Budget another lost opportunity for regional Australia
11th May, 2010
Regional Australians must be wondering why they have again been ignored in the third Rudd Budget, yet still have to pay their share of the cost of Labor’s mammoth borrowing program which amounts to $700,000,000 a week for the next three years. The Leader of The Nationals, Warren Truss, said there was no new money for roads, more cutbacks for agriculture, a giant new tax on mining, nothing much for regional health and no hope or vision for a more productive economy.
“For the third Budget in a row, the people of regional Australia have copped it tonight,” Mr Truss said. “Instead of some recognition for their hard work in keeping Australia out of recession, they have been ignored or attacked.”
Labor’s debt is already at an all-time record and interest payments alone next financial year will amount to $4,600,000,000, and $6,500,000,000 the following year. Any claims of returning to surplus at some time in the future under Labor can be put in the same category as every other Rudd Labor broken promise.
More money is being ripped from taxpayer’s wallets and purses to fix up Labor disasters. Undoing Labor’s roof insulation debacle will cost $1 billion, another $1 billion goes to house asylum seekers after Labor weakened border protection and yet another $1 billion will be spent on school computer cost overruns.
Mr Rudd’s new bureaucracy for health has demanded $500 million in extra spending, none of which will go towards delivery hospital services.
“The Budget provides no new money for road funding or regional development. Funding in 2010-11 for local government will be $1.21 billion less than in 2009-10 because of the clawback of an advance payment and the termination of the Community Infrastructure Program.
“Again, there is no funding for a regional development programs promised by Labor before the election. There is no new funding for Quarantine or Customs, meaning inspections occurring at air and sea ports will continue to decline.
“The Budget cuts another $81.3 million from Caring for Our Country, including $10.9 million from Landcare as Labor continues its assault on this iconic community based program. The Regional Food Producers program has been cut by $5.5 million.
“The Budget provides no new funding for the Export Market Development Grants scheme, leaving the fund at least $30 million short in 2009-10 and $80 million short in 2010-11. As a result exporters will only be able to claim a refund of two-thirds of the money they have already spent on export promotion.
“The Budget also introduces fuel excise charges for ethanol and LPG for the first time, phased in from 2011 to 2015.
“The word ‘regional’ appears only once in the Treasurer’s Budget speech and ‘agriculture’ not at all. That alone shows the contempt with which the Government treats regional Australia.
“And hidden behind the election is the biggest slug of all on regional Australia – Rudd Labor’s emissions trading scheme,” Mr Truss said.
