Blogs

Election Gears in Motion - Federal Rounds

07-June-2010

 Written by: John Cobb, MP -

As another week in Parliament comes to an end it is beginning to feel a lot like election time. Whether it comes sooner, around August, or later in October/November this year’s Federal Election will ask Australians to make a big decision. We have specific decisions to make here in Calare as well. The electorate has once again changed unifying Parkes and Forbes with Lithgow and Oberon for the first time. This means our new electorate faces new challenges however many of the issues and the concerns of people in Portland are the same as those in Parkes. This election will focus on several issues which affect the all communities in the electorate.

Last week’s parliamentary debate was centred on one such issue. The Labor Government’s new Resource Super Profit Tax will affect jobs in Parkes and will affect jobs in Lithgow. The great big new tax will cause the cost of building to increase in Blayney and in Forbes. In Orange, Cabonne, Bathurst and Oberon the local economy will be impacted and will suffer because the Labor party need to somehow boost their coffers after three years of reckless spending. The National Party and the Coalition will not stand by and watch as tax payers continue to be slugged for Labor’s mistakes.

Health and hospital funding is another issue that will unite the electorate from East to West. I’ve spoken in the past about the continued rejection of this region by the Labor party. I recently spoke in the House of Representatives about just how badly politicised some of Nicola Roxon and Kevin Rudd’s funding decisions have become. The Labor party allocated funding under the Regional Cancer Centre of Excellence program to the City of Gosford which, under the Government’s own classifications, isn’t classified as regional. However, the seat of Robertson, which Gosford falls squarely in the middle of, is classified as politically marginal and a key seat for the election. For the Labor party protecting a seat in Parliament ranks as a higher priority than delivering high quality cancer care to regional Australia and to people in Calare. There is still uncertainty about the future of Private health care in Bathurst, but the Prime Minister isn’t willing to talk to local officials, and the people of Parkes and Forbes are still waiting for their hospital upgrades.

Regional Australia, and as a result the electorate of Calare, have been missing out under Kevin Rudd and Labor. Yet everyone from Wallerawang to Canowindra and Parkes to Carcoar are footing the $100 million per day that the Labor party adds to our national debt. This election will be a chance to take the first steps to righting the wrongs of the last three years. Regardless of which part of the electorate you hail from we are all part of Regional Australia and right now Regional Australia needs its fair share.