Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I'm not sure where to start on that, because there's so much in that that we disagree with, but let's start with services. We have delivered 48 urgent care clinics in regional, rural and remote areas; we have delivered more than 2.5 million bulk-billed appointments in regional and rural areas; and we are reducing HECS debt for doctors and nurses that work in our regions. All of that means that Labour—not the Liberals and not the Nationals—are doing more to deliver health services in regional Australia.

We are investing more money in childcare centres, often in regional Australia, in childcare deserts—areas where there's a lack of supply, which are often in regional Australia. There are 37,000 regional Australians being assisted through the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee. There are 450,000 households in rural and remote regions being assisted through the 45 per cent increase in the maximum rent assistance. The government stepped in to keep Rex operational. These are amongst many things that the government is doing for regional Australia. (Time expired)