Independent candidate for the Federal seat of Page, Dr Hanabeth Luke, says the region has been ‘ignored’ in this week’s Federal Budget.
Dr Luke, a scientist from Southern Cross University, said the budget prioritised short-term handouts over ‘addressing our housing crisis or improving our preparedness for future extreme weather events’ .
‘As the eighth poorest electorate in Australia, we know that our community was
already struggling,’ she said.
‘There appears to be an expectation that our people should rebuild and just get on with it.
‘To fix this, we must first properly identify the problem. We are facing a housing crisis at the same time as a climate crisis. The whole region needs to prepare for what comes next.’
Dr Luke said a budget cut for already-struggling teachers in public schools had been coupled with a huge boost for private schools.
Meanwhile, for the vast majority in Page, there was ‘no wage increase on the horizon’.
‘A significant reduction in Centrelink benefits was coupled with an estimated $4-5 billion thrown at coal and gas,’ she said.
‘The LNP’s version of ‘climate action’ continues to be a trojan horse for coal seam gas, while not one dollar was allocated for a Federal integrity commission.
‘Their management of our public purse is nothing short of reckless. It’s time
that the Australian public take back control of the purse strings by electing an
Independent who votes for us, and the needs of our region.’
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