After two years of Labor, life is harder for regional families.
After just two years of the Albanese Labor Government, life has become harder for regional communities. Families face a cost-of-living crisis, higher rents and mortgages and a lack of housing. Over three Federal Budgets, Labor has cut and delayed billions of dollars in funding for regional road, transport and water projects. It has cut funding for community facilities, reduced access to subsidised mental health services and it’s never been harder for families to access a country GP or find local childcare places.
The Nationals will get our nation back on track by putting regional families first.
The Nationals will deal with the cost-of-living pressures faced by families through fixing the fundamentals that drive higher prices. We will invest in pushing down energy prices by increasing the supply of gas into the market. We’ll crack down on supermarket price gouging with a new Supermarket Commissioner, $2 million on the spot fines and ‘big stick’ competition laws that deliver fairer prices for farmers at the farmgate and families at the checkout. And we will work with all levels of government to remove hurdles to drive more home building in regional communities.
Our plan will get more GPs, specialists and nurses practicing in country communities. We’ll increase incentives and opportunities for medical professionals to train, live and work in the regions so that families can access local and affordable health and aged care. We’ll deal with a chronic shortage of local childcare places by working with communities to invest in tailored local solutions.
We believe in backing the competitive local strengths and innovation of industries and small businesses in individual communities to turbocharge local economies – creating more jobs. That means investing in growing these local strengths and removing government hurdles that hold back family and small businesses.
The Nationals plan will also invest in fixing the backlog of rural road and bridge maintenance that Labor neglected, and we’ll build the key regional transport links to grow productivity and make sure you get home safely.
By listening to local communities and backing local common-sense solutions, The Nationals will make life easier for families and create a stronger regional Australia.
Our priorities are building stronger regional economies and secure communities, delivering opportunity and prosperity for all regional Australians, and ensuring a sustainable environment.
Stronger, more secure, sustainable local communities that provide the opportunity for everyone to prosper will deliver a stronger, more secure and sustainable nation.
The Nationals commitment to the national interest does not stop there. The Nationals provide a considered and common sense perspective on all elements of Government policy and a balance between Australia’s political extremes.
