Tom Venning
Grey · Liberal Party · Australia
“Residential burglaries, commercial property theft and daylight shoplifting have left citizens and business owners feeling completely helpless as crime targets every sector of this great regional community. Police statistics show the town is in the midst of a spate of burglaries, with 34 incidents recorded in the first half of June alone.”
“For the Port Augusta community, the most difficult part of this crime wave is what they view as a revolving door bail system for serious juvenile offenders and a lack of quality youth diversion programs in the region. Police can only do so much.”
“Mr Kean was personally chosen by the Prime Minister to lead the Climate Change Authority. It has now been revealed that he spent over $32,000 on one single trip to Brazil last year for an international climate conference.”
“Imagine sitting around the dining table with your family and telling them, 'We're going to spend more money than we receive every year for the next 10 years.' You wouldn't. In fact, you can't, yet that's exactly what this Labor government and this Treasurer are doing. To pay for this, they deploy toxic taxes, assaulting aspiration.”
“Labor cannot manage money, so they continue to come after yours. The average Australian's paying 39 per cent more tax under this government. Since Labor was elected, Australia suffered the biggest fall in living standards in the developed world.”
“It's lifting prices, inflating government charges and pushing hardworking Australians into paying more tax. While Labor profits from this inflation, their tax cuts do not keep up. At 70c a day, they won't even buy a cup of coffee a week.”
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“Let me tell you about Alby Pierson. Alby is a small-business owner. He runs Roadys Towing and Recovery in Moonta. For businesses like his, Labor's budget and their inability to manage inflation and the fuel crisis have delivered doubt and uncertainty. He has told my office about the impacts of fuel prices and Labor's taxes on him and his family. He is unable to plan for future jobs. He is unable to plan for the future of his business. He said: Previously, I was paying $6,000 per month on fuel. Last month, it was $12,000 and I was down 800 litres. It is quite stressful. He also told me: I work hard 24/7, recently I went out to the Nullarbor and spent 4 days away from my family. While I was out there all I could think about was how half of the money from this will go to Albo. He went on to say: We are digging into our savings.”
“And what happens when a local butcher or a publican makes an honest mistake or a late payment simply because they don't have the cash in the till? They'll be slapped with penalties. If you want to see the government's true priorities, you need to look at the budget papers. The government allocated a petty $1.3 million to the Fair Work Commission to help small businesses navigate an increasingly complex and hostile dispute resolution system. Yet, in the same breath, they allocated $5.3 million to the CFMEU. That's $5.3 million of taxpayer money to continue propping up the administration of the CFMEU. Small businesses are the self-starters of our nation. They work weekends. They work nights. They sacrifice holidays and do everything to put themselves in a position to get ahead. I see this in my own electorate of Grey.”
“But, for a hospitality venue in Clare or a local manufacturer in Wudinna, it is a sudden, brutal drain on their cash flow. Superannuation is not the issue here. We all know it's critical to our workforce system and a vital payment that all employees are entitled to. This is not the debate. But, under this scheme, money will now leave businesses much sooner, fundamentally altering their working capital at a time when they are already being battered by high inflation, record energy costs and a raft of burdensome industrial relations changes. What specific support measures has the government offered to help these cash-poor businesses adjust? There are absolutely none. Instead, they are forcing small operators, whose simple payroll systems were, previously, completely, perfectly adequate, to undertake expensive updates.”
“I rise today on behalf of the engine room of our economy: our small businesses. In particular, I'm standing up for the small businesses in regional South Australia. Under this Labor government we're witnessing a complete disconnect between the Treasury benches and the daily reality faced by mum-and-dad enterprises. Labor has comprehensively lost touch. They govern for big unions and big city projects, while leaving regional South Australian businesses out in the cold. In the budget released last month, only two per cent of the infrastructure pipeline was for regional Australia. Look no further than the impending payday super changes that will roll out on 1 July. This government attempts to frame this as a simple administrative update.”
“The maths ain't mathing, especially when the government starts taking a bigger slice of an ever-shrinking pie. But we have a plan to fix this. I want to give people hope. I want to reward effort. We want an economy that works for you and works to restore our way of life.”
