OPINION – ANNE WEBSTER
In what’s been one of the more colourful weeks, I think by and large Australians are sick of the gossip filling our headlines. Australians want the assurance that their local member is getting on with the job of representing them. The smoke and mirrors are not worth the attention given to them.
For some good news.
Rapid antigen tests are now widely available across Australia. Even this week, local chemist and supermarket shelves have been stocked with them. They are also now tax deductible and costs heavily regulated, to ensure that the people are not ripped off.
In just over a week our international borders will reopen to fully vaccinated visa holders, including tourists. This is such great news for tourism jobs and for people wanting to reunite with loved ones.
The government has worked tirelessly to safeguard our country from the pandemic, with the result we are ranked second in the world for pandemic preparedness according to the 2021 Global Health Security Index.
While the national unemployment rate has dropped to 4.2 per cent, our lowest level in 12 years, in Mallee it is even lower at 3.8 per cent. Since the pandemic began, more jobs have been created – 1.1 million Australia-wide.
We now have 220,000 trades apprentices in work benefiting industries with more hands on deck, while training up the next generation.
Financial pressure is easing for families and workers. In the past two years, electricity bills have gone down by 8 per cent, and 11.5 million Australians are benefiting from tax relief. In good news for local industry, 71.3 per cent of our trade and exports are now covered by free trade agreements.
Despite all the rumblings of the week, as a country, we are in a strong position and we are moving forward.
