Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Regional Development, Territories and Local Government. Will the minister update the House on how regional Australians, including in my electorate of O'Connor, will benefit from the budget and a stronger economy? Is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

John McVeigh (Groom, Liberal Party, Minister for Regional Development, Territories and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for O'Connor for his question. The 2018-19 budget will in fact deliver in spades for the good people who call the vast electorate of O'Connor home. From Albany to Arthur River and Kalgoorlie to Katanning, the coalition government has a plan for a stronger economy right throughout O'Connor and right through regional Australia.

We are backing regional Australia, and in particular we're backing the Building Better Regions Fund. Following the success of round 1 of this fund, over 20,000 jobs were created throughout regional Australia. The second round is currently under consideration and assessment. We've now, through the budget, locked in another $200 million for the third round of the Building Better Regions Fund. This means more projects, more opportunities and more jobs throughout regional Australia. All members throughout the House would also welcome another round of the Stronger Communities Program, which has already seen over 5,000 local job-creating community projects and infrastructure projects created across the country—great news for families, great news for local communities and great news for local economies.

We won't stop there. We're delivering for regional Australia right across the board. As the Treasurer and the Deputy Prime Minister have announced, there is the $75 billion infrastructure pipeline, the $24½ billion of funding in place for new major projects and initiatives, $3.5 billion for roads of strategic importance, and $250 million for the Major Project Business Case Fund. I'm excited about the budget. I'm excited about regional Australia.

I'm asked if there are any alternative approaches. Well, it's pretty obviously that the other side of the House don't even have a plan for the regions. They prefer to cuddle up to inner city Greens. They prefer to threaten the jobs of those hardworking Australians in the mining industry. They prefer to support ridiculous vegetation management legislation brought down by Queensland Labor and threaten to take it across the country, therefore threatening the livelihoods of farmers right across our nation. The opposition leader would rather force Australians onto the dole queue than stand up to those Greens and those inner city activists who now run his party. He has no plan for regional Australia. He has no ideas at all. (Time expired)

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister's $17 billion cut to schools is going to hit public schools the hardest, and Catholic Education said today that the government's school funding model:

… delivers funding cuts to hundreds of Catholic schools … This will deliver a hit to cost of living for many parents through increased fees.

Why is this Prime Minister pursuing an arrogant and out-of-touch policy of cutting $17 billion from schools whilst giving $17 billion to the big banks alone?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Repeating a falsehood doesn't make it true. The Labor Party and its leader constantly claim that there are cuts in the budget to schools when in fact our needs-based funding model for schools delivers an additional $24.5 billion over the next 10 years, support for government's schools rises from $7.7 billion to $9.7 billion from 2018-19 to 2021-22, and support for non-government schools rises from $11.8 billion to $13.8 billion from 2018-19 to 2021-22. All of that is in the budget papers, so the proposition that schools funding is being cut is untrue. It is untrue. Schools funding is going up every year. As far as Catholic schools are concerned, there are record levels of recurrent funding for Catholic schools, totalling $6.6 billion this year and rising to $9.2 billion in 2027, and funding will grow by around four per cent per student per year on average over four years.