“From the year 2028 a coalition government will index the bottom two thresholds to inflation. This will protect around 85 per cent of income earners. It will deliver relief of around $250 in year 1, growing to more than $1,000 in year 4. From the year 2031 we will index the top two thresholds as well. This will protect all taxpayers. Because of inflation, the tax cuts from Labor will be wiped out by Christmas. Ours will not. We will stop this cycle at the source. Any government that wants to tax people more should have the courage and the conviction to take that to an election. Instead, Labor use inflation to do the work for them. They let prices rise, they push wages into higher brackets and they take the cash. It is simply not fair. Families sit around the kitchen table trying to make the math work, but the maths ain't mathing.”
“Labor is taking money from Australians through inflation. They take it at the supermarket, they take it on your mortgage and they take it silently every year through bracket creep. They did not pass laws to do this. Australians do not notice it until they look in their bank accounts. The inflation tax must end. This is why we announced our tax-back guarantee. We are forced to live within our means. So should the government. The tax-back guarantee is an automatic tax cut. It gets bigger every year, to help with the cost of living. It protects wages by indexing income tax thresholds to inflation. This means you do not get taxed more simply because prices have gone up and government cannot control its spending. We believe that when you earn money, risk your money and save your money you get to keep it.”
“There is no comfort in a wage increase if inflation just eats it away before the money hits the bank account. The best way to improve living standards is to get inflation down, lift productivity and support businesses so they can employ more people. If you run a small business you know how hard it is. You want to hire, but you just cannot afford it. We saw the labour force data last week. Almost 700,000 Australians are unemployed. It is critical that Labor drops its taxes on businesses and tackles inflation. When businesses struggle with costs and taxes they create fewer jobs. They offer fewer opportunities for people looking for work. Wage increases mean nothing to Australian families if you don't have a job in the first place. This government has pushed an agenda that means households go backwards.”
“The coalition supports the decision by the Fair Work Commission to increase the minimum wage by 4.75 per cent. We want people to take home more pay. We want to see them rewarded for their work. And for those opposite to suggest otherwise is a gross distortion of the truth. That is nothing new from them in this House. But we need to look at the reality behind those numbers. The commission noted that while last year gave us a wage increase, inflation has opened up that gap again. Let me be clear: the wage gap is a result of Labor failing to control inflation. Under this government, wages have gone backwards by three per cent since they took office. Labor's budget forecasts show that wages will continue to fall. We want all wages to rise. But living standards improve only if we lower inflation and increase the size of the economy.”
“We face a tax on young Australians who are just trying to get ahead. We face a tax on small business and startups, the engine room of our economy. This is a budget of broken promises. This budget breaks the Australian dream. It is an assault on aspiration. It pulls the ladder of opportunity up from young people before they get their foot on the rung. It does nothing to improve intergenerational inequality. It makes the problem worse. It is intergenerational fraud. I repeat: Labor cannot manage money, so they are coming after yours. It makes sense. On that side of the house, no-one has started a business, worked in the private sector or taken risks. They are all union hacks.”
“The government tell us they are building an economy that works for all Australians where they can earn more and keep more of what they earn, but this is plainly not true. They are breaking the economy. They are hurting workers, families and businesses. It is plain to see Labor can't manage money, so they are coming after yours. Australians did not vote for these big new taxes. The Prime Minister promised before the last election that he would not introduce them. He said this on more than 50 occasions, but he broke every single one of those promises. He showed disregard for the people of this country. This budget is designed to manage the decline of the economy. It is not designed to grow it. We now face a death tax. We now face a tax on family savings. We now face a tax on renters. We face a tax on first home buyers.”
“In the real world, a handshake means something, a commitment is binding, but here in Canberra, under this government, a pre-election guarantee is merely a rough draft subject to immediate reversal the very moment the polls close and the ballot boxes are safely sealed away. I will adhere to these strict rules in the chamber today. I will not say that banned three-letter word—heavens no! I instead say that Labor engaged in a breathtaking display of storytelling where fact and fiction blend to create a river of falsehood.”
