It was wonderful to visit the beautiful Robinvale community again on Tuesday morning 18 February at Top End Café and thank you to those who came for a chat.  People spoke to me about the quality of telecommunications signal in the area, accessibility of aged care and concerns about local health services.

As Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health I appreciate hearing about local health concerns and I look forward to announcing policy for the region very soon.  We have to be ambitious to turn around a crisis in the regional health workforce and persistently poorer health data for regional Australians.

As always, if you’d like to see me during a visit email or sms your mobile number to anne.webster.mp@aph.gov.au or 0447186893.

I was again in the region on Monday afternoon with the fabulous Speaker of the House of Representatives, Milton Dick MP seeing students at Robinvale College.  It is great to show the next generation the vital importance of our world-leading stable, healthy Australian democracy and the value of bipartisanship. The Speaker is, after all, a Labor MP.

As I told the Speaker in the House earlier in February, it may disappoint him that there is a little grumbling about Labor in the region.

We learned in the last week that Swan Hill Rural City Council put forward 2 programs for the Albanese Labor Government’s Regional Housing Support Program, and got nothing.  As I told the Speaker, Yarriambiack Shire put in 4 applications and got zip, zilch, nada – sadly, all 12 Mallee shires missed out.  I have asked the Auditor-General to investigate, and she has confirmed it is now on her list for scrutiny.

If a Coalition Government is elected at the upcoming election, we will put $1.5 billion towards the supporting infrastructure to get regional housing up and running again.  

By contrast, Labor’s housing policies have delivered no new homes in three years.  

A Coalition Government will also allow first home buyers to access up to $50,000 of their superannuation to help buy their first home and ban foreign investors and temporary residents purchasing homes for two years.