“In the Albanese Government’s last Budget, Labor has once again cut funding to regional, rural and remote Australians in the Parkes electorate.,” Member for Parkes Mark Coulton said.

Mr Coulton said there is absolutely nothing in this Budget for regional Australia, other than more cuts.

“Labor has no new funding for the Stronger Communities Program, Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, Growing Regions Program and the Regional Precincts and Partnership Program, critical to building community infrastructure in regional Australia,” Mr Coulton said.

“Labor has again deferred $190 million in funding for Paradise Dam, Hughenden Irrigation Scheme and Big Rocks Weir, while hiding the cost of its Murray-Darling Basin Plan.”

Mr Coulton said Labor is obviously raiding what was left of regional community programs to pay for 41,000 new Canberra public servants. The Budget has no money for extra childcare places in the Parkes electorate or anything to fix a few roads or even a pothole.

“Even after being in Government for three years, the Albanese Government will spend less than one per cent of Labor’s infrastructure announcements in 2025-26. Regional Australians in the Parkes electorate will not only bear the brunt of more infrastructure cuts, but have the extra burden of Labor’s cost-of-living crisis.

“Labor’s $150 energy rebate is a fraction of the cost of energy bills that have increased by up to $1300 since Labor came to government. The proposed 70 cents a day election bribe doesn’t come in until next year, while Labor continues to run away from fixing the fundamentals of what is driving cost-of-living pressures, that regional Australia can be the solution to.

“The key to this is a sensible energy policy, which in the short-term is flooding the market with Australian gas and in the long-term transitioning to nuclear energy, which is $263 billion cheaper than Labor’s all-renewables approach. Under a future Coalition Government, regional Australia in Parkes won’t just get its fair share of funding, it will also be the solution to solving the nation’s cost-of-living crisis.”