“They painted a beautiful picture of the future, completely omitting the dark and taxing clouds they'd already prepared in the background or should I say that Bill Shorten had prepared in the background. The people in my electorate of Grey, the builders, the butchers, the farmers, the fishers and the small business owners—they are certainly not fools. They know when a politician is selling them a pup. They know when a promise is written in disappearing ink. They were promised relief, but instead they are being handed a massive bill by this government for their ideological crusade. If a mechanic in Port Augusta or a farmer in Bute conducted their business the exact way this government conducts itself, they would be run out of town quick smart.”
“Before the election, the Australian public was looked squarely in the eye and offered a very solemn pledge: no changes to CGT. It was an unambiguous commitment—52 times. Yet what have we seen? We've seen a relentless and calculating rollout of toxic taxes that will suffocate regional economies, punish families, cripple our small businesses and do nothing to positively impact housing. When the government went to the polls, they were, let us just say, remarkably creative with their foresight. They presented a complete fiscal fantasy. They suffered a sudden and highly convenient bout of pre-election amnesia regarding their true socialist taxation agenda.”
“I rise today to speak on a matter of national disappointment. It is a matter concerning the current government and their refusal to be honest with the Australian people about their plans for new taxes prior to the last election. Despite having slipped this week on more than one occasion, I'm actually a student of the standing orders, and I will respect them. I know full well that I am from forbidden from using a certain three letter word to describe the statements made by those opposite. I'm simply not allowed to call those pre-election guarantees Labor—I can't do it. Therefore, out of respect for you and the rules of this House, I will not do that today. I will refrain from calling this government and their promises what every single Australian sitting at home already knows. Let us look at the facts.”
“We wanted to build a society where people with disabilities were valued, respected and supported to live their best lives. We wanted a system that provided certainty and security. That vision is still entirely valid. It is still worth fighting for. But a vision without a sustainable foundation is just a dream. We can make this dream a reality, but we must answer this question: if the NDIS is here to support people in need, who is going to support the NDIS? To this I say the coalition is ready to answer the call.”
“The financial pressures are real and growing rapidly every single passing day. We cannot simply wish them away or ignore them for political convenience. We owe it to the current participants to fix the system and clean up the mess. We owe it to the young children who will need this scheme in the decades to come. We owe it to the taxpayers, who are funding this vital national endeavour. The government must step up and show real leadership right now. They must stop playing at the edges and start delivering the structural reform that is so desperately needed. They must clear out the scammers and the rorters, who are treating this scheme like an easy target to fatten their bank accounts. They must restore integrity in the system so that public confidence can be rebuilt.”
“We need a long-term strategy for the NDIS. We need to integrate the scheme more effectively with our mainstream services. The NDIS was never meant to be an oasis in a desert; it was meant to work alongside other services to provide holistic support. The government has neglected this aspect of the design. They have allowed the NDIS to become the only option for many people, leading to a massive increase in its demand. We need to build the capacity of mainstream services so that people with disabilities can get the support they need in places like Kadina, Port Augusta, Port Lincoln and Whyalla without having to rely solely on the NDIS. If we want to secure the NDIS for future generations, we must act with urgency and purpose. We must acknowledge that the current path is completely unsustainable.”
“It introduces tighter controls on how funds can be spent. It provides greater powers to the regulatory body to investigate and prosecute fraud. It aims to clarify the definition of 'reasonable and necessary supports', ensuring that funding is directed towards evidence based therapies and interventions. These are necessary steps, and we support the intent of these measures. We believe that we must tighten the rules to protect the very purpose of the scheme. But legislation alone is simply not enough. The government must be committed to implementing these changes effectively. They must provide the resources necessary to ensure that these new rules are enforced. They must work closely with the states and the territories to ensure a consistent approach across the entire country. We also need to look beyond the immediate term.”
“They face a constant burden of administration and paperwork just to survive day to day in this system. Yet the scammers seem to navigate the system with ease. They know how to game the rules. They know how to extract the maximum profits with the minimum amount of effort. This creates a two-tiered system. Those who are honest and play by the rules are penalised while those who are dishonest are rewarded. We've got to flip the script. We must make it easier for genuine participants to get the support that they need. We must make it harder for scammers to exploit the system. This requires a fundamental shift in how the scheme is administered. It requires a government that is vigilant, proactive and willing to enforce the rules. The bill before us today seeks to address some of these critical issues.”
