Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised if he won government, there would be “no one held back, no one left behind”.
But in Labor’s first Budget, the 30 per cent of Australians who live in regional and rural areas have been held back and left behind in key areas – cost of living, childcare, small business, agriculture and infrastructure.
The price of groceries is up eight per cent already.
It is easy to point the finger at natural disasters, but Labor’s scrapping of the Ag Visa I fought so hard for has had a marked effect.
In addition, the instant asset write-off and the cash for apprenticeship subsidy that businesses have embraced are gone.
Supply has been slashed because farmers and processors can only work at around 60 per cent capacity, putting prices up at the checkout.
Energy prices are up 20 per cent this year and predicted to increase by a further 30 per cent next year, while the $275 saving promised by Labor to reduce electricity bills is now dead.
That was something they promised 97 times pre-election.
Interest rates and inflation are up and predicted to go up further, ripping hundreds of dollars out of households each month.
In Mallee we have a childcare desert with seven towns having no childcare and long wait lists in others.
While Labor have announced $4.7 billion for childcare, it will not create one new additional place, opting for subsidies over service.
Affordability of childcare is not the issue, it is accessibility in Mallee.
Perhaps the biggest failure is the direct cut of vital funding streams for regional Australia.
Multibillion-dollar programs have been scrapped, including the Energy Security and Regional Development Plan, Regional Accelerator Program, Community Development Grants Program and Building Better Regions Fund.
These supported small councils that don’t have the capacity to build local infrastructure critical to regional communities.
Labor’s solution is to replace it with a few hundred million dollars.
Labor have broken the hearts and bank balances of regional and rural families.
