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

Nothing brings me more joy than standing in this place as a proud Labor member who represents a regional area to speak about how much regional Australia is thriving because, finally, we have a government who actually cares. Finally there is a government who acts on issues that are important to those in regional Australia, not just a government who has a catchy propaganda slogan on their funny looking puffer vests and election materials campaigning 'There for the regions'. I suppose that if you're out of touch with the communities you represent, dressing up to try to fit in is a last resort. Those opposite can claim all they want, and I can claim that I was a rhythmic gymnast at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, but it is just your record that counts. If they continue to claim they are for regional Australia then I am a rhythmic gymnastic competitor.

You don't have to look far to see the impact of a government who cares, especially in my electorate. In the Hunter alone this government has provided over a billion dollars of funding to grow a vital part of regional Australia. I see what a Labor government does for regional Australia every day when I drive around my electorate. I can see it in our roads infrastructure, like the Deaves upgrade in Mandalong, a $56 million upgrade to Mandalong Road in Morriset, the Owens Road Bridge in Martinsville, the Kilfoyles Bridge in Lambs Valley, Stanhope Road in Stanhope, the upgrade to the Golden Highway, the upgrade to the Putty Road from Milbrodale to Putty, the Denman Road upgrade, the Wybong Road upgrades and $1.7 million for roads in Cessnock. Even those two vital projects that those opposite did nothing to progress for 10 years, the Singleton and Muswellbrook bypasses, they are a go. The list goes on and on.

I can also see that the Labor government has supported community facilities, like Mums Cottage, which provides vital services for vulnerable people in communities like mine, with $250,000. It's supported the new Hunter Sports Centre. We already know that regional areas dominate when it comes to sport, so they deserve world-class facilities as well. Cessnock is getting a regional skate park and a BMX track, which is great for young people looking for something to do. Singleton netball courts are also getting a $1.1 million upgrade. Muswellbrook Olympic Park is getting a $5.5 million upgrade. The Muswellbrook town centre project is getting $10.5 million to make the centre of Muswellbrook look great. There will be lighting upgrades for Cessnock Goannas rugby league club. The list goes on and on. Cessnock is crying out for better health services, which we are delivering. We're delivering a Medicare urgent care clinic that will be up and open by the end of this year.

It was the Labor Party who very proudly introduced the NBN to bring Australia into the modern world, providing fast and reliable internet so that our country could advance. It was those opposite who botched it.

A government member: They sure did! Was it $60 billion?

Yes, I think it was $60 billion. They tried to be tight with their money, but that $60 billion went a bit over budget, as we all know. I think it was three times the amount we had classified in there. I'm lost on that one.

The people were left worse off, and in regional Australia we were hit the hardest. While the cities had some form of reliable internet, regional areas like mine did not. My office had calls daily from people with internet issues. How can anyone survive and get by in the modern world without fast and reliable internet? Our students need it, our families need it and our businesses desperately need it. In the modern world, regional communities need to be able to rely on internet services that will survive what we deal with these days. We're expanding full-fibre access to an additional 600,000 premises in regional Australia alone. This means in my electorate businesses can run more reliably online, students can do their schoolwork and people can access health services online, meaning no-one will go without when they are in need. The reality is that in regional Australia regional towns don't have all of the services which are available in cities. This makes fast, reliable broadband not just a bonus but a necessity, because it makes these services available to us in the regions.

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