Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have received a letter from the honourable member for Page proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely:

Regional Australia has given up on the Government, because this Government has given up on regional Australia.

I call upon those honourable members who approve of the proposed discussion to rise in their places.

More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party, Shadow Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I start, I note the very heart-felt words from the member for Longman on that very sad event. I've said this before in this parliament, but I want to reiterate it. It's a very sad statement, really, but a very real reality for people living in regional Australia. That is that this government has given up and does not show any concern about regional Australia. I can tell you from my patch and a lot of my colleagues', over here on this side—this side of the parliament, with Nationals seats and regional Liberal seats, dominates representing regional Australia. There's a reason for that. It's because regional Australia has given up on the Labor Party and the Greens, teals and Independents as well.

Why do I say that? I say that for two major reasons. One is that they demonise us. That side, inner-city elite MPs demonise regional Australia. I'll give a whole lot of examples of that later. They then, of course, then go over the top of that and ignore us and neglect us. In some cases, they even take advantage of regional Australia when it suits them. You would think, 'Why would you demonise regional Australia?' I remind this chamber—I do it nearly every time I stand up in this place, when I can—that regional Australia is responsible for over $400 billion of exports of goods and services from this country. As a country, we exported about $660 billion worth of stuff. Over two-thirds of that come from, guess, where? It's from regional Australia. Regional Australia is the economic backbone of this country.

You might think that they might say thanks. You might think that the inner-city elite MPs over there and the inner-city elite MPs on the crossbench—the teals and the Greens; I'll excuse the member for Mayo from that—might say thank you. But, no. All they do is demonise it. One of those exports—and I'll go through a couple in a minute—is food. We obviously generate all the food. The farming and agricultural sector is all in regional Australia, as are the mining, the coal, the iron ore, the gas—all those major exports. None of those are in the cities. None of those are coming out of inner-city Melbourne or Sydney, where a lot of city elite MPs on the other side and on the crossbenches live. That's the unfortunate—or the fortunate—reality.

Let's go through a couple of examples. There's one thing we've seen. The inner-city elite MPs—the Greens, the teals and the Labor Party—sit in their apartment blocks on their leafy, inner-city streets. One of the things these MPs done in this last parliament which has devastated part of regional Australia is say, 'We're going to ban live sheep exports from this country.' That was a shameful decision. It's devastated a lot of communities, especially in Western Australia. But they know best! They watch the ABC. They read the Guardian newspapers, and they know what should happen or shouldn't happen with live exports in this country. They ignore the fact that we have the best animal welfare standards in that industry. They ignore the fact that those communities have done a great job at improving that export industry because they know best. Because of their leftie media and their inner-city elite opinions, they're going to ban that industry.

I've said it before, but I can say that, under a Dutton-Littleproud government, that decision will be reversed. That industry can breathe easy knowing that they're generating wealth for this country and jobs for this country. It's also an insult from them, because what they're also saying to our trading partners, the importers of live exports, is: 'That product that you want to export isn't okay.' That's what they're saying. The Leader of the Greens is saying that any country that imports live sheep shouldn't demand that. They shouldn't have that. So it's an insult to a lot of countries in the Middle East and an insult to our partners in Indonesia. These people do this for a lot of different reasons that we shouldn't have judgement on, and we do it in a very humane way with some of the best standards that we could have.

The member for Sydney is another inner-city elite MP. What has she done in this parliament? She has taken water from our farmers. She said, 'You're greedy. You shouldn't get as much water as you do.' This water's growing our fibre. This water's growing our food. It is really important to a lot of our communities in the Murray-Darling Basin, but they've said, 'No. You shouldn't have it.' Do you know what they want to happen to that water? They want it to roll out to sea. They have this ideological obsession—again, the Guardian newspaper's on board and the ABC's on board—that the River Murray mouth should never be closed. Why should it never be closed? They say that it's better environmentally. Before we put in a weir and lock system—before you could hold water back—that mouth used to close all the time, because water used to roll out more quickly. But, no, the inner-city elite MP Tanya Plibersek, the member for Sydney, knows better than country people. She knows better than regional people and, again, she has demonised what we do. This basin plan is going to kill towns and communities, which they don't care about.

I just want to touch on two other issues, which are more in state jurisdictions, but we obviously have input to them, especially fishing. I don't know if you realise this, but we import over 70 per cent of the fish that we eat in this country. Why do we do that? We do that because fishing is bad as well! We overfish; we do terrible things. So guess what we do? We import fish. We actually have really sustainable practices. Our fishermen know how to do this. They know the areas that you don't fish in when it's breeding season. They know the parts you don't go to, because they want to be able to fish every year. In fact, back in the seventies, the fishermen were telling the department the types of areas they shouldn't go to and when they shouldn't go to them. They were educating them about what to do. But now, no, the bureaucrats in the fisheries department and the inner-city elites say, 'That's terrible.' The ABC and the Guardian tell them that we overfish, so we get our fish now from countries that do sometimes exploit their regions, because we aren't fishing places in Australia that we should. We're surrounded by water, and we can't get enough fish to feed ourselves.

