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

Sorry, Deputy Speaker. Those opposite did nothing—zilch, zero, zip—on childcare investments. On this side of the House, we value early childhood education, so much so that we spent $3.6 billion investing in wage increases in the sector, because it's not good enough just to say we want to build more; we've got to put the human resources in. We want to make sure it's an industry that you can have a career in, that people value and that people want to join. I've got a niece who's 21, now. She did her cert III while she was still in high school. She now works in early education. As a 21-year-old, she's second-in-charge of her centre. We value the work that she and many other people like her do, and we will continue to support it.

Regional communities benefited from tax cuts. That's incredibly important, because, in regional communities, every extra dollar goes back into the small businesses that our people run. They are the people that sponsor the local sporting groups. They are the people who give P&C raffle prizes. They are the people giving an opportunity to other members of our community by employing them. We want to see regional people succeed, and that's why we've given a tax cut right up and down the tax scale and will continue to support small businesses.

We've got a Cheaper Home Batteries Program. In my electorate, Ray from Braidwood recently got in touch. He said that this home battery system that he's already put in has lowered his electricity bill. In the first month since he had his battery installed, his bill dropped to $22. It's also helped him change his usage habits, so he can make better use of his electricity during off-peak periods. Instead of supporting regional Australians like Ray, those opposite are busy reviewing net zero. They're out of touch and out of reality.

Speaking of utilities—and we just heard the Minister for Communications talk about the NBN—they're so incredibly important to drive productivity for rural Australians. Whether you work from home, whether you've got a small business, whether you need to access health care or whether you're studying, it is incredibly important to have connectivity. But, when those opposite were in government, there was a deliberate underinvestment in communications. Instead of narrowing that communications and technology divide, they widened it, because they didn't understand the importance of keeping people in our regions connected, whether it was to services or to family and friends. Instead, we've invested $5.4 billion to expand full-fibre NBN access to 2.1 million premises across the nation, almost a million in our region.

We've also said we will introduce a universal outdoor mobile obligation, requiring telcos to provide access to mobile voice and SMS almost everywhere in the country. It will have huge benefits for regional and remote Australia, particular during emergencies and disasters. Instead of being something that those opposite jumped on—I would've thought connectivity was something that we may have agreement on—they said: 'No, we're not particularly interested. We think the universal obligation on home phones is enough.' That is gobsmacking to me for many reasons. Perhaps, when that comes into this House, we'll see bipartisanship support on that. We know that it is vital for regional Australia to stay connected during the tough times.

Unfortunately, far too many of our regional communities have been through the devastation of disaster. What they want after a disaster is to know that they can be better prepared for the next one. We introduced the Disaster Ready Fund in 2022. It's a five-year program of $1 billion dollars and it's all about reducing disaster risk and building resilience across Australian community. I've seen the devastating impact of bushfires in my own community and I know how important it is to reduce that disaster risk. We've got to strengthen our emergency management and disaster recovery capabilities. So we set up the National Emergency Management Agency to ensure that there was a more coordinated approach.

The Albanese Labor government is delivering record investments in regional communities, whether it's through transparent grant programs, including the Growing Regions Program and the Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program. We're also increasing the Roads to Recovery Program from $500 million to $1 billion a year. Every council across the country will get more road funding. Those opposite didn't do that at all. We've increased the road black spots funding program to $150 million a year, improving some of the most dangerous stretches of roads, and we've launched the new Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program—$200 million a year.

Our regions are fast-growing and diverse, and we value what our people do in the regions, whomever their local member is. Most importantly, we have said a strong regional aviation sector is critical, and that's why we are supporting Rex. These opposite failed regional Australia when they had the opportunity. On this side of the House we're delivering for all Australians. (Time expired)

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