Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health) Share this | Hansard source

Yesterday, the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories tried to school us in question time, but maybe it's the minister who needs to go back to school. The fact is that Labor is completely neglecting regional communities, and no amount of trickery and slight increases in one program while scrapping a swathe of others can pull the wool over the eyes of country people.

She talked about Roads to Recovery. Well, Roads to Recovery was a program put in place by the coalition in 2000, and, over its time in government, the coalition increased the funding by 43 per cent, to $500 million. Most significantly, the coalition provided $3 billion in new funding for councils via the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program. And listen up, everyone: in 2023, Labor scrapped that program and the $3 billion. Labor's Growing Regions Program has no money. It's a PINO, a program in name only. Stronger Communities has no money.

I have a question for the teacher—I mean minister—who's trying to school me, and I'd appreciate an honest answer: how can regional councils apply for critical infrastructure funding at the moment? One example is Kirwans Bridge near Nagambie, which has been knocked back several times by the Albanese government. The fact is the cupboard is bare and it's just not fair.

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