The other one—I know this has been very important to the member for Gippsland and other members on this side—is hardwood timber. Again, guess what? The ABC doesn't like it; the Guardian doesn't like this; inner-city elite MPs don't like this. We have a great, sustainable hardwood timber industry. There's nothing better and more renewable than when you have trees grow up. If they listened to the forestry industry, they'd know that it's even better for carbon sequestration for a new tree to grow where an old tree was, because it absorbs more carbon, but, again, inner-city elite people know better! You know better, when you're sitting in inner-city Melbourne, what they should be doing with hardwood and where they should be doing that in country and regional areas.

And there's the whole national parks story. I've seen farmland in my region turned into national park. Do you know what happens when you turn that into a national park? It becomes a weed infested debacle and a fire tinderbox filled with weeds and feral animals. We saw that in the bushfires, and also with koalas. Do you know what the first thing koalas do when something is turned into a national park? They leave it because they can't crawl around the ground—there are too many weeds there—and they come onto farmland.

There's also a lot of sanctimonious hypocrisy on that side over there and on the crossbenches, when I say they take advantage of regional areas. It's especially prevalent right now, with the reckless renewable policy of those opposite. I told a story once before in this chamber where the member for Warringah had said that six wind turbines and a hectare of solar panels wouldn't be okay in North Head because of the cultural and historical significance of the environment in that region. So North Head can't take six wind turbines and a hectare of solar panels, but, you know what, all those elite city MPs are okay for regional Australia to—guess what?—get 60 million solar panels and about 20,000 wind turbines. And that's okay—there's no cultural environmental significance with that. That's all fine, apparently, for regional Australia to do that. Again, it's sanctimony and hypocrisy from them on that. I can say quite legitimately, that, although they talk about the environment, the environmental damage being done with the new transmission system that is needed for their reckless renewable policy is not okay.

I'm going to run out of time, but I'm going to quickly mention some other things about the neglect of regional areas. One of the first things this government did was get up and talk about Medicare. You can't even get doctors in a lot of regional and country towns. One of the reasons is that they changed the definition of a 'distribution priority area', and that took out doctors from regional Australia to the suburbs. That side is a disgrace to regional Australia, and so are the teals and the Greens.

Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That was a load of outrage, carry-on and misplaced anger. I've heard just a whole bunch of bumph, because the previous National and Liberal state government are the ones who put additional parks in New South Wales. It was the previous coalition state government that put additional parks in New South Wales. Go and check the record. The member for Page has clearly been taking some random instructions. 'Go out and be outraged; we need a grab.' But he's failed to understand that there has actually been more investment in regional Australia over the last 2½ years than in the previous 10. We've been delivering with integrity and transparency, and it'll take me a lot longer than 10 minutes to go through it, but I'm going to give it a crack because I think the member for Page needs to understand that regional Australia is a bit more than a grant program and a bit more than outrage and carry-on.

We've put regional Australia at the centre of our government's plan for a prosperous and resilient future which is made in Australia, because a future made in Australia is a future made in regional Australia. We get it, which is why we're investing $22.7 billion over 10 years to attract investment into Australia, to make us a leader in renewable energy, adding value to our natural resources and strengthening our economic security. As we speak, funding is rolling out for priority community projects under our $600 million Growing Regions Program. We're delivering almost $100 million in funding under our Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program. Round 2 of Growing Regions has just come out. I note that, in the member for Page's electorate, Clarence Valley Council has just got $1.6 million for the Grafton regional aquatic centre waterslide project because at the heart of every regional community is a high-quality swimming pool.

While we're at it, let's talk about how we've engaged with regional communities through local councils. We are progressively doubling Roads to Recovery funding to a billion dollars each and every year. Those of us who drive on regional roads are well aware that they are in desperate need of funding. Each and every council in this country is now delivering more local priority projects thanks to the Albanese government. Councils in the electorate of Page, for example, will receive $66.6 million in Roads to Recovery funding, which is an increase of $27.7 million, a figure that the member who just spoke never achieved even in his nine years in government.

Whilst I'm at it, those opposite actually froze indexation on financial assistance grants, ripping nearly a billion dollars out of local communities. This has had a dire impact on our communities, which is why the sector has welcomed our record funding increases. The mayor of Temora Shire Council in the member for Riverina's electorate, Mayor Firman, said:

This funding is a significant contribution to the enhancement and maintenance of our roads and will have a positive impact on our community. The commitment of your ministry to improving our road network is greatly appreciated.

We are helping more Australians get into home ownership with our Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee. Eighteen thousand regional Aussies have benefited so far because we expanded the eligibility criteria to help more people in our regions. We have delivered tax cuts for all and created a million jobs so far. We introduced the same job, same pay laws, which the Leader of the Opposition said would close down Australia and take us back to the Dark Ages, but, in reality, these laws are delivering Australians the pay rises they need and deserve. Regional Aussies are earning more and keeping more of what they earn because of our government.

