Australians can look forward to a brighter future with the Nationals in government after the Leader of the Opposition, Angus Taylor, outlined a bold and visionary Budget in Reply speech on Thursday night that will put Australians first.

Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster said she is proud to see the strong theme of Nationals-driven policies in the Coalition’s vision for the budget, including enabling infrastructure for housing and putting an end to destructive ‘Net Zero’ ideology.

“After four wasteful and divisive years of Labor government, by contrast the Coalition has demonstrated the competency and experience in Government to serve all Australians,” Dr Webster said.

The Government’s Budget had – to the tune of $2 billion - already copied the Coalition’s $5 billion housing infrastructure fund commitment to help councils provide the power, water and other amenities to build 400,000 new homes.  The Nationals’ Coalition agreement ensures through the Regional Australia Future Fund that regions will get their fair share of that $5 billion funding.

The Coalition will protect Australians from inflation from eating away their take-home pay, by indexing tax brackets to inflation.

The Coalition will also put Australians first by pegging migration intakes to available housing. By the next election Labor will have brought 2 million people into Australia but are falling woefully short on housing targets.

“Mass migration must stop. The Coalition will build more homes, as we did with the Homebuilder policy which supported 131,000 new homes and supported 500,000 jobs in home construction.  We will also cut red tape to save $70,000 on new home builds,” Dr Webster said.

“Labor’s unrestrained mass migration policy has been an unmitigated disaster and only the Coalition has the capability and experience in Government to get the settings right.”

The Coalition will also back an energy policy based on common sense, and a goal of cheaper energy, not Labor’s flawed Net Zero ideology.

“Prime Ag Land and native forests must be a protected as we build reliable cheaper energy.  I’ve witnessed first-hand in Mallee and stood consistently with our farmers supporting them as Net Zero threatens their homes, farms, landscapes and livelihoods with hundreds of kilometres of transmission lines like VNI West, blanket solar panels and wind turbines,” Dr Webster said.

Dr Webster welcomed Leader of the Opposition Angus Taylor saying in his Budget Reply speech on Thursday night: “We will abolish Labor’s climate bureaucracy – its net zero agency, its powerlines to nowhere, and its tax on the family car and utes.”

“The fact is, Australia is blessed with every energy resource possible and should have fuel, energy and food security.  The Coalition in government invested in diesel storages and despite the Prime Minister saying, as then Opposition Leader, that rising fuel prices were the former Government’s fault, he has until now done nothing on fuel security.

“Net Zero undermines our fuel and energy security by putting all our eggs in an energy experiment that has never succeeded in a nation the size of Australia.

“Treasurer Chalmers dusted off the Ukraine playbook on Tuesday night repeatedly talking about oil shocks.  A good government – a Coalition government – prepares for shocks in advance. Good government doesn’t wait until knee-jerk reactions, like a Labor government using political opportunism to implement socialist wealth redistribution policies,” Dr Webster said.

The Coalition will also empower Australian businesses to invest and grow, by allowing those with turnover under $10 million per annum to immediately deduct assets of up to $50,000 permanently.

“Labor have been busy playing politics for four years dividing Australians on the Voice, on anti-Semitism, on migration, by city and regions, and now by their birth year through this wealth redistribution budget,” Dr Webster said.

“The Coalition has offered clear hope the division and Labor favouritism will end under an elected Coalition government, rewarding hard work, aspiration and Australians who deserve a fair go.”

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