May 15, 2024
The three LNP MPs who represent different slices of the South Burnett have all reacted negatively to Tuesday night’s Federal Budget:
Leader of The Nationals – and Member for Maranoa – David Littleproud said Labor had “continued to ignore regional Australia … cutting regional infrastructure projects and failing to provide new money for regional programs, while refusing to fix its self-made cost-of-living crisis”.
“This year’s Budget has demonstrated again that not only has regional Australia had critical infrastructure ripped away, but will also bear the cost of higher mortgages, higher energy bills and higher food prices.”
He said Labor spent $1.6 billion less on road and rail projects this year than it promised five months ago in its Mid-Year Economic Fiscal Outlook.
Mr Littleproud said the $300 energy rebate was “an admission that Labor’s energy policy has failed and they’re covering over the cracks with taxpayers’ money, to politically defer the impact of higher energy prices until after the election”.
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Member for Flynn Colin Boyce labelled the Budget “a betrayal to regional Australia”.
Mr Boyce said Labor had refused “to fix its self-made cost-of-living crisis”.
“Labor’s decision to slash funding to restore Paradise Dam is a kick in the guts to not only the Bundaberg area but the agricultural industry as a whole,” Mr Boyce said.
“Instead of addressing the causes of Labor’s homegrown inflation, Labor’s spending is up by $315 billion. That is $30,000 of extra spending for every Australian household.
“There are still a lot of questions that need to be answered about Labor’s Future Made in Australia Bill.
“This includes $13.7 billion in taxpayer funded subsidies for business, which doesn’t address the source of Labor’s cost-of-living and cost of doing business crisis.”
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Member for Wide Bay Llew O’Brien said the word “higher” summed up everything people needed to know about the Budget.
“Labor’s recipe for last night’s Budget is filled with higher taxes, higher spending, higher debt, higher deficits, higher interest payments, topped up with higher immigration, all leading to higher cost of living pressures and baking in higher inflation,” Mr O’Brien said.
“Everywhere I go, people are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet, and the Albanese Labor Government’s 2024-25 Budget does nothing to address the root cause of Labor’s cost-of-living crisis to eliminate inflation.
“This Budget fails the key test – to tackle inflation at the source. That is the only way to deliver lasting cost-of-living relief.”
Mr O’Brien said the Federal Government’s immigration program would continue to put pressure on housing affordability and homelessness with nearly 1.7 million new migrants coming to Australia over five years while housing approvals were at an 11 year low.
And he said the Budget contained “a secret funding allocation” for the $14.2 billion Borumba Pumped Hydro Scheme.
Our LNP members say we’re in a “self-made cost-of-living crisis?”. That’s true because they made it, not the current government.
How bad does our standard of living need to decline before people stop voting for these clowns? They create problems and then come with “solutions” to fix the problems they created.
Jack up power prices by $1500 a year and then give us $300 rebate.
People can’t afford to rent or buy house and have to live in tents and cars.
Every Labor government since Whitlam has done it. Keating with the recession we “had to have”.
And the media cheers them on as economic geniuses.
The ridiculous handouts and drunken sailor spending of the Morrison/Frydenberg government has delivered the inflation and housing bubble we now see.
The only way to work through the insidious curse of inflation is to pull back government spending, especially as the Stage 3 tax cuts come into effect. The Coalition were even going to force the Labor government to keep the most largesse, top end benefits of these tax cuts.
I guess the LNP is of the opinion if you say it enough, people will believe it so they are trying to transfer the blame of creating this inflation monster. They have already given the Labor the responsibility to fight it.