Leaders Reveal Key Projects Ahead Of Federal Budget

Daily Mercury

Duncan Evans

Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivers his second budget on May 9 and the funding allocations he makes will determine the future of our region on everything from infrastructure to social programs.

For Nationals MP Andrew Willcox, more money for the Bruce Highway and water infrastructure are core priorities.

“Rural and regional Australians just can’t keep taking the hits. We are tired of being treated like the poor cousins of the cities,” he said.

“We need Prime Minister (Anthony) Albanese and his Labor government to take us seriously and show that they listen to our needs by including us in their May 2023-2024 budget.”

Across all levels of government - council, state and federal - different representatives promote different priorities.

For One Nation Mirani MP Stephen Andrew, a federally funded body to assess the accuracy of scientific claims is a key issue.

“The federal government should start funding an independent scientific review board,” he said.

“All of this so-called science to do with climate and all this other stuff ... there seems to be a lot of peer-review, but there is not an independent checker to tell whether these sciences are actually on the money.”

To get a sense of what is most important to move our region forward, we asked every Greater Whitsunday political leader for their “budget wishlists”.