“The real tragedy of this situation is the impact it has on the genuine participants of the scheme. Every dollar that is wasted on scams is a dollar lost. It is not available for someone who genuinely needs that support. In my electorate, 5,666 people are supported by the NDIS, many of them with profound disabilities living hundreds of kilometres from the nearest specialised medical facilities. We have families who are exhausted, fighting bureaucratic battles to get care for their children, their parents or their partners. Meanwhile, money is draining out of the system at the other end. This is deeply unfair. The system has been incredibly complex and difficult to navigate. Genuine participants are forced to jump through endless hoops to prove their need.”
“We see filthy behaviours that target the most weak and helpless Australians. This is a completely unacceptable situation, and this Labor government has been far too slow to crack down on this horrific behaviour. When people see this kind of waste and abuse, it undermines public confidence in the entire system. Australians are generous people. They really are. They are willing to pay taxes for this support, but they expect their money to be used wisely. They do not want their taxes lining the pockets of unscrupulous operators. The government has a duty to protect the integrity of the scheme. They have a duty to ensure that every dollar spent is a dollar that directly benefits the person with a disability. By failing to act decisively against these scammers, this government is failing in its duty.”
“This is a rampant and disgraceful betrayal of the taxpayers who fund the scheme and a betrayal of the vulnerable Australians who need our help. Thus, we find ourselves at a critical juncture. We must ask ourselves a very serious question about the future viability of the program. I ask again: if the NDIS is here to support the people in need, who is going to support the NDIS? Let us look closely at how the system is being milked. We see providers charging double or triple the market rate for everyday services. A service that costs one price for a regular citizen suddenly costs vastly more on the NDIS. That is a rort. We see invoicing for services that were never delivered. We see unnecessary therapies that do not align with the treatment plans. We see aggressive marketing tactics aimed at vulnerable people. We see pressure. We see pain.”
“There are providers charging exorbitant fees and claiming payments for basic assistance needs. They do this simply because the participant has an NDIS plan. These bad apples see the NDIS as a golden ticket, a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow to get rich quick. This has to stop. There are businesses that have sprung up overnight to take advantage of funding, but this is not just a few bad apples; it's a whole damn orchard of NDIS scammers. This is a systemic problem. The system was designed with a high level of trust. It was assumed that providers would act in the best interest of their participants. Unfortunately, that trust has been used and it has been abused. The focus has shifted from providing necessary support to gouging profits.”
“We cannot wait for another review. We cannot wait for another election. Commonsense reforms are needed to rein in the costs and ensure the scheme is there for those who truly need it in their lives. The legislation before us, the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026, is a step in the right direction. It aims to put guardrails around the scheme. It aims to ensure that the funding is targeted to those who need it most. It is about restoring the original intent of the NDIS as an insurance scheme. One of the main reasons the costs have spiralled out of control is the lack of integrity in the system. The NDIS has become a soft target for those who wish to exploit it. We have all heard the stories. We have all seen the reports and the shock pieces on social media.”
“The government had years to address these cost pressures. They received report after report warning them about the financial trajectory of the scheme, yet their response has been slow. Indeed, when the coalition was in government, we put in legislation to make the NDIS sustainable. Labor voted against those measures—the hypocrisy. Labor have introduced minor tweaks when we need structural reform. They have formed committees and ordered reviews instead of taking decisive action to fix the problems. The lack of leadership is putting the entire scheme at risk. When a government fails to manage the budget of a major program, it is the people who rely on that program who suffer. If the NDIS collapses under its own weight, it is the participants who will lose their support entirely. This is why we must act now.”
“If we do not intervene, the NDIS will soon cost more than Medicare. Under Labor, the NDIS costs more than defence—more than defence! This is not a sustainable pathway. We simply cannot ignore these numbers. We have a responsibility to manage the budget carefully. We have a responsibility to ensure that tax revenue is used effectively. The Labor government has failed to take this responsibility seriously. They have allowed costs to spiral out of control. They've ignored the warning signs. They have focused on a short-term political gain rather than the long-term viability of the NDIS. We need a government that is willing to make the tough decisions. We need a government that is willing to support and secure the future of the NDIS. I do not say this to be partisan. I say this because the reality is stark.”