In fact, here are a couple of examples of how same job, same pay works: workers at a meat processing facility in regional Queensland have had wage increases of up to 42 per cent; and 90 workers in a New South Wales coalmine operated by Boggabri Coal have had pay increases of between $15,600 and $35,000. We've also increased wages for aged-care workers and early childhood educators. We've expanded paid parental leave to 26 weeks, and we're adding super on top of it. But all this is at risk because the Leader of the Opposition wants to wind back these laws in favour of his big business mates and their long lunches.

While we're at it, we'll talk about regional health care because I know that that was a focus for the member for Page. We're actually focusing on delivering good-quality health care across the country. In fact, just before question time, the Prime Minister and health minister announced an increase of $1.7 billion for our hospitals around the country. I noticed that those opposite, who are great defenders of regional Australia, just had a whinge about regional health care but didn't say, 'Well done on delivering more money for hospitals across our regions.'

I'm glad I've got your attention now, because it is incredibly important to deliver not only good-quality health care but cheaper medicines for our communities. In my electorate of Eden-Monaro alone, residents have saved $7.6 million because of the Albanese government's cheaper medicines policy—a policy that these people voted against. We have tripled the bulk-billing incentive and, thanks to our landmark investments, have added 2.2 million bulk-billed visits in regional and rural Australia. We've also opened 61 free walk-in Medicare mental health centres across Australia, 22 endometriosis and pelvic pain specialist clinics in every state and territory and 87 Medicare urgent care clinics from Queanbeyan to Broome to Mount Gambier to free up our emergency rooms and get people seen sooner.

We heard the calls from nursing, teaching and social work students who needed help with the cost of living, so we said, 'We'll provide you with mandatory prac payments.' Those payments are available from July this year. We understand that regional development isn't just about investing in roads and infrastructure; it's about investing in people and their skills and training. Regional apprentices will benefit from $10,000 in incentive payments from 1 July this year to top up their wages during the lives of their apprenticeships if they're working in the housing and construction sector. We're raising the allowance paid to apprentices living away from home, the first time the payment has increased since 2003. We have opened more regional uni study hubs because you shouldn't have to pack your bags to build your future.

From Tumut in my electorate to Clermont, Hughenden and Moranbah in Queensland, west to Northam and Kununurra in WA, and south to Kangaroo Island, we are investing in young Australians being able to study closer to home. We're making TAFE free permanently because it is a big success. We want to make sure that we provide fairer school funding for every student in every public school across the country, and we are delivering cheaper and universal access to child care with more than $1 billion invested to improve not just affordability but accessibility for regional kids. Those opposite talk a big game and they talk about childcare deserts, but they did nothing about it in their nine years in government and are voting against it, saying it's a bad policy. Go back to your regional communities and tell them you don't want more childcare places in your communities then.

But I'll go on because the facts speak for themselves. We are delivering an additional $3 billion to complete the NBN because we take connectivity seriously. We need it to run our small businesses, access education services and work from home. Our record investment, which is cleaning up the mess that those opposite left us, is connecting more than 2.1 million premises across the nation, many in our regions. And we want the NBN to stay in public ownership because privatisation means worse service. We've seen that time and time again under those opposite.

I am nearly out of time, but I need to tell you this. On this side of the House, we invest in making sure our communities are more prepared for and more resilient to disasters, with $750 million already out the door in Disaster Ready funding and $519.1 million in Future Drought Fund programs to help Aussie farmers and regional communities be more resilient.

I'll finish by saying that, on this side of the House, we actually believe in investing not only in roads and in infrastructure but in service delivery because regional communities deserve that. And, as an inner-city elite who apparently lives in a smaller town than most of you over there, I will say—

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I doubt it.

Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I don't! I will say that, on this side of the House, we believe in governing for all Australians, not using a colour coded spreadsheet. On this side of the House, our regional members didn't get anything for regional communities when you opposite were in government last. Regional communities and every Australian deserve better infrastructure and better services, and that's exactly what the Albanese government is delivering for them.

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to, first of all, reach out and dedicate this speech to Brian Smith. Brian Smith, who is in the hardboard industry, was speaking to me on the weekend about how his life and the lives of the timber workers have been decimated by the excessive green form of belligerence of the Labor Party and their cohort. That is just one example of what they've done.

I'd also like to dedicate this to Alexandra Meggitt, who came to the building yesterday after walking hundreds of kilometres with her dog, Cliff, because of the blight which intermittent power is on regional Australia. It's decimating people's rights, tearing communities apart, putting one person against another and subsidising multibillionaires and overseas companies with capacity investment schemes which are so secret. They talk about how money is wasted here and money is wasted there, yet they funnel money to China, to Singapore and to Europe to underwrite these intermittent-power swindle factories so that they can come out to regional areas. The fruit of their labour is power that poor people in regional areas cannot afford.

In our area alone, I remember talking to one person, a lady—there was nothing wrong with her; she had no problems with drugs, no afflictions—who was about to start living in her car because she could not put up with the cost of living. She had no money. And the seed, the source of that, the No.1 issue, was power prices. Yet to assuage the God, to assuage the cults, they go forward and continue their relentless push to push up the price of power so more people in regional areas go into poverty.

I'll give you just one program. It was a program for roads in neglect in remote areas that people hadn't seen. We'd get a road that has never been dealt with and put some money there for some gravel and a bit of bitumen. But the first thing the Labor Party did was get rid of it.

