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

The Albanese Labor government continues to deliver in the regions. Last Saturday, the Minister for Education announced that Sorell, in my electorate, will be home to one of 10 suburban university study hubs across the country. Study hubs provide student support and campus-style facilities for students in a university or TAFE course, without them having to leave their community. That's a big win for the future students of Sorell. Congratulations to Business and Employment Southeast Tasmania Inc, known as BEST, for its successful application.

Next week, the doors will open to Tasmania's fifth urgent-care clinic in Bridgewater, joining two in Hobart: one in Launceston in your own electorate of Bass, Deputy Speaker, and one in Devonport. I strongly made the case for the people of Bridgewater to have an alternative option to driving into the city for non-emergency medical care. That will also benefit the areas of Brighton, the Derwent Valley and Hobart's northern suburbs. It brings bulk-billed non-emergency care closer to home, taking the pressure off Royal Hobart Hospital's emergency department. It's a huge win for the area, and I'm proud to see it inching closer to reality.

Next month, we open a new Services Australia centre in Sorell—a $3 million, fully staffed facility that will save people a trip to Hobart or the eastern shore. Our Labor government is also doubling roads funding for councils, with more than $57 million heading to Lyons. The Albanese Labor government's Australian General Practice Training Program, being delivered in partnership with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, is training regional GPs in St Helens and Swansea. We are ensuring the sustainability of regional childcare facilities, with recent funding to support the families of Bicheno, Triabunna, Campbell Town, Bagdad, Evandale and Longford, with more than half a million dollars of support. We're funding aged-care upgrades in Deloraine and Swansea, supporting the right of all older people in regional Tasmania to have access to safe, high-quality aged-care services, regardless of where they live. Schools in Triabunna and New Norfolk are benefiting from the Schools Upgrade Fund to help build or upgrade infrastructure.

We are supporting farmers with water projects across the state. Just last week, the Prime Minister visited Tasmania to announce that he's providing $150 million for the Greater South East Irrigation Scheme to ensure that farmers in the south-east—one of the drier areas in Tasmania—get the water they need. It's not an election commitment—it's not waiting until after the election—it's funded now. It's happening. That's in addition to $270 million for Tasmanian water infrastructure projects already committed by this government, providing highly reliable water to expand irrigation districts and supporting regional economic development, including the Northern Midlands Irrigation Scheme; the Sassafras Wesley Vale Irrigation Scheme augmentation; and the Don Irrigation Scheme, which was officially opened last year.

We're supporting funding for regional infrastructure, like the $1.5 million for the Bicheno Gulch Foreshore and Esplanade Upgrade; $4.4 million for the Longford Memorial Hall and Village Green revitalisation; $500,000 for Prospect Park upgrades to enable Launceston City Football Club to grow; $500,000 for the St Helens RSL redevelopment; $5 million for the Launceston Airport check-in hall and security expansion; $15 million for the Royal Flying Doctor Service upgrade at Launceston Airport; and $3.7 million for Perth Early Learning Centre upgrades.

The Liberals and the Nationals claim to be the only parties to support the regions, but this just demonstrates how false that is. After spending five of my eight years in this place in opposition, I have seen firsthand how Tasmania was kept off the map. The Liberals and the Nationals always seem to forget that cashiers, teachers, childcare workers, police, aged-care workers, shop attendants, butchers, road workers and office workers all live in the regions too.

Labor's bigger tax cuts for ordinary workers, our cheaper medicines, the higher wages that we are backing in and the record jobs growth all support regional workers and regional communities.

Over the past three years, the Labor government has made a huge impact in Lyons, and it's in my constituents' best interests that Lyons and the nation are represented by Labor. Rebecca White is Labor's candidate for Lyons at the next federal election, and I look forward to her being elected as part of a re-elected Australian Labor government so that Labor can get on with the job of rebuilding our regions.