effective, particularly from the perspective of supporting grassroots sport. We have netball, basketball, soccer and hockey in the north bursting at the seams and unable to meet the demand of growth in all of these sports, while also battling with current infrastructure that's not fit for purpose. If we want to talk about sport at the elite level, we need to provide our communities with the facilities that create the pathways towards competing at a high level. By doing that, we can attract the national and international tournaments that would be a boon for our region. Also, again bringing it back to housing, homelessness and general cost-of-living pressures, funding a third stadium is just way off the mark—no pun intended.

I do acknowledge that the stadium is part of a longer term vision for our state and that the argument shouldn't be distilled to an either/or situation, but currently we're not seeing any evidence of that. There is an expectation in our community that, if money can be found to support a stadium, there must be money made available for the 'or', so to speak, and I haven't seen a whole lot of evidence of that in the recent budget. As someone who has worked closely with key community stakeholders over the past few years to advocate for their worthy projects, I'm also keen to see Labor begin to deliver on their key election promises—the George Town aquatic centre, the relocation of the medical research innovation facility and the establishment of a standalone palliative care facility—to meet the needs and the expectations of my Northern Tasmanian community.

See this speech in context