We had dams. We had Hells Gate Dam. We had Urannah Dam. We had the Bowen pipeline. We had Emu Swamp, Wyangala and Dungowan. What was the first thing they did? They got rid of it. We had the Inland Rail, the corridor of commerce that was going to build the inland of Australia and help your carbon-emission reduction scheme to basically make this nation stronger. What was the first thing they did when they got there? They got rid of it.

They talk about health. We have hospitals where if the nurse falls over they've got to be taken to another hospital because there's no doctor in the hospital. In Muswellbrook, a Labor Party seat, they have no obstetrics. If you have a baby in Muswellbrook, you have to go to Newcastle because you cannot have a baby in Muswellbrook. This is what is happening under the Labor Party, the apparent party for all. What an absolute joke that is!

We've seen water buybacks. They've come into regional areas. Yes, I'll be quite frank. If you buy the water off a farmer, it's not a problem. I'll buy myself a flat on the Gold Coast—I don't know—and get out of the joint. But what about the hairdresser? What about the tyre business? What about the people who are left behind? What are you going to do for them? They just get left in a new form of economic destitution.

Look at what you have done to regional towns. You have been blind. Regional areas have the poorest people in Australia because they don't have the services. The member for Eden-Monaro said, 'I've lived in a town smaller than yours.' I don't think you've lived in a town smaller than Danglemah, because I don't think it's possible. My neighbour is not on the grid. There's no power. My neighbours are part Aboriginal. That's where I live. I actually live in these areas.

The policies that you support are pushing these people further and further into poverty, yet you sit there with this sort of smarmy thing. There's no better example than the member for McMahon. Every time the member for McMahon gets to that dispatch box, guess what happens for us? Our vote goes up. So I'll tell you what—if you truly want to understand regional Australia, how about you actually get one of your cabinet meetings and actually come out to regional Australia? Bring that fellow with you. Gosh, we want to meet him out there!

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Most of you know of my son Charlie. I like to share his little anecdotes. When a photo of Parliament House comes up on the TV or he sees it in a book, Charlie often refers to it as Canberra kinder. 'Hey, Mummy, that's Canberra kinder.' For Charlie, that was true. He did go to the childcare centre here for many years, so he has that connection to the building. It was his Canberra kinder. But at some points I have moments in this chamber where I feel like it's more than just the childcare centre. With the behaviour that we have had, particularly, unfortunately, by some of the National Party representatives, it does feel like we're in a kinder. The babble from the Nationals in this debate has hit a new level of silliness when this is a really important issue. How do we support and invest and help our regional communities expand and grow?

If I can use this area of ECEC as a moment to segue, when we came into government, the deserts of accessing early childhood education in the regions were profound. We had people who couldn't move to regional communities to be the nurse, to be the teachers, to work in mining or to establish their lives in a regional centre, because they had no access to early childhood education. It didn't exist. We had farming communities and farming families frustrated that they had no access to early childhood education. It's taken the election of a Labor government and the record investment that we have made to early childhood education to turn this around. We haven't just invested in building more childcare centres and the new announcements about more bricks and mortar. We've been making child care cheaper by reforming how the subsidy works and investing in the workforce, which is critical to getting people to stay and move to the regions, because they can earn a decent income, something that the other side don't want to talk about. And then there are the more recent reforms that we announced today, which is scrapping the activity test. In regional communities, there is a less rigid work structure, so the activities test was knocking people out of accessing quality care.

People on my side have talked about the NBN. The NBN didn't get completed in the regions by those opposite; it took our government to invest in the rollout of fibre-to-the-kerb everywhere and finish the job. The NBN is critical to ending the digital divide between the regions and the cities. In my electorate alone, it will improve people's lives. We are getting the access and speeds that we need for businesses, home businesses, families and schools. I now rarely get complaints from families that can't connect all at once to do their assignments, do the books for the business and get things done. That's because they're getting the speeds that they need.

There have been tax cuts for every worker. Under our government, every single worker—not just those on the top incomes working in the city but every worker—got a tax cut: retail workers, aged-care workers, health workers, people living in regional Australia.

There is fairer funding for all our schools. I really want to emphasise this. It was the previous government that changed the funding arrangements, which saw our public schools get less. It disproportionately impacted regional communities and smaller schools—fewer students meant less funding. That was under their watch. We have changed that through new funding agreements with all states but New South Wales and Queensland. As a Victorian, I welcome this. I have so many small schools in my electorate—public schools delivering good-quality education but falling behind simply because they don't get the same money. This will change lives and give every student, regardless of their postcode, a decent education. Yet, rather than joining us on a unity ticket around school funding, those opposite give us babble.

I could talk about health care and how we've had an increase in bulk-billing rates. The top two electorates? Mayo, in regional South Australia, and Bendigo, in regional Victoria. We've restored confidence in the grants system and turned it around. There are the changes on water. I wish we could have an MPI on water, so I could talk about the inefficiencies in our water system, including in my electorate. We are a government that cares about the regions; we're a government delivering for the regions.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I furiously agree with the member for Bendigo: we do need more help, support and investment in regional Australia. In Bendigo, Andrew Lethlean, the Nationals candidate, will certainly provide that. Just the other day, he had his launch. There were 300 people there. There's a movement there, because they want a member who's going to invest, support and help Bendigo and the wider region.

