WITH the delivery of the Federal Budget on Tuesday by Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, regional and rural communities along with a long list of agencies and associations have had time to consider the details and how they will impact their lives.
Mr Chalmers began his speech to Parliament laying out bullet points of the government’s aims for the next 12 months, promising a $4.2 billion surplus and “less debt and smaller deficits compared with recent budgets”.
“The Budget we present to the Australian people tonight provides cost-of-living relief that is responsible and affordable and prioritises those most in need,” he said.
“It delivers historic investments in Medicare and the care economy – making it easier and cheaper for Australians to see their doctor.
“It broadens opportunity by breaking down the barriers of disadvantage and exclusion.
“It lays the foundations for growth by embracing clean energy, and investing in value-adding industries, people, skills, technology and small business.”
Mr Chalmers said, “these are the foundations on which our government is building a stronger economy and a fairer society”.
Acknowledging a projected global economic slowdown - “the next two years are expected to be the weakest for global growth in over two decades”, the Treasurer said, while “inflation remains our primary economic challenge” but they were “tracking in the right direction”.
The Budget announcements specific to rural and farming communities were sparse, with two major highlights being biosecurity, and the regional pharmacy maintenance allowance doubling.
In the Budget Overview document downloadable from the government’s website, the government announced $800 million to sustainably fund the biosecurity system to keep farmers and producers secure.
“The Budget delivers on the government’s commitment to provide long-term, sustainable funding to strengthen our biosecurity system,” the document said.
“It provides more than $1 billion of additional funding to help ensure Australia remains free from invasive pests and diseases that would devastate exports, regional jobs and the environment.
“The government’s biosecurity regime is underpinning our farmers’ record $75 billion of agricultural exports and helping them realise their goal of $100 billion of annual output by 2030.”
With the pharmacy allowance, the government committed to $79.5 million over four years to double it, supporting “the continued operation of around 1093 community pharmacies in regional and rural Australia”.
“Pharmacists will also be funded to deliver vaccines to eligible patients under the National Immunisation Program, with an investment of $114.1 million over four years,” the document said.
The government also committed to tripling bulk billing incentives by “investing $3.5 billion over five years” and said it would “continue to be higher for patients in regional and rural areas to support the ongoing viability of general practices in these communities” – including “face-to-face, telehealth and videoconference consultations”.
Also announced was an expansion of eligibility for the First Home Guarantee and Regional First Home Guarantee and more funds into alternative energy with the establishment of a “Net Zero Authority”, and also $400 million into an Industrial Transformation Stream to “support the growth of new clean energy industries in regional areas, as well as innovative efforts to decarbonise existing industrial activities”.
Disaster resilience and preparedness was also backed, with the government pledging “$200 million through the Disaster Ready Fund to support projects like levee upgrades, seawalls and bushfire risk reduction projects”.
