Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, here I am again, back to the future. I stand here today to fight this out-of-touch LNP government's budget, as I have done for the last two LNP budgets. Not one new cent for Townsville, but the cuts are still there, writ large. This is the sixth budget delivered by the LNP, and, once again, Townsville is no better off. Townsville's unemployment has almost doubled under the LNP. There is not one new commitment, not one cent to be delivered to Townsville for at least two years under this disgraceful budget. This is not good enough. Townsville needs jobs now, not in two years. The LNP have included the Townsville stadium, a commitment that is three years old. This disgraceful LNP government cannot repackage three-year-old commitments and try to sell them to the people of Townsville. We deserve our fair share.

There is no plan for wages growth, no plan to tackle power prices and no plan for secure jobs in Townsville. Townsville just gets cut after cut in this budget. A cut of $8.9 million to the Townsville hospital—that's 25 nurses' jobs gone. There are millions cut to Townsville public schools, $171.6 million to the Department of Veterans' Affairs and a $3 billion cut to TAFE; the LNP cuts have already cost Townsville 46 per cent of our apprentices. There is no money for hydro power on the Burdekin Falls Dam, no money for increasing naval ship maintenance and no money for The Oasis Townsville, a veterans' hub. There is no money for disaster recovery resilience.

I will fight tooth and nail against this— (Time expired)