I was fascinated to hear the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, the member for Eden-Monaro no less, mention Councillor Rick Firman, the Mayor of Temora, and his praise for roads funding. Yes, he does want more roads funding. Which local government area wouldn't? But, you know, just last Friday, whilst he was driving to a mayors' forum, the previously mentioned Councillor Firman phoned me. He was in fact disappointed, would you believe, at the fact that Temora shire had missed out on Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program round 1 funding. But that's not the rub. They'd received the email at 4.29 pm the previous day and were told in the same email that, whilst they'd missed out on tranche 1 funding, round 2 hadn't closed. When do you think round 2 closed? One minute to midnight that day. So they had a day and a bit to get in their application and supporting submission for round 2. No country council has people who can just be pulled out of whatever else they're doing to provide that detail and information. Local councils around Australia have been left disappointed, left wanting, by this Labor government.

The member for Eden-Monaro talked about health. Yes, we respect the fact that Labor have made a health announcement today. But the very first thing that they did when they got into government was change the distribution priority area arrangements with country areas, so general practitioners in country areas took down their shingle and moved to the suburbs. They left those regional and remote areas that were so desperate and crying out for doctors. That is what they did. Thankfully, we put in place the rural medical school network through the Murray-Darling Basin, which will provide doctors in the long term, but in the short term, because of those changes to the DPA arrangements, we have lost doctors. Don't just take my word for it. Listen to the Rural Doctors Association. They absolutely castigated the Labor government for that measure.

When we talk about bulk billing, they go and praise Medicare, but bulk-billing rates have dropped 11 per cent, and they have dropped even more in regional areas. What did the health minister say when he was questioned? He said, 'If you can't get a bulk-billing doctor, ring up another one. If you can't find a bulk-billing doctor, then go and ring the next doctor and make an appointment with him or her.' That might all be good in the leafy suburbs of Adelaide, but it doesn't cut through in regional Australia, because, when you're in pain, ill, sick and need to see a doctor, often you can't find one who bulk-bills—or one who doesn't bulk bill. You can't find one at all, and you have to wait weeks and weeks and weeks. You shouldn't have to catch a plane when you're in pain. That's, unfortunately, what regional people are facing thanks to this Labor government.

There's a long list of failures by this Labor government. There's this lack of respect for regional Australia. It's regional Australia that led this country through COVID, and they continue to grow the food, fibre and provide the exports for our resources for our balance of payments. What did the city types opposite do? They hid under their bedsheets, pulled the doona up over them and pretended that nothing was happening. It happened because regional Australia lead this nation, and regional Australia will continue to lead this nation with or without the respect or funding from those opposite. But I tell you what: when we get back into government, we will provide that respect. We will provide that funding. We will provide that support, help and investment that regional Australia so desperately craves. Look at the lack of respect with the live sheep exports. When the member for Page was on his feet, the Attorney-General turned and said, 'What's he even talking about?' It's live sheep exports. It's that valuable industry which has been going on for decades out of Western Australia, and you blokes just chopped it. How disgraceful.

Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Albanese government is backing in rapidly growing regions like mine because Labor understands the importance of the regions and how much we need to support them. We're delivering critical investment to build a better future for locals across my electorate of Corangamite, from major road improvements to rail upgrades, from new facilities for footie and netball clubs to new learning centres for schools, supports for men's sheds, community houses, surf lifesaving clubs, food relief services and farmers and primary producers.

That's not all. We're upgrading Barwon Heads Road in the fast-growing suburb of Armstrong Creek. We're upgrading dangerous intersections like Grubb Road in Ocean Grove, Reserve Road in Grovedale and Murradoc Road in St Leonards. Then there's the South Geelong to Waurn Ponds rail line, which includes $784 million of federal government investment. There's the Midlands Highway in Bannockburn. Then there are road upgrades across the Surf Coast, the Otways and across regional Victoria. We've upgraded school technology in schools like Surf Coast Secondary College and Drysdale Primary School.

We're strengthening Medicare for regional Australians, rolling out Medicare urgent care clinics across our country, including one right in the heart of my region. And, of course, bulk-billing rates are on the up, enabling more people to see a GP without it impacting their bank balance. Medicare billing data shows that the Albanese government is working to strengthen Medicare. We've revived bulk billing with Australians in regional Australia, having had an additional 586,000 free visits to a GP in the past year. That's a fact. No matter how those opposite try to spin it, the data speaks for itself.

We also know that free TAFE is changing the lives of so many people across my region and Australia. Australians across the nation are embracing this opportunity and embarking on a new journey as builders, electricians and support workers in the aged-care and care sector. More than 500,000 Australians have jumped at this opportunity to get the skills they want and to fill the jobs our nation needs.