“It was designed to invest in people early, to improve outcomes and to reduce the overall cost over their lifetimes. This was the correct goal. Every member supported that goal. We wanted a system that would give people choice and give people control. We wanted a system that would help people participate fully in our society. That is the scheme that we voted for. That is the scheme Australians thought that they were getting. But, today, we're looking at a scheme that has drifted from its intent. The financial trajectory of the NDIS is unsustainable. When the scheme was established, we were given projections about its costs. Those projections have blown out of the water entirely. We are now looking at a scheme that is costing tens of billions of dollars more than anyone could have anticipated.”
“The National Disability Insurance Scheme is a headline generator, a conversation starter and a source of continual work for my electorate office. It is both a vital support mechanism and a system that has regularly let people down. The coalition understands that the NDIS remains a significant social reform in our history. However, we must pose a hard question: if the NDIS is here to support people in need, who is going to support the NDIS? When the scheme was first proposed, it received bipartisan support across this chamber. We agreed that the previous system was failing. The old system was fragmented and unfair. People with disabilities were falling through the cracks of a broken system. The vision of the NDIS was clear; it was meant to be an insurance scheme, not a welfare system to exploit.”
“It is a broken promise. Labor is shutting the door on young people who are already locked out of the housing market and acting like they're Robin Hood. We oppose the housing tax. We oppose the tax on family savings. We oppose the tax on trusts, which will smash—”
“By the end of their first two terms, they will have brought in two million migrants, overshooting their own targets while failing to build the homes we need to keep pace with this population growth. Their own budget confirms that their new housing taxes will mean 35,000 fewer homes over the next decade. It is really baffling reading. One of the most disturbing parts of this budget is its demographic and age based welfare. They are pulling the ladder up on younger Australians and small business owners who are simply trying to get ahead and taxing older generations who have worked hard and saved. They can't manage money, so they are blaming boomers and taking money from the business people who are our regional economies. That is not reform; it is an assault on aspiration. It is a tax on savings. It is a tax on getting ahead.”
“That is higher than in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany. Under Labor, energy is up 40 per cent and rent is up 23 per cent. Food, health insurance—they're all surging. Australians with a typical mortgage are $32,000 a year worse off. Real wages are down three per cent. Things are spiralling. If you feel poorer, it is because you are poorer. For people in rural and remote Australia, this means less money for groceries that are already overpriced compared to cities and towns. It means less money for school fees, sports supplies, school uniforms and school sports. It means less money for fuel, making trips to the doctor or dentist in town all the more difficult. It is an unfair burden. To make matters worse, it is now abundantly clear that Labor has lost control of immigration.”
“This budget reveals the true nature of this government. It is a budget of broken promises, lower living standards and fewer homes built. It is in their own budget papers. But, more than that, it is an ideological budget. It is frighteningly socialist. These numbers speak for themselves. Because Labor can't manage money, we face a decade of deficits worth $150 billion. We are looking at debt of $1.25 trillion. That's $1,250 billion of debt. Every Australian will pay this. The yearly interest bill alone will hit $42 billion. That is $80,000 every single minute. Instead of fixing the problem, Labor is trying to balance the books by burdening the economy with $77 billion of extra taxes. Government spending is now at its highest level in 40 years. Crippling inflation is destroying regional households. It is forecast to hit five per cent.”
“Removed from their families during deeply traumatic times, these young South Australians face sudden uncertainty without a single personal possession to comfort them. That is why I'm standing today to recognise the extraordinary work of Backpacks 4 SA Kids. What began in 2012, with two young families packing items in a carport, has blossomed into a vital lifeline. I'm immensely proud to announce that my three electorate offices in Kadina, Port Pirie and Whyalla are now formal drop-off points for this incredible organisation. I am asking our generous local community to help change a child's journey today. Please drop-off new clothing, toiletries, nappies and toys to our offices. Together, we can give a child in crisis hope, comfort and something to call their home.”
“I'd like to acknowledge the passing of a great man today—Neale Daniher. He showed Australia what courage, dignity and purpose truly look like, even as he faced the cruelty of MND. He turned his battle into a movement of hope and resilience, raising awareness and millions of dollars for research so many others do not live the same way he did with this disease. To so many Aussies, Neale was more than a football legend; he was a symbol of resilience, selflessness and quiet strength. On behalf of the people of Grey, I extend my deepest condolences to his family, his friends and all Australians mourning his passing. Tragically, nine out of 10 children are removed from unsafe situations and placed into care, arriving with absolutely nothing but the clothes on their backs.”
