Responsible or unfair? Mid West figures react to Federal Budget

The Albanese Government has labelled its first Budget a “responsible” one, but the Coalition claims it unfairly hurts regional Australia and the Mid West. City of Greater Geraldton mayor Shane Van Styn said he was pleased with the Federal Budget, especially with an additional $250 million for the local roads and community infrastructure program which previously helped the city build new paths in Wonthella and Rangeway. The Morrison Government had made plans to expand the program by $500 million and there were concerns the investments would be scrapped in this Budget. “We were initially nervous about whether the $500 million commitment would remain, so we were very happy to hear that remained, then we became excited to learn they’ve extended that by $250 million,” Mr Van Styn said. The government’s decision to replace the community development grant program and building better regions fund (BBRF), worth more than $1 billion, with new programs worth roughly the same has been labelled unfair to regional Australia by the Opposition. Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said the programs were replaced to be more transparent and consistent after an audit showed the BRRF favoured Coalition seats. Mr Van Styn said he was not fazed as he agreed the new programs would fill a similar function. “At first we were disheartened to hear they might be axed, but as we’re digesting the Budget it seems it’s BBRF by another name, so we’re pleased to see the return of those competitive grant rounds for regional programs,” he said. Local Opposition politicians argue the transition between programs will unnecessarily leave groups without funding. Durack MP Melissa Price said the program previously funded close to 60 projects in her electorate, including the Geraldton Regional Airport upgrade, the restoration of Mingenew Railway Station and the Three Springs Early Childhood Learning Centre, and she was concerned future Mid West projects would be put on hold due to these changes. “The Budget papers show the programs will not start until the financial year 2023-24,” she said. “This leaves the regions languishing out in the economic wilderness for up to two years before any real money flows into our electorate from the Federal Government.” State Nationals MLA Shane Love echoed this sentiment. “They (the Albanese Government) could easily have developed their own methodology to adapt the grants that had already been submitted, many of them for very worthwhile projects,” he said. “There are many worthwhile projects that are now going to be sent back to the drawing board at significant cost.” The Budget makes other commitments to regional Australia, including help for regional first-homebuyers and a $2.4 billion investment into NBN Co which will extend fibre access to 660,000 regional homes. Labor also kept a plan to allocate $180 million to make rail crossings in regional Australia safer, which had been made in the previous government’s Budget, but delayed it until 2025-26. Lara Jensen, a Mid West campaigner who has been pushing for safer rural level crossings since the death of her brother and his friends more than 20 years ago, said it was a relief to see the program would continue. “We are certainly glad to see this serious problem acknowledged on a Federal level,” she said. “We were a bit concerned the Albanese Government may not follow through on what we negotiated previously. “We are a bit concerned to see it delayed; that does present a risk to us. “Its only going to get more serious with more freight and rail in the future.”