LABOR’S BUDGET IGNORES DAWSON AGAIN
Federal Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox, said Labor has continued to ignore Dawson in its Budget, cutting regional infrastructure projects, and failing to provide new money for regional programs in Dawson, while refusing to fix its self-made cost-of-living crisis.
“To say that I am totally underwhelmed would be the understatement of the century. Not once was Dawson mentioned in the budget. Nowhere in my electorate of Dawson was mentioned within this Budget.
“Once again, the Albanese Labor Government has left regional and rural Australia behind.
“The Prime Minister said when he was elected two years ago, ‘no one would be held back, no one would be left behind’, but that’s only if you live in a capital city and not in Dawson,” Mr Willcox said.
“This year’s Budget has demonstrated again that not only has regional Australia had critical infrastructure ripped away, but will also bear the cost of higher mortgages, higher energy bills and higher food prices.”
Labor spent $1.6 billion less on road and rail projects this year than it promised just five months ago in its Mid-Year Economic Fiscal Outlook.
Mr Willcox said Labor could find money for 36,000 extra Canberra bureaucrats but couldn’t spend money to even fill in the potholes on the Bruce Highway, let alone build new roads for the regions.
“The Prime Minister and his Treasurer promised that this budget would be the “budget for the Bruce,” but disappointingly, the most dangerous section of the Bruce has been left out of this budget completely, with the $467 million promised just days ago going to the Southeast corner.”
Labor has cut $592.3 million in funding for multiple projects across the state, redirecting the savings to ‘other priorities’ not even announced yet. This is in addition to more than $7 billion that was taken out of water infrastructure in Labor’s first Budget in 2022.
Labor’s rebates for energy bills, of $300 per household, comes after Labor’s plans for 28,000 kilometres of transmissions lines and billions of dollars in tax incentives for ‘green energy’ projects, ripping up agricultural land and remnant vegetation in the name of renewables.
Mr Willcox said the $300 energy rebate is an admission that Labor’s energy policy has failed and they’re covering over the cracks with taxpayers’ money, to politically defer the impact of higher energy prices until after the election.
Labor is pressing ahead with its new fresh food tax, called a biosecurity protection levy. Food costs will continue to climb because Labor is refusing to reinstate the AgVisa, instead introducing just $1 million in its Budget for a ‘skilled agricultural work liaison pilot’ to attract graduates to work in agriculture.
Labor has no plan to address regional Australia’s housing crisis in Dawson, despite bringing in nearly 1.7 million new migrants over the next five years.
“Regional Australia and Dawson has been betrayed in Labor’s Budget.
“Sadly, it is clear Labor has no plan to fix its cost-of-living crisis and regional families will feel the pain in their wallets. Under Labor, regional Australians in Dawson are poorer and being hit with higher taxes, higher mortgage repayments and higher grocery and energy bills.”