CQ Today – The Budget of broken trust

When Anthony Albanese first became Prime Minister, he promised Australia “my word is my bond”. But this week, the Prime Minister’s word became nothing more than a lie, and the trust Australians had was obliterated, in a Budget full of broken promises and cuts. Even Labor knew it was bad because they had to issue a cheat sheet to all of their MPs to explain why they have cheated the Australian people. Despite promising not to raise taxes on negative gearing, capital gains tax and trusts, the Prime Minister has done that very thing less than a year since the last election. What’s worse is that higher taxes won’t fix the major problem for Australian families. I have spent the last couple of months listening to 1000s of people during the Farrer by-election. What they want is help. Help to pay their bills. Help to stay alive if they are in small business. People are really struggling. But how does $100 billion of more taxes over the next decade help? This government is now the highest taxing government for 40 years since the days of Paul Keating’s banana republic. By Labor’s own figures, disposable income per capita will fall and real wages will decline. What is needed is a government that will control spending and help get inflation and interest rates down. Instead, over the next year, Government spending is set to grow by $18 billion. That will add to inflation and push up interest rates higher. To take pressure off inflation we should expand our economy by investing in the areas of our country where we create, and that is in regional Australia. If we can grow the production of our farms, mines and factories, then inflationary pressures will reduce. But Labor’s budget smashed a fair go for regional Australia, while doubling down on a tone-deaf reckless race to renewables and net zero fantasy that will harm the communities in Queensland. This Budget does not invest in new roads, new dams and new mines to increase Australia’s new dams and new mines to increase Australia s economy. In fact, under Labor’s Budget, mining investment growth falls to zero in 2027-28. Can you imagine the impact that will have on regional Queensland and the families andHHVcommunities who rely on mining? There are other cuts too. Regional Australians face at least $11 billion worth of cuts, including $6.15 billion cut from the Inland Rail project, $4.7 billion cut from infrastructure spending, $103 million cut from the National Water Grid, $191.6 million cut from pest and disease, regional trade and drought funding for farmers and $21.4 million cut from regional communications funding. Despite cutting funding to essential services in the regions, Labor continues to blow a small fortune on its net zero obsession. This Budget reveals that Labor will spend another $18.2 billion on net zero. Labor’s net zero spending now equals at least $80 billion. This does not include the massively expensive Capacity Investment Scheme, because Labor continues to hide the cost of its renewable energy subsidies. If Labor is so proud of its net zero spending spree, why did the Treasurer say the phrase ‘net zero’ just once in his Budget speech, and then only to repeat the myth that the world is moving to net zero? The Treasurer even failed to mention climate change once, which is apparently the whole point. Net zero is dead and the sooner Labor recognises that, the more money Australians will save. The Nationals will dump net zero and we will fight tooth and nail at the next election to stop this madness. Australia can deliver higher living standards, but only if we unleash our nation’s latent potential by using all of our resources and talent. We need a Hyper-Australia, not a held-back, hopeless Australia. Sadly, Australians now know that the Prime Minister’s word isn’t his bond – it is another lie that will cause a decade of division, debt and decline.