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

I disagree with the motion and I disagree with the principles behind it. I'm glad the member for Kennedy is in the chamber, because he, like me, knows full well the benefit of regional spending, of funding for country people. He, like me, wants to see an aquatic centre for Mornington Shire. The mayor there, Kyle Yanner—and I know the member for Kennedy would know him well—and his community have been requiring, needing, deserving, expecting a water park for a long time. I gave them the commitment, as the Acting Prime Minister of this country back in 2021, that I would help deliver that, and I know it has had the member for Kennedy's advocacy as well. Hopefully the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, the member for Ballarat, will see fit to do that. I've seen her on a number of occasions. What I worry about is regional funding going by the wayside in the May budget, because what we've seen across the country generally when Labor governments get in is that the regions get hit the first and the hardest. I note that the new New South Wales Premier—and good luck to him—did not mention the regions in his acceptance speech on Saturday night, and that is a concern.

The member for Lalor comes here and talks about all sorts of delivery, including repealing the cashless debit card. That is going to hurt those communities in, particularly, remote Australia where that initiative was doing a lot of good, particularly in making sure that the financing of families was going to the right places—not grog, not gambling but school lunches, uniforms and making sure that the welfare of the families comes first. What we don't want to see is a rising tide of domestic violence in families as a result of that cashless debit card being withdrawn. I note that the member for Lalor talks about the government delivering on its election commitments to build a better future. Well, if delivering a better future means rising inflation, rising energy costs, changes to super which prior to the election Labor said would not occur, more expensive mortgages, Labor touching franking credits, raising taxes, more consultants and contractors in government infrastructure—if these things are building a better future—I'd hate to see what a worse one was. I seriously would, because that is, unfortunately, what we've seen in the first 10 months under Labor. We've seen all of those things and so much more. Good, ordinary, hardworking, everyday Australians are jack of it. They are sick of it. They are struggling as it is with cost-of-living pressures, and what they don't want to see is ideology taking over from practicality. Yes, they want to see action on climate. I get that. Yes, they want to see this place be a place where integrity comes first. I get that.

Thank you, Member for Kennedy. But what they don't want to see is ideology put ahead of common sense, and common sense means that we dig things up out of the ground, we use them for our own domestic energy supplies and we send resources overseas to help pay for schools and hospitals and to keep the lights on. We just saw the other day, at the AFL, what happens when the lights go out. I'm not putting the blame on anyone or anything, but that's just a precursor of what's going to happen under the ideology of those opposite when it takes over practicality and common sense. We're going to see the lights go out in places other than just the Gabba. We're going to see the lights go out in suburban Australia. We're going to see the lights go out and the energy go off in factories and in places of industry right across Australia.

I hear the member for Moreton, but it will happen. I've warned of it. It happened the last time I warned of it, and it will happen again.

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