Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Here we are, yet again, talking about how the National Party has abandoned rural and regional Australia. I always find it interesting—

Mr Coulton interjecting—

I'll get to coal seam gas and how you're pushing full steam ahead with that, don't you worry about that. But I always find it interesting that the National Party members can come here and yell at us, but they can't walk down the hall and yell at the Prime Minister in defence of regional Australia. They're too scared! They'll come in here and carry on about us, but they've done nothing to help the people of the regions. Why don't they tell the Prime Minister what they need in regional and rural Australia? They don't do it, because they've abandoned the country. Time and time again they've done that.

This government continues to fail people from the regions. It was long ago that the National Party abandoned them. But people are onto you; people are onto the National Party. They know what you've done, and they also know what you haven't done. As we know and as we say in this House quite often, government is all about choices and priorities. The Turnbull government has chosen to give the banks that $17 billion tax handout. That's what the government has chosen and that's what the National Party have chosen too. When we say that National Party choices hurt; they really do hurt! They really do hurt when they choose to give the big tax handout to the banks instead of funding vital services in the bush. That's why people have had it with you. That's why people know you've abandoned them.

Let's run through of some those harsh National Party cuts, shall we? Cuts to hospitals and healthcare, cuts to aged care, cuts to pensions, cuts to education, cuts to the ABC, cuts to penalty rates as well, and of course, the government's NBN debacle. We haven't heard any of their speakers talk about the NBN, have we? Because it's a complete disaster! Let's have a look at some of those education cuts and cuts to families. We've got increases in childcare fees, cuts to school funding, cuts to apprenticeships and TAFE, and also cuts to university funding. It's interesting when we look at those cuts to schools. What is that figure again? They have cut $17 billion from schools whilst they're giving $17 billion to the banks. The National Party aren't talking about that too much out in their seats, are they? No.

Those harsh cuts to universities really hurt people in the regions. If you live in a regional or rural area, it's already hard enough to get to university, with all the added costs of transport. The government's cuts to universities and the increase in fees make it extra hard for kids from the country to actually get to universities. Look at my area in northern New South Wales. For Southern Cross University, the cuts from the academic years 2018 to 2021 are $25 million. How hard does it make it for kids then from the regions to actually get to uni?

Let's get back to the NBN. Let's see if any other speakers following us today are actually going to mention those words, because it is a total debacle. People in the country have a right to access good reliable broadband. They don't have that. The government's NBN has been a disaster—$20 billion over budget and four years behind schedule. We need to have the NBN in the regions. We need an effective NBN for our students at universities, for our small businesses to connect to the world, for our flourishing creative industries, and for our health and hospital services as well. We've already heard from some of the speakers today about the debacle over the government's increase for fees in the regions. Goodness me! They certainly were caught out, weren't they? They did a big backflip with that. It just shows that you cannot trust the National Party and you cannot trust them with their NBN as they try to slug those extra charges. I will just point out what it would have meant for my electorate in Richmond: nearly 12,000 homes would have been slugged $240 extra a year with their secret plan to increase the NBN in the regions.

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