But we know all of this is at risk under the coalition. I can't imagine how devastated my communities would feel to have fee-free TAFE scrapped or to have their Medicare urgent care clinic closed. It would be heartbreaking. The coalition need to make clear what their plans are for these crucial services and opportunities that improve the lives of regional Australians.

For women and families, we also know paid parental leave is at risk. Our government is expanding the program to 26 weeks for new parents, with super payments included. It's a policy that is truly life changing, and it's a clear example of how our Labor government is prepared to support families. We understand that family is the foundation of a prosperous and optimistic nation, and the most critical time for a family is when a child is born.

We're also about to have groundbreaking, new educational agreements to properly fund public schools. This matters in the regions. Under the coalition, this is all at risk.

This is an opposition that favours long lunches over support for families, and they want to slash workers' wages and rip apart the Public Service—a Public Service that is reducing waiting times for so many of the supports Australians rely on. These services matter to people. They improve lives.

The Albanese government are committed to building on our work and empowering regional Australia. We're committed to forging a future that opens the door to opportunities for families across the Bellarine and Surf Coast, across wider Geelong and across the regions of the nation. It's a future where workers are supported, infrastructure is actually delivered and our manufacturing industries are revitalised.

Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Capricornians are doing it tough. Three years ago the Prime Minister promised Australians they would be better off under his leadership, but that could not be further from the truth. Under Labor's economic mismanagement, regional Australia has been plundered to keep this government afloat. Nowhere is this more evident than in my electorate of Capricornia.

Not since the 1980s have Australians endured sustained inflation for this long, all due to Labor's reckless handling of the economy. Families are struggling just to put food on the table and keep up with mortgage repayments. They even have to make the impossible choice about whether to turn on the air conditioning this summer as power prices soar.

Small businesses are barely staying afloat. It is a fact that, under a Labor government, doing business in Australia is harder. Capricornia's manufacturers are being strangled by legislation. One such business, SMW, has told me firsthand how Labor policies are drowning them in red tape, making it nearly impossible to stay viable. Rising electricity costs, skyrocketing fuel prices and excessive regulation are forcing hardworking Australian businesses to the brink.

Labor is robbing Peter to pay Paul and slashing critical regional infrastructure funding that has delivered enormous economic benefits. Programs like the Building Better Regions Fund created jobs, built much-needed infrastructure and supported local communities. But this government sees no value in regional Australia. Instead, Labor is stripping the regions of investment, to bankroll pet projects in the capital cities. This is despite the fact that it is the people in the regions—the farmers, the miners, the manufacturers and the small-business owners—who generate the wealth that our nation relies on.

Since day one I have fought to protect my constituents from a Labor government that sees the regions as little more than a cash cow for its wasteful spending. Take the Bruce Highway, a lifeline for our communities. In Labor's first year in government, funding for this critical road was slashed. The $10 billion in projects inherited from the coalition were put under the knife, with $488 million cut from the forward estimates. While in government, the coalition invested over $415 million into the Bruce Highway between Rockhampton and Mackay to make it safer. Projects like providing more overtaking lanes, providing more rest areas and widening centre strips save lives, but, under Labor, additional crucial upgrades were put on hold, leaving the road more dangerous than ever.

The consequences have been devastating. Last year, over 40 lives were lost on the Bruce Highway. A report from the RACQ identified the stretch between Rockhampton and Mackay as one of deadliest in Queensland. While families grieved and communities mourned, Labor stayed silent. I have sat with families who lost loved ones. I have listened to the heartbreak. Leyland Barnett, who lost his niece, bravely shared his family's pain with the media, but even this was not enough to spur Labor into action. Week after week lives were lost, but the government did nothing. But suddenly, in an election year, the Prime Minister miraculously found $7.2 billion for the Bruce Highway. This was not a genuine commitment to road safety; it was a desperate election stunt. History is repeating itself. Labor has never taken regional road safety seriously. If not for the tireless efforts of locals, the Rockhampton ring road would have been axed in Labor's first budget. If not for my fight to protect regional projects, vital upgrades to Phillips Creek Bridge, a notoriously dangerous crossing in a resource-rich part of Capricornia, would have been lost to Labor's infrastructure review.

Labor's neglect extends beyond roads. Community groups that rely on government support to improve local facilities and are being left in limbo. The Sarina Brewers Park upgrade committee has been waiting endlessly for a response to its application for a feasibility study just to improve sporting grounds that have produced some of Australia's best athletes.

This government does not care about regional Australia. It does not care about the people who work hard to build this country's prosperity. Labor has failed regional Australians. Only a coalition government will get Australia back on track. Easing cost-of-living pressures is a priority. Strengthening the economy, backing small businesses and ensuring affordable and reliable energy will provide stability for families and businesses alike. Addressing the housing crisis, rebalancing the migration program and keeping Australians safe are essential commitments. Quality health care, a stronger regional Australia, practical action for Indigenous Australians and sustainable community development remain at the forefront. Cutting government waste will ensure resources are directed where they are most needed. This is our promise to the people of Capricornia, this is our promise to regional Australia and this is our commitment to getting our country back on track.

Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am proud to live in regional Australia. I grew up on a dairy farm. I went to a small public school and my local high school. It's where my tradie husband and I have raised our four kids, who still live locally. I get regional Australia and, as a mum, I have always wanted to give back and help people in the area I love. That's why I am here in this place. So let's talk about some of the things that are hugely important to people in my electorate.

One thing is roads. There's a reason that the Nowra bypass is finally moving forward: because we're funding it. I picked this project up when no Liberal member ever did and made sure it got funding. I'm pleased to say that, through our efforts, the project has $97 million in funding from the Albanese Labor government. Once the initial planning phase concludes in 2026, the Nowra bypass project is expected to move into its development phase. The Jervis Bay flyover is under construction thanks to $100 million in funding from the Albanese Labor government—and what a huge difference this intersection is going to make when it is complete. The Princes Highway upgrade from Jervis Bay Road to Hawken Road is also progressing well, with a contract awarded for the next phase. The Milton-Ulladulla bypass has recently moved into that next phase, with a contract awarded for the development of the concept, design and environmental assessment. It is a project with $752 million in federal funding. We not long ago opened the $35 million far north collector road, for which I sought additional funding so it could be finished and opened. Local councils will see more money to help fix local roads because of our decision to progressively double Roads to Recovery funding over the next five years. Black spot road funding is increasing too.

We've had so many natural disasters in our region: over 38 landslips and pummelled roads and over 150 local roads all fixed with federal and state funding under disaster recovery funding arrangements. I made sure that in the October 2022 budget Shoalhaven City Council had an extra $40 million to fix more local roads. While there have been some delays due to those natural disasters, I am pleased that Shoalhaven council have been progressing this with their appointment of the project consultant who is scooping up those works.

With health, I am pleased to say that over 11,000 people have now benefited from our fully bulk-billed Batemans Bay Medicare urgent care clinic. I also have a petition going to expand the hours and the level of care at the Batemans Bay urgent care clinic, and I encourage people to sign the petition. In fact, the urgent care clinic has been so successful that I've launched a new petition to establish a second federally funded urgent care clinic on the New South Wales South Coast. Bring it on! I've already opened a Medicare mental health hub at Nowra and one at Moruya. I've opened a headspace at Kiama. I've opened the south-eastern endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic at Milton.

There is so much going on in the health space to support locals and ease cost-of-living pressures where we can, like our cheaper medicines. We've tripled GP bulk-billing incentives for pensioners, concession cardholders and students. Just today we announce an additional $1.7 billion for public hospitals to strengthen Medicare and fund hospitals and health services to cut waiting lists, bring down waiting times and tackle ramping.

We've provided energy bill relief for every household, and we've provided fee-free TAFE for skills shortage industries like trades, because we know we need tradies to build more homes, which we're doing under our ambitious housing agenda. There are $10,000 apprenticeship incentives to encourage more apprentices into the residential housing sector. There are tax cuts for every taxpayer. Wages are up and, if we're re-elected, we'll slash 20 per cent off student debt, helping 13,000 university students in Gilmore.

But the Liberals just oppose all that. There's one consistent thing about the Liberals: they're all negative. They've opposed every cost-of-living relief measure we've implemented and, as a mum, I just find that offensive. The Liberals will say and do anything to try and get elected, but the truth is that does nothing to help people in my electorate and regional Australia. We're getting on with providing sensible cost-of-living relief where we can and building a future in regional Australia that we can all be proud of.

Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The subject of this MPI is that regional Australia has given up on Labor because Labor has given up on them. Labor has never really been that popular in the regions, and, historically, I think we can understand why. The regions are a place that, traditionally, entrepreneurial people have moved to, and entrepreneurial people are more attracted to the coalition's side because we support business, we support small business and, of course, in the Country Party, now the National Party, which I'm very proud to be a member of, we support the businesses that operate in regional Australia.

But I noticed before I came into parliament that previous Labor governments and Labor oppositions at least had people who showed some interest in regional Australia, and I say that in deference to the late Simon Crean and also to Joel Fitzgibbon in previous governments and oppositions. But this Albanese Labor government is just not interested in regional Australia. I'll also give a shout-out to the current Leader of the House. When he was the shadow water minister, he was relatively—and I say 'relatively', because we didn't entirely get what we wanted. But he had some understanding when negotiating the Murray-Darling Basin Plan with our then water minister David Littleproud and the member for New England.

So what happened when the new government came in? The agreement that had happened for the Murray-Darling Basin got completely smashed. I can say with great certainty that my region has given up on the Albanese Labor government because of what they've done in relation to their new Murray-Darling Basin plan. In fact, they don't even call it the Murray-Darling Basin plan anymore. They call it the Plibersek plan, after the minister for water. It's reneged on the agreements that had happened with the states. It's reneged on agreements that were going to put a socioeconomic impact test in place before ripping out 450 gigalitres of extra water. All of this is important because it drives the industries that employ the people in regional Australia.

You can get up and talk about fee-free TAFE and you can say, 'We built this and we funded this and we did that.' That's all nice. What regional people want is to be able to do the jobs that they love doing: farming and food processing. If you take the tools away from them—like irrigation water—they can't do that anymore, and no amount of money that someone throws at them for some silo art or God knows what else is going to satisfy those people, because they don't just do it for money; they do it because they love it and because they want to provide food and fibre to people who live in other parts of Australia and other parts of the world.

