MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Mr VENNING (Grey) (16:20): To understand the country, you actually have to visit it. But, more than that, you have to listen. Only yesterday I was in Coober Pedy—just one of the many communities forgotten by Labor.
I've been travelling and listening every day, recently in the far west coast, the far north and the far north-east. There I heard from residents, station owners and industry leaders. Whilst these communities are remote, they are vital to South Australia.
Out in the bush, your word is all you have. If you make a promise, you keep it. If you say you're going to help a neighbour, you help them.
If you say you're going to do something, you do it. Unlike Labor, this is the code we live by in the country. To them a promise is just a script for a TV ad.
Their word is absolutely useless. Let's look at the facts. I spoke with David Bell from Dulkaninna Station.
He told me about the Birdsville Track. This road carries over half a billion dollars worth of stock every year. It is a vital freight path.
It needs to be sealed. It has been closed for 150 days, and station owners can't get their stock in and out and are instead still going through Queensland. The Albanese government is looking to slash local road funding, essential support, from $78 million to $60 million.
Even with supplementary funding, South Australia remains the lowest funded state in the nation on a per capita basis. Since 2017, our supplementary funding has been frozen at $20 million, meaning that Labor's inflation has already silently cut this vital program by more than 20 per cent. This is a broken promise from a government that said it would leave no Australian behind.
Labor also promised to deliver on regional health, but in Port Lincoln, amazingly, they are still waiting on an Medicare urgent care clinic. Whyalla received a clinic, which I welcome, but the data shows a greater need in Port Lincoln. This is an act that looks decidedly political.
The government promised to fix child care. I have the lowest access to child care in the whole country. They announced the Building Early Education Fund grant program.
We got excited, but look at the rules. In Crystal Brook, Andrew Sargent and the community group is ready to build, but the rules say that you must already own a centre to apply. It locks out the very people—the community volunteers—who need it the most.
It is a plan for the city, made by people from the city. I'll say it again: in the country, if you make a promise, you keep it. My electors in Grey will remember those broken promises.
If you say you're going to help a neighbour, you help them. This is another broken promise from a government that said it wouldn't leave the country behind. Its word is worthless.
Finally, we come to this very budget. Anthony Albanese promised no new taxes, no changes to super and no changes to CGT. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ): I will remind the member to use correct titles in the House, please.
Mr VENNING: But, as you know, his word is his bond, and, just like Pinocchio, his nose gets longer. He is now planning a housing tax and a tax on family and farming trusts, and he's letting bracket creep take $2,000 a year from workers. This is the highest-taxing government in history.
The government's new tax on discretionary trust distributions and adjustments to the capital gains discount pose a massive risk to family planning. Farmers use trusts to manage volatile income and to transition family ownership. If trusts lose that flexibility, regular farming families could face crippling tax bills.
Combined with potential changes to CGT on land transfers, these policies risk draining finances. There is the old adage that farmers die rich but live poor. Increased tax liabilities will disrupt family farming models and force unintended asset sales just for farmers to stay afloat.
This government gave its word to regional Australia, but it broke it on roads, broke it on health and broke it on taxes because Labor's word is worthless.