Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to very proudly talk about federal Labor's first country Labor forum, a great event. On 26 September, 200 Labor members came together in Casino in New South Wales for our inaugural country Labor forum. This event was a massive success and I thank everyone involved. Regional Labor members came from every state to the far North Coast of New South Wales to show their support for the bush and to discuss those issues that are very relevant to regional and rural Australia. Of course, on many occasions the forum highlighted the failures of the National Party and how they have abandoned people of regional Australia. In particular, participants talked about how the weak and poor representation from the National Party has meant a decline in services and funding cuts to vital regional services right across country. In contrast, Labor is determined to make sure that those who live outside of our capital cities have equal access to a good education, to a good job, and access to affordable health care and other important services. It was also fantastic at the forum to hear really inspirational speeches from the Leader of the Opposition and our national president, the shadow minister for the environment. Our branch members who came along were involved in a variety of panel discussions and workshops; everyone had an opportunity to put their views.

The fact is: Labor's commitment to rural and regional Australia is very strong. We will continue to hold the National Party to account for their betrayal of country people.