Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Recent torrential rains brought devastating flooding to outback South Australia. Remote communities like Oodnadatta are cut off and roads, like Kemp Road, between some of Australia's largest and most important agricultural centres and livestock stations have been destroyed. The roads have collapsed, and these regions now require urgent assistance to have vital freight and general transport routes repaired.

The state government is in caretaker mode, and local councils cannot do this alone. I urge the minister to focus on this before things get worse. The collapse of these roads, perhaps somewhat ironically, mirrors the broader collapse in living standards faced by the very rural and regional South Australians who use these roads.

Under this government, Australians are enduring a cost-of-living crisis. The OECD confirms Australia has suffered the largest collapse in living standards in the developed world. Prices are up, real wages are down, and farmers, small businesses and people living outside our city centres are working harder for less. This Labor government is expanding, but wallets and family budgets are contracting fast.

This government must stop its futile spending and focus on support for all Australians, including rural and remote South Australians who feed and power this very nation. The only things increasing are taxes, debt, inflation and interest rates. Australian households remain poorer than when Labor came to power.