Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know that the Liberal and National MPs opposite in regional seats have abandoned their local communities, because never has there been a budget that has been so unfair and had such a disproportionate impact on rural and regional communities. We know, of course, that no regional impact analysis was done of this budget, so we know there has been no analysis done of the impact of the increase in petrol prices that will occur in regional and rural Australia, where people drive more to go to work and to school. We know the impact in regional and rural Australia will be more disproportionate when it comes to the increase for medicines and the GP tax. We know that regional universities and students who want to go to university will be disproportionately impacted because of this budget. We know in my home state of Tasmania that the University of Tasmania is very concerned about the impact of the changes on higher education in regional Tasmania.

But the under-30s measure, as we heard from the member for Bendigo earlier, is of major importance to regional communities, because youth unemployment in regional communities is very high indeed. It is good to have the member for Braddon in here, because it is 21 per cent in his electorate and is likely to go up to over 30 per cent. And guess what he had to say about young people:

It is my very strong view that some of our young people just need an extra prod … They need that prod and that is for us to say … Some people will cry a little longer …

It is a shame— (Time expired)