Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In 2019 the Prime Minister said his election was about every single Australian who depends on their government to put them first. The sad truth is there are clear winners and losers in this budget, and the northern end of the Central Coast has been left behind again. Eight long years since the government were first elected and they've handed down another budget which fails to deliver for the north of the Central Coast. The government are spending $1 billion across the country on local roads and not a single cent on the northern end of the Central Coast. The government must invest to clear bottlenecks like the Pacific Highway through Wyong and Bryant Drive through Tuggerah so locals can get around safely and open up investment to boost local jobs. The government announced spending on building better regions. Again, there appears to be nothing for the northern end of the Central Coast, despite a rapidly growing population.

While funding for aged care is welcome, the government's announced home-care packages are over two years. It won't clear the current waiting list, while others join the end of the queue. There are currently 1,109 older people on the Central Coast waiting for care, with many waiting up to 12 to 18 months. Worse, the budget shows real wages are going backwards. That's not good news in our community when people are struggling to buy a house or pay the rent. And the budget does nothing to ease the acute shortage of GPs as books are closed and patients wait weeks for routine appointments. The Central Coast deserves proper investment from the federal government to boost local jobs, clear the infrastructure backlog and help renters and buyers as they struggle with housing affordability.