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

I thank the member for Gilmore for her question. At the last election, the people of Gilmore elected her because they wanted cheaper medicines, cheaper child care, free TAFE, reduced student debt, better roads and tax cuts, and that's exactly what this side of the House is delivering. We're investing billions in remote, rural and regional Australia. We're investing in health, in education and in infrastructure, making a real difference for communities across the country.

Since coming to government, we have doubled the Roads to Recovery Program to $1 billion a year which is a significant increase to every local council across the country. We've substantially increased the Black Spot Program funding, now investing $150 million a year to fix dangerous roads and intersections. In 2024-25 alone, 102 projects in rural, regional and remote Australia shared in $64 million worth of funding under this program, and just last week I announced an investment of $3.8 million through our $200 million Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure program to support Thora, Gleniffer, Dorrigo and Bellingen communities in regional New South Wales through the replacement of two timber bridges. The communities have been asking for these upgrades for a long period of time. The Mayor of Bellingen Shire Council said the, 'council greatly values the Australian government's continued commitment to regional communities.' I'm proud to be part of a government that is delivering more money for regional roads because our communities deserve them. More projects under round 4 of the Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure program will be announced soon.

We know how our Medicare urgent care clinics have been a game changer for Australia's healthcare system. There are now 126 urgent care clinics across the country, 40 of which are in regional, rural and remote Australia, and the new Nowra Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will open this week thanks to the advocacy of their local member. They are all getting rave reviews. Micah from Bega took her son to the new Bega Medicare Urgent Care Clinic recently. She said: 'It was lifechanging. It's a great service, especially when you're not sure when you need to go to the hospital emergency department.'

Speaking of reviews, I read with great interest the review of the election campaign of the Liberal Party. Much to my surprise, there was not one mention of the regions in that review's recommendations. The Liberal Party did identify that they have even more problems with the female vote, but they promptly rolled their first female leader who's from regional Australia.

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