Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The last thing we will be doing is taking lectures from those opposite about housing. I mean, here is the Albanese Labor government putting $10 billion into the Housing Australia Future Fund. We have a bill before the House for Help to Buy to get 40,000 low-income, middle-income and young Australians into their own homes. We have the biggest Commonwealth rent assistance increase for 30 years, so we are not going to be taking lectures from those opposite about the state of the housing market in Australia after 10 years of neglect and utter failure. I have been very proud to represent regional Tasmania in this place for almost eight years; three-quarters of that, unfortunately, under a coalition government. Here's hoping for many more years of Labor government so we can get that percentage up under a Labor government.

I have heard the cries for help from our regional communities for more support over years of Liberal governments. I was very proud to be able to hold the Liberal government to account and to also play a part in seeing the real change that the Albanese Labor government is making in Australia's regions in just 21 months. It would be remiss of me to talk about holding the former government to account without mentioning robodebt and the terrible impact that that disgraceful, illegal program had on people in the regions. The people opposite were in government for 10 years and did nothing about robodebt and the damage it inflicted on so many Australians, and on so many regional Australians.

One of my first speeches in this place was during an MPI—a matter of public importance—on the topic of rural and regional Australia, where I spoke on declining levels of regional health care, outdated telecommunications and the cost-of-living concerns. That is the legacy of 10 years of failed Liberal government. The Labor Party came into power inheriting not only those problems but also the grants rorts and the poor administration of regional grants funding. We're cleaning the mess up. In the Building Better Regions Fund, for example, there were more than 120 projects uncontracted by the previous government. Nine dated back to 2016. There were more than $18 million worth of projects with no locations. Of course grants under the Building Better Regions Fund favoured National Party electorates and were not based on merit. Neither were there any rules. The only rule was: was it a marginal seat or a seat that the Liberals and Nationals could win votes out of? A dartboard or a chocolate wheel would have brought fairer outcomes for Australia's regions.

It's time to restore integrity and fairness to regional funding, and that's what the Labor government is doing. I welcome our recently launched report, State of Australia's Regions 2024, which willinform regional development. I thank the member for Gilmore for bringing on this motion. The report takes a look at key issues, identifies opportunities for our regions and recognises how regional Australia significantly contributes to the nation. We have heard what matters to our regions, like addressing healthcare challenges. There are many. We acknowledge them, and we are getting on the job of addressing them and fixing them.

We're already making our mark in this area in my electorate. In November 2022 I established a committee to tackle the shortage of GPs across regional Tasmania in concert with colleagues in the state government. It has paid off. The state government came on board. In the healthcare sector more generally, this committee has helped address some of the issues in my electorate. The primary care committee brought together the rural workforce agency, the primary health network, consumers and other stakeholders, including local and state government representatives, to develop a plan of action to fix the shortfall we have.

Our government's investing around $12 million in a single-employer model trial that we are trialling with the Tasmanian government, where the state government is the single employer of GPs. It's working. It's been a resounding success. We have funded up to 42 GPs to be employed under the single-employer model. We've also made investments in an innovative new community health model trial on Tasmania's east coast with cohealth, improving access by working with the community by offering healthcare options that suit their needs. There is no overnight fix, but it's real progress. The report also shows how, in the space of just two budgets, we have provided 350 packages targeted to strengthen our regional communities.

I could go on: the impact of fee-free TAFE, child care and the investments in Medicare. We are putting our attention on the regions, and only a Labor government is doing it.

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