Senator Fiona Nash, Deputy Leader of The Nationals in the Senate, has tonight slammed the Rudd Government’s budget as a “big spending and high taxing classic Labor budget that leaves the regions behind.”
Senator Nash said Labor’s budget had confirmed the worst fears of rural and regional Australia. Kevin Rudd and Labor are city centric and don’t care about the millions of Australians who choose to call the regions home.
“The peak debt bill of $93.7 billion will be the amount owed by the Australian people to pay for Kevin Rudd’s spending spree. Regional Australian’s will have to pay for Labor’s borrowing program which amounts to $700,000,000 a week for the next three years.
“Regional health services need more beds and less desks, yet the Government has allocated $500 million to establish more Commonwealth bureaucracy instead of real action on health.
“The Treasurer announced another 23 so-called Super GP clinics yet the Government have only delivered 2 fully operational centres out of the 36 that they promised at the last election. Clearly Labor can’t be trusted.
“I am bitterly disappointed that there is nothing in the budget for inner regional students left devastated by Rudd Labor’s appalling changes to youth allowance. Once again country students are going to miss out because Labor doesn’t care.
“The Rudd Government is also introducing an excise of 25 cents per litre from 1 July 2011 on ethanol which will hurt regional Australia. Last week the Nationals through the Page Research Centre called on the Government to rule out any excise until 2015.
“The Labor Budget cuts another $81.3 million from the Caring for Our Country program, including $10.9 million from Landcare as Labor continues its assault on this iconic community based program.
“Our nation’s farmers who generate 60% of our export income, have been completely neglected by Rudd Labor. Farmers trying to compete with imports, drought and Labor’s neglect of regional infrastructure have been let down again.
“I am also extremely concerned that no vital new funding was announced for quarantine reform which is so important to protect our nation’s food security, particularly after Minister Burke’s embarrassing BSE debacle.
“Rudd Labor’s budget does not invest a single additional dollar in Australia’s major road networks. There is no additional funding for the duplication of the Pacific Highway, another Kevin Rudd broken election promise.
“The only way to return prosperity to the regions and get the nation back on track is to elect a Coalition Government at the next Federal Election. Hidden behind the election is the biggest slug of all on regional Australia – Rudd Labor’s emissions trading scheme.
“Regional Australian’s have every right to feel abandoned by this out of touch Rudd Labor Government.
There are currently no comments, be the first to post one.