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The good and bad of the budget

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Last week’s Federal Budget held a few incentives for Narrandera and other centres covered by the Narrandera Argus, including funding for key health worker accommodation across the Murrumbidgee Local Health District, a Leeton hospital upgrade, Griffith Hospital redevelopment plus Stronger Country Communities funding for Lockhart and The Rock swimming pools and continuation of the NSW Koala Strategy aimed at doubling koala numbers in NSW by 2050.

Some of these allocations were:

  • $15 million Key Health Worker Accommodation across Murrumbidgee Local Health District.
  • $1.2 million Leeton Hospital upgrade
  • $250 million Griffith Hospital redevelopment.
  • $5.7 million Rural Health Infrastructure Program in Deniliquin and Leeton
  • $7.1 million in 2022-23 for Stage 2 of major upgrades at both Murrumbidgee Regional High School sites to complete the transition to the new education model, including a library upgrade, a new multipurpose space at the Griffith site and a new gymnasium and assembly space at the Wade site.
  • $1.2 million in 2022-23 to deliver upgrades to boarding facilities at Yanco Agricultural High School, providing an improved residential experience.
  • $68.4 million for the planning and construction of overtaking lanes along the full length of the Newell Highway (state and federally funded), including in the Riverina Murray)
  • More than $330 million from the Commonwealth Government to accelerate the Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment Mechanism to help meet long-term targets set in the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
  • $131.5 million from the Commonwealth Government over three years to deliver water efficiency measures through the Off-farm Efficiency programs including $124.0 million for Murrumbidgee Irrigation Limited to deliver water savings by improving water delivery infrastructure.
  • $22.6 million to deliver new and upgraded quality homes for First Nations people through the Aboriginal Housing Office
  • $145.9 million to continue to deliver the NSW Koala Strategy, targeted at conservation actions with the long-term goal of doubling koala numbers in New South Wales by 2050.

Lockhart and The Rock Swimming Pools $1.5 million was provided from the Stronger Country Communities Fund to refurbish the Lockhart and The Rock Swimming Pools, providing modern maintenance and accessible facilities to meet the long-term needs of the community. Both pools were at the end of their lives and required significant refurbishments to meet safety and operational obligations.

With funding from the RGF, these projects have delivered modern, all-abilities access amenities across three heated pools at Lockhart and two pools and adjacent playground at The Rock.

Modern community infrastructure plays an integral part in attracting and retaining new families of all ages and abilities, which will benefit the community at large for years to come.

However, Federal Member for Farrer Sussan Ley MP said Labor’s Federal Budget claimed the Budget was devastating for regional Australians including throughout the Riverina and Central West.

“It will do nothing to help the family budget,” she said. “Power prices are going to rise by 56 per cent and your mortgage will continue to increase by hundreds and hundreds of dollars every month. You are going to keep paying more and more money for less and less goods at the supermarket.

“Anthony Albanese promised many things to many people, but the most important commitment he made was that he would ‘leave no one behind’. Well, more than five months since this Labor Government was elected and millions and millions of Australians ARE being left behind..

No one expected Anthony Albanese to solve all of these problems, but the problem is that this Budget has no plan to deal with any of these challenges.

“The PM promised to reduce your power bill by $275 almost 100 times before the last election but he hasn’t once uttered that figure since. That was a lie. He said he was committed to delivering tax relief that the Coalition promised, tax relief that would benefit 95% of Australians -Jim Chalmers is doing his best to make sure that was a lie.

“The scrapping of regional programs is going to hurt local communities across the country. Let Anthony Albanese go to Bourke, Griffith and Shepparton and tell these people they don’t deserve their fair share. It’s everything regional Australia feared in this new government and we see it coming to fruition now.”

Federal Member for Riverina Michael McCormack MP said Riverina country communities had been left behind in the Federal Budget in what he claimed was a devastating budget for regional Australians.

“Labor has ripped the heart out of the agriculture industry and is creating a two-tiered society,” he said.

“There is no money to reinstate the Ag Visa and the Government has scrapped Round 2 of the Agricultural Shows Development Grant program. There is nothing planned to specifically help agriculture through the flooding crisis.

“Labor has shunned Wagga Wagga Veterans by dropping funding for a well-being centre for veterans which the previous Government committed $5 million for a much-needed centre in the Riverina.

“Labor promised a $275 cut in power bills yet the Treasurer told struggling Australians electricity prices would escalate – retail electricity prices are predicted to increase by more than 50 per cent. It has failed our most vulnerable when it comes to energy prices.”

Mr McCormack said it was back to the bad old days when Labor treated rural and regional Australians as second-class citizens.

They had dropped programs which delivered infrastructure needed, deserved and expected such as water recycling, better main streets and sports stadiums.

“Regional communities miss out yet Melbourne gets $2.2 billion for the Suburban Rail Loop and Canberra gets money for light rail. It is not good enough,” he said.

“Small businesses, including farmers, will suffer from Labor scrapping the instant asset write-off. The popular initiative grew jobs and helped many Riverina and Central West family businesses survive the drought and the pandemic.

“Murray-Darling Basin communities are in the dark about Labor’s plans. The spectre of water buybacks, which devastate towns and farms, looms large over our rural and regional communities with an undisclosed sum budgeted for buybacks,” Mr McCormack said.

Narrandera Argus 3 November 2022

This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 3 November 2022.

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