Justine Keay (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this afternoon to reflect on the last 12 months, nearly, as the member for Braddon and on the neglect Braddon has experienced under this government. When you consider that half of the country is in opposition, certainly there are a lot of stories to be told. This government has persistently let down the people of Braddon over the past year. This is a government that has had no investment in new infrastructure since it was elected, and no new projects have been announced for the north-west region. This has continued to leave Tasmanians behind. There are vital projects that are in need of funding to grow local jobs and the economy, like the Cradle Mountain Master Plan, coastal pathways and safety upgrades at the Bass Highway.

This government has continued to show that it cannot be trusted on health, with its continuation of the Medicare freeze causing a massive decline in bulk-billing in every jurisdiction and a rise in out-of-pocket costs. In Tasmania, this is an increase of $5.90 from the December 2014 quarter to the March 2017 quarter, or an eight per cent increase in out-of-pocket costs from the December 2016 quarter to the March 2017 quarter.

Pensioners have also borne the brunt of the coalition's unrelenting attacks on them, such as the axing of the clean energy supplement, with couple pensioners $21.20 a fortnight, or $550 a year, worse off. And let us not forget the government's continued approach to have our retirement age going up to 70.

Our kids' education is now at risk from the bungling of a proper needs based funding model in our schools, with a revised Gonski scheme that is set to pass through the Senate with the support of Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie. Under Labor, the schooling resource standard for all schools in all systems in Tasmania would be at 95 per cent by 2019. That standard ensures that there is the funding needed to give every child a quality education, but now, under this government, that standard has gone out the window. I ask the question: if the funding for public schools is now going to be set at 20 per cent, how on earth is Tasmania, the smallest state, going to fund the remaining 75 per cent to reach the funding level that is fair? In particular, Tasmanian students with disabilities are going to lose $12 million across the entire sector over the next 12 months.

While Tasmania was the first state to receive the National Broadband Network, it has been one mess after another, as some areas have fibre to the premises while other areas continue to receive speeds comparable to that of the existing ADSL. I actually wish I had gone back to the ADSL now that I am on fibre to the node.

This government also tried to waste $160 million on a harmful and divisive plebiscite on marriage equality, when it was more than willing to cut important areas for everyday Tasmanians like health and education.

Over the parliamentary break and the next 12 months, I hope the government takes a more holistic approach and looks at how its policies can benefit all Australians, not just those in the big cities. Braddon is getting left behind in serious terms over a lack of infrastructure investment to grow jobs and the local economy. The State of the regions report 2017-18, released on Sunday, made particular reference to the north-west and northern regions of Tasmania as having ranked 57th and 60th respectively in the national wealth-per-household ladder of 67 regions, yet this government is not addressing the decline in wages and not addressing growing inequality. It is supporting cuts to penalty rates for those on low incomes yet gives millionaires a tax cut. I think this is very pertinent in regional Australia. It is something that is growing and growing, to the point where we have the haves in the cities and the have-nots in the regions. We desperately need to ensure we do something on that.

Labor, on the other hand, is actively consulting with the broader community on these issues—on growing jobs, growing an inclusive economy, supporting those that need it, and investing in health and education, but, most importantly, listening to the people we represent. I feel this is not the case at all with those on the government side, who continually fail to consult with the community or with stakeholders at all—and we have seen that with a number of bills that have come through the parliament—as well as attempting to bring into this place poor policies and flawed legislation.

To conclude, we need to take serious steps to ensure that we are putting in place the right projects, policies and legislation to create jobs, fund our health and education systems, and support our agriculture and regional infrastructure so that regional communities can prosper just like mine on the West Coast of Tasmania.