“They want a government that fights for their jobs, protects their local industries and backs their local communities completely. I will always stand up for regional South Australia, and I call on this government to do the same and stop abandoning our regions and start delivering the real support our industries need to survive.”
“Then came the budget, and things get better: $4.7 billion cut from infrastructure spending—two per cent of that is for regional Australia; $21.4 million cut from regional communications; $103 million cut from the National Water Grid; and $191 million cut from the pest and diseases fund, regional trade and drought funding for farmers, with $52 million cut from the Future Drought Fund. The Prime Minister gave his word to regional Australia, but, as we know, his word is his bond, and that bond is pretty damn flimsy. I want to finish by speaking directly for the workers of regional South Australia. The hardworking men and women in the smelter, in the steelworks, in the vines, in the fishing boats, in the fields and, of course, in our towns do not want deals with Europe or heavy green tape costs handed down from Canberra or, indeed, Brussels.”
“This government also cut the Wine Tourism and Cellar Door Grants Program. It's a vital lifeline for regional wine businesses. Then they flooded our market with cheap European wine, directly harming our local premium producers. They seem more focused on pleasing their friends in Brussels and Bordeaux than supporting local regions like Clare and the Barossa Valley. Minister Gallagher publicly posted how this would allow her to get cheaper wine from France. Again, this Labor government is putting Australia second. First, the regions got a terrible deal with the EU and this wonky defence deal.”
“There is nothing free in this free trade deal. Our hardworking farmers, our wine growers, were completely sold out by negotiators who did not understand their needs. The trade minister gave up and stayed at the table when he should have walked away. No deal would have been better than this bad deal. The numbers show how badly we were beaten. On beef, this agreement allows just over 30,000 tonnes of access over a decade. Our industry experts said 50,000 tonnes was the bare minimum to stay competitive. On sheepmeat, the result was insulting. We got 25,000 tonnes, while New Zealand sits on over 160,000 tonnes. Did our negotiators forget to get a calculator? Every major red meat group in this country is devastated by this subpar deal, and our primary producers will pay the price for decades.”
“Constituents in my electorate might also reasonably ask the government why the government is spending time on EU defence alignment instead of investing in regional roads, health and jobs. This lack of regional focus is a clear pattern for this government. While we are on defence, I'd like to address the cuts to Invictus Australia. This government has cut all funding from this program. This is a program that provides vital support for injured and mentally ill veterans who gave everything for our nation. It is a shameful decision, and the government must reconsider its cruel funding cuts to Invictus Australia immediately. But a lack of care for our people and our economy is nothing new for this Labor government. We have only to look at the total failure of their new EU free trade deal. I mean, who are we kidding?”
“I rise today to address the recently signed Australia-European Union Security and Defence Partnership. While the government boasts about our strategic alignment and international cooperation, this agreement raises some serious flags. It threatens to impose heavy European energy and compliance standards on local operations. Local industry should not carry the costs of global deals without guaranteed local benefits. This deal creates uncertainty for key industries during an already tense industrial transition. If we adopt European green targets, we risk lifting overhead costs for places like Whyalla steelworks and the Nyrstar smelter in Port Pirie. This directly risks local jobs and threatens our economic future—and why?”
“They have carried the heavy burdens of distance and neglect. They work hard, they raise their families, and they build our communities. Regional women deserve the world. They deserve expert care right where they live. It is time this parliament stopped abandoning them. We must fund the clinics they need right now in the regions they proudly call home.”
“Whyalla got one, and of course I welcome that, but Port Lincoln was somehow overlooked. The stats show that Port Lincoln was deserving of an urgent Medicare clinic. But, of course, the politics got in the way. Allocating one endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic per PHN is flawed when our network covers such an enormous part of the state. We must listen to patients. Deanna Flynn Wallis is an ambassador for Endometriosis Australia. She says the journey, medical gaslighting and the life impacts are exhausting. She says that South Australians need more clinics for our regional warriors. This lack of foresight extends across all regional health care, including vital maternal support. The women of regional South Australia are tough, but they should not have to fight their own government just to get basic health care.”
