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

I would like to echo the sentiments of my colleague the member for Braddon in mentioning National Volunteer Week. It would be remiss of me not to mention the fantastic work of the Rural Youth Organisation in Tasmania, which organises the three-day Agfest which I had the pleasure of attending over the last three days of last week. To Kate Birch, the chair of Agfest; Allan Roark, who is the patron; and of course the wonderful volunteers at the SES who do all the hard work in organising the roads: well done on another great Agfest.

I also rise to talk about the great tragedy of last night's budget for Tasmania. Last night the Treasurer left Lyons off the map. The Treasurer did not mention Tasmania once in his budget speech, and when you look at the budget papers you can see why. The only mention of Tasmania, let alone my electorate of Lyons, is previously announced projects. In a budget that claims to offer $70 billion for infrastructure across the nation, including a new airport for Western Sydney and a rail connection between Melbourne and Brisbane, Tasmania is left out in the cold. We are an island state of this nation. It would be nice if the decision-makers in Canberra remembered that from time to time. This budget hurts ordinary families but makes life even more comfortable for those at the top. It is a budget of unfairness.