I spoke earlier today about energy policy, the Integrated System Plan, and I described it as having more holes in it than the colander in my kitchen. Its energy policy is a mess. There is no serious analysis of how we're going to firm 82 per cent renewables, and that's important because, as I mentioned before—I was on Sky News doing an interview. The member for Warringah was before me and said: 'Baseload power is an antiquated idea. It doesn't matter anymore.' They crossed to me and said, 'What do you think, Sam?' I said: 'I'm standing in an apple orchard. How are we going to refrigerate these apples without baseload power? They don't stop needing refrigeration when the wind's not blowing or the sun's not shining.' This discussion about firming is really important.

It's not only that. It's what the renewables are doing to people in regional Australia. I've got a beautiful, small—and it's small, so you don't care, because there aren't that many people there—region called Colbinabbin. There are 650 hectares of solar panels on prime agricultural land in the middle of one of the great wine-growing areas of Australia. I spoke to a young couple from Timmering, who are off the grid. They're doing more for climate change than a lot of people living in the concrete jungles of Australia. They're off the grid. They're growing vegetables. They're growing sustainable meat. They said to me: 'Sam, member for Nicholls, I'm trying to do everything right for the environment. Why do I have to have wind turbines the height of the Rialto'—go and have a look at the CBD of Melbourne—'and many of them two kilometres away from where I'm trying to sustainably produce sheep and vegetables?' Please get interested in regional Australia. It's worth it.

Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They say you shouldn't throw stones in glass houses. Clearly no-one has told this to those opposite, who say this government is giving up on regional Australia. You've got to be joking, Deputy Speaker. It would be funny if it wasn't for the fact that those opposite really did leave regional Australia behind in their decade of waste and neglect. They left regional Australia behind so badly that it's shocking that they get up here and say that we have given up on regional Australia.

This government has rebuilt regional Australia. I see this every day when I'm driving around my electorate. When I talk to the people of the Hunter, I hear that they are relieved that this government, once again, has their back. We are a government that, once again, values the regions, a government that understands that regional Australia is the vital backbone of our economy. It is where our food is grown. It is where our products are made. It is where our energy is generated. People from the regions are hard-working, good people, and for too long they were let down by those opposite, who had nothing to offer them. We have been rebuilding regional Australia. We have been getting it done with zero thanks to those opposite. We have really put what has been needed back into the regions. We have delivered more for regional Australia than any other government in living memory.

Let's take a look at my regional electorate. It tells you what this government has done for the regions, particularly in the Hunter. This government has put over $268 million in for the Muswellbrook Bypass project. Over 26,000 freight and passenger vehicles will use this new route every day when it is completed—3,700 heavy vehicles will use it. People have been talking about this bypass since 1996, and we are getting it done with zero thanks from those opposite. Do you think $268 million sounds good? Wait until I tell you about the Singleton Bypass, Deputy Speaker. We have backed this project with $560 million, the largest road infrastructure investment ever in Singleton's history. Five sets of annoying traffic lights will be bypassed by this beautiful eight kilometres of road that is getting built right now in the Hunter. We're getting it done with zero thanks from those opposite.

We're rebuilding the infrastructure of the regions, with over $25 million in funding for roads and bridges across the Hunter. There is $10 million for a permanent dredge in Lake Macquarie. Almost every town in the Hunter has had NBN connection upgrades because of the wasted money that those opposite put into NBN. We are getting it done, with zero thanks to those opposite.

Almost every school in my electorate has had upgrades under this government, including huge upgrades such as the $1.2 million for Cessnock East Public School and the $4 million for Wakefield Public School. Under this government there is nowhere better to grow up than in regional Australia. There was 500 grand for the Cessnock BMX track and $1 million for the Cessnock Regional Skatepark. Not only are we getting it done, but we're making the regions fun again—with zero thanks to those opposite. When flooding hit our region this government stepped in with $47 million of funding for flood victims through the Back Home funding program. Those opposite said today that we've given up on the regions. Does this sound like we've given up on the regions? Those opposite have got to be having a laugh.

Every taxpayer in the Hunter has benefited from our tax cuts. Over 6,500 families in the Hunter benefit from cheaper child care that this government introduced. Over $7.7 million has been saved by Hunter residents, thanks to cheaper medicines. Same job, same pay has been an absolute life changer for workers in the Hunter, ending the exploitation of unfair work arrangements that blossomed under those opposite. All types of people in the regions are benefiting in all types of ways thanks to this government.

It is no surprise to anyone, other than those opposite, that Australians know that our government is truly a government for all Australians. We didn't pit regional Australians against city Australians or any other Australians for that matter. We don't play dress-ups and pretend to be farmers like the Nats do or rock up to the pub in a town, have a couple of beers and then never return like the Libs do. We are a government that genuinely governs for all Australians. We have revived the regions so the future is bright, and the people in the regions know that. This Labor government has their back.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This discussion is now concluded.