“Endometriosis Australia points out that this disease affects one in seven women and that diagnosis can take up to seven years. Expanding access to outer regions is vital, or that wait time could get worse. Local medical staff feel the strain. Dr Anna Kearney from Kadina notes that receiving zero new clinics was 'a bad but not unexpected result'. She also highlights that local doctors can manage period pain but that the government gives them next to zero support to do so. This failure of support also extends to bulk-billing and urgent care clinics across our regions. My office is hearing that the online bulk-billing admin system is a total joke, with local fly-in doctors having to register multiple times only for the system to drop off without warning. Allocated Medicare urgent clinics are also a key issue.”
“For Medicare urgent care clinics, their task is to have four out of five Australians within a 20-minute drive. Again, that does not help regional South Australians. It services the metropolitan communities only. Driving hours to access basic services is wrong. The logistics are complex, especially from the Eyre Peninsula or up north. When regional women face severe pain, infertility and chronic nausea, we tell them to drive hours to get help or we rely on transport schemes to send them to Adelaide instead of treating them locally. We used to be able to treat complex issues in regional hospitals but not any more. Per capita, SA Health spend more money in Adelaide than they do outside of Adelaide. Given the logistical difficulties of serving healthcare in the regions, this is unacceptable.”
“Is a woman from Ceduna, Port Lincoln or Whyalla expected to drive up to seven hours to Kadina? Excluding regional South Australia from these new clinics shows that regional women are being forgotten. I have a serious question to ask this Labor government: do we really have universal health care in this country? Tell that to a woman from Marree or a girl from Elliston. The reality is regional, rural and remote South Australians die younger than the metropolitan cousins. We have suicide rates higher than the rest of the state. The electorate of Grey has the highest rates of type 2 diabetes in the entire country. Councils are needing to cough up 50, 60 or 70 grands just to attract a GP to their communities. It is not good enough. In this Labor government's very own statistics they show they only care about metropolitan Australians.”
“I rise today to speak on this Labor government's women's health package. The government boasts opening 11 new endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics. They brag that 33 clinics are now open nationwide. While those numbers look great here in Canberra, they mask a very clear divide. When it comes to real care, regional South Australia has been entirely left off the map. This government is happy to announce 11 new clinics, but do you know how many were allocated to South Australia—the minister's very own state? Zero, nada, nothing. There are only two endo clinics in South Australia: one in Adelaide and one in Kadina. The PHN for country SA has a population of nearly 500,000 people. That's 250,000 women, yet a single clinic is expected to service them all.”
“Labor's new socialist taxes hit the very people that keep our towns going—small-business owners. They even hid a 30 per cent death tax in the budget as a nice little bit of salt in the wound. This budget hurts our regions and makes life outside the city limits even harder. We need a government that backs our regions, not one that taxes them into oblivion. We need a government that starts putting Australians first. We need to axe the tax and cut the lies.”
“This is the most socialist budget since Whitlam. Labor's budget fails South Australia. It brings more debt, higher taxes and no real cost-of-living relief to our country towns. It cuts infrastructure spending—come and drive on a regional road or find a jetty which isn't closed. We are facing a decade of deficits and over $1 trillion in debt. Where is intergenerational fairness there? Families from Marion Bay to Marla and everywhere in between will pay the price. Inflation is currently at 4.6 per cent and will soon go up to five per cent. We are the laughing stock of the developed world. It's higher than in Canada, Germany, the United States, France and the United Kingdom. The average family is $32,000 worse off. This is not the country we know and love, and the people in regional South Australia are feeling the pinch more than most.”
“Combined with changes to CGT, these policies will deplete finances and potentially force unintended asset sales, just to stay afloat. We also see Labor cutting $52 million from the Future Drought Fund, plus totally ill-timed cuts to Pest and Disease Preparedness and Response Programs grant funds. This is a cheap shot to all farmers, who are only ever one bad year away from disaster. This government, this Prime Minister and this Treasurer gave their word to regional Australia. But Labor's word is now worthless, and this Prime Minister's bond with Australians is now officially broken.”