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

I am a proud regional member of this place, and it's a great privilege to stand here as the minister for regional development. I'm incredibly fortunate to have spent my entire life living in regional Australia—to raise a family there, to run a business there and, now, to represent a regional community. I'm proud of our record in delivering for regional Australia, because that is exactly what we are doing: delivering. We're delivering programs across all portfolios that help regional Australians, with health, with housing and with education, from home batteries to cheaper child care to more home packages—no-one held back and no-one left behind—unlike those opposite, who pork-barrelled, issued press releases and called it a day whilst never actually delivering on so many of these 'projects'.

Our government is investing billions of dollars in remote, rural and regional Australia, and tonight's budget will reinforce that, with investment to increase access to housing, to deliver better health care, to create opportunities to study closer to home and to ease cost-of-living pressures. Our government wants every hard-earned dollar to go further for regional Australians. That's why, from 1 July this year, Australians will see further tax cuts as part of our broader agenda to ease cost-of-living measures. Not only that, our government is also saving small businesses thousands of dollars by making the instant asset write-off permanent. This means small businesses will be able to immediately deduct up to $20,000 for new equipment, from new tech to tools and machinery.

Speaking of dollars in pockets, we've got cheaper home batteries, which permanently cuts power bills for every Australian. In my electorate, Ray from Braidwood got in touch and said that his home battery system has already lowered his electricity bill. In the first month since his battery was installed, his bill dropped to $22. It has helped him change his usage habits so he can make better use of electricity in off-peak hours. But, instead of supporting regional Australians like Ray, those opposite are continuing to fight the climate wars. They're out of touch and out of reality.

I want to acknowledge the pressure that is on regional Australians as a result of the international fuel crisis. The conflict overseas is having an impact on our country, but nowhere more so than across our regions. We have further to travel. We need to access affordable diesel for our machinery, for long-haul freight and simply to get around. The availability of fertiliser is absolutely critical for our farmers. By acting quickly to secure fuel for industries most exposed to the shortage, which is agriculture, transport and mining, we are protecting regional productivity. We've moved quickly to more than halve the fuel excise and reduce the road user charge to zero for three months, to the end of June. This has helped to keep freight moving across our country, because we know Australians are feeling the pinch.

The availability of fertiliser is absolutely critical for our farmers, and that's why our government secured a deal for 250,000 tonnes of additional agriculture-grade urea for the upcoming planting season. We have also underwritten the purchase of fertiliser for the private sector, to make sure that we can support availability. Farming and agriculture have always been the backbone of our country and of regional Australia in particular.

We know how important it is to support these industries, and that is exactly what we are doing. That's why tonight our budget will deliver a landmark $10 billion Australian fuel security and resilience package, to safeguard the nation's energy sovereignty. This will secure more fuel and fertiliser supplies for Australians by targeting financial support and establishing a government owned reserve. Our government will protect Australia's energy interests, support essential industries and help secure reliable fuel access during future supply issues.

While we're on the topic of keeping regional Australia moving—our government is delivering when it comes to vital transport infrastructure. We've doubled Roads to Recovery funding to $4.4 billion, with 85 per cent of that program being spent in our regions. We've increased the road Black Spot Program to $150 million annually, with around half of that going to our regions. I was lucky enough to join Minister Catherine King and Minister Gallagher yesterday for the announcement of $100 million upgrades to rail infrastructure between Sydney and Canberra, which is another good news story for our regions, making rail travel from Queanbeyan, Bungendore, Tarago, Goulburn and more more efficient and more reliable on that Sydney to Canberra line.

We're also making access to health care more reliable for people in the regions. Our Medicare urgent care clinics have been a game changer for our health systems. They are providing free, timely and high-quality access to thousands of Australians closer to home. Of the 137 urgent care clinics, 47 are in regional, rural or remote communities. I know what a difference it makes. Mary from my electorate, in Googong, took the time to let me know about the excellent service her granddaughter received at the Queanbeyan urgent care clinic recently. She was so impressed she was able to see a doctor after hours, with no wait time and professional and attentive staff who even took the time to draw a couple of pictures on her granddaughter's hand to distract her from the procedures.

We've delivered more regional university study hubs to help country students access higher education without moving. It's critically important, because your postcode should never be a barrier to opportunity. In April I was delighted to open the new country university centre in Tumut, in the Snowy Mountains. In fact, the member for Riverina was also there, and he was quite impressed with the investment that our government had made to provide access to more tertiary education where people are, closer to home.

A government program or a policy doesn't have to have the word regional in it to benefit regional Australians. One-third of Australians live outside our major capital cities. I think it should be more. Those of us who live there know how good it is. Not only do they not have to have regional in the title but, every time a policy comes in front of us, we've got to make sure it works for every Australian and that they are considered across our work, no matter where they live.

Those opposite have talked a big game about their infrastructure investments. But it wasn't the case. A billion dollars was committed by this side of the House in 2013, before we left government, to plan Inland Rail. When those opposite took government, they announced Inland Rail and they wanted to fund it through debt—$9.3 billion, and that would get from Melbourne to Brisbane. We know that never happened. By 2020, the cost estimate rose to $16.4 billion. That's what happens when you don't have a plan. By 2022, when we came to government again, the ARTC said, 'We no longer know how much it will cost.' So we got a review—$31.4 billion. Now, according to independent estimates, it's $45 billion and it can no longer be funded by debt equity. I know the member for Riverina is passionate about rail. I think a lot of people across this place are passionate about rail. But Wes Judd, a dairy farmer in Millmerran, said, 'In an environment of necessary budget restraint, this decision protects taxpayers from an unsustainable project while safeguarding prime agricultural land.'

There is a time to make sure that things get done properly, and, each and every time the Nationals and the Liberal Party have tried to deliver an infrastructure program, it has been poorly planned with colour coded spreadsheets and poor audit reports. The Building Better Regions Fund, which the member for Riverina referenced, was so badly planned and was so totally dismissed by the ANAO that we had to can it. There was no saving the project. Inland Rail has been described as 'let down by weak ministers and gutless politicians'. Some have said:

The corridor was wrong from the start, and regional Queensland has paid the price for a decade.

They're not my words; they're the words of the former leader of the Nationals, David Littleproud, and they are about the former, former leader of the Nationals, Barnaby Joyce, the member for New England.

On that, I'll conclude my remarks. Those opposite want to talk a big game about regional Australia, but time and time again it's left to this side of the House, the Labor Party, to deliver. That's why there are more regional members on this side of the House than there are on that side of the House—because regional Australia no longer believe what the Liberal and National parties say. They rely on the Labor Party to deliver, and that's exactly what we're doing. (Time expired)

See this speech in context