Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I think it's a little bit triggering when you mention the success that One Nation is having in their heartland. Who really has broken the promises to regional Victorians, and who really has betrayed regional Victorians? The seat of Farrer wasn't a Labor Party seat, yet its voters sent a pretty big message to this place about what they think about the opposition, the Liberal and National parties. I see people on that side exiting the chamber—people whose electorates share borders with the seat of Farrer. Echuca-Moama is a really good example. Echuca is in the seat of Nicholls; Moama sits in the seat of Farrer. In Moama, 75 per cent of the vote went to One Nation. Last time they got about, I think, seven per cent in that seat. Yet the Nationals come in here and attack our record. Perhaps it's got something to do with their side and the way they've broken trust with regional Australia.

Let me take a moment to reset the record and remind the House what Labor is doing for regional Australia and why it is we are now in this historic place where there are more regional MPs in the Labor Party government than there are National Party MPs. In fact, there are more crossbenchers than there are National Party MPs. That is the state of the parliament that we have today.

Bulk-billing is a really good example. We are rolling out bulk-billing across the whole of Australia, and who benefits the most? Regional Australians. There are more doctors and more bulk-billing clinics in my electorate than ever before. Three out of five clinics in my electorate are now bulk-billing. New clinics are opening up and bulk-billing.

There are tax cuts for every worker—all workers—not their outdated old stage 3 tax cuts, which would have seen the top end of town—people living in inner-city Melbourne and Sydney—receiving the biggest tax cut. We are making sure every Australian gets a tax cut—every worker. Who benefits the most? Those on the lowest incomes. And where do they predominantly live? In regional and rural Australia and outer metro areas.

We have supported award-wage workers with getting a wage increase. Those opposite said it would break the bank and break small business. We are supporting those low-paid workers and ensuring they get a fair day's return for a fair day's work. We are the government that is making sure that people keep more of what they earn and earn more. That is what we're doing.

The cuts to student debt are really making a difference, particularly for those who live in the regions—those who choose to live in the regions and support people in the regions and forgo big salaries in town to work in the regions. That is making a real difference to their cost of living. In my own electorate of Bendigo, just over 17,000 constituents benefited from that one measure alone.

But it's not just in health and education that we're delivering real changes for people in the regions. On infrastructure, just using my own electorate of Bendigo as an example, since we came to government we've seen the million-dollar investment that we've got into stage 1 of the North Bendigo Recreation Reserve start. We've seen funding go into the Heathcote Civic Precinct upgrade and the Frederick Street precinct upgrade—$12 million to transform that part of Castlemaine. Funding has gone into Marong through the Housing Support Program to make sure that Marong has the water pressure that it needs to build more homes. Funding is going into what I mentioned prior to question time: updating our rural water system to ensure that we have piped water in parts of Greater Bendigo which are currently being serviced through gold-rush channels.

We're also investing more in Bushmasters and securing that workforce for the next five years. We're investing more in manufacturing and helping really innovative small local manufacturers grow, double their footprint and give more people in our region a job. This is just my example. We have so many regional MPs that we could have this MPI go all afternoon, and they should be given the opportunity to stand up and talk about the great achievements of this government and how we're delivering for regional Australia. As our minister said, a third of Australians live in regional Australia. We have not forgotten them. We are delivering for them, and that's why there are more people who represent regional electorates on this side of the House.

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