Budget Misses Opportunities

Today's Federal Budget will go down in history as a budget of missed opportunities Member for Lingiari and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia and Indigenous Affairs Warren Snowdon said today.

Mr Snowdon said the much vaunted tax cuts, while welcome, would not compensate for the amount of extra tax the Federal Government had gouged out of workers on interest rate and fuel price hikes and the IR changes that would deliver a pitiful $9.80 a week for a worker on $60,000 a year.

'They have the money and they've missed a golden opportunity to spend it on things that matter to people in rural, regional and remote Australia,' he said.

'They've failed to deal with regional infrastructure and there's no money for bush roads.

'There's no money for improving educational opportunities and no money for community-based child care centres in Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Humpty Doo and Alice Springs.

'While they are giving $310 million to help people recover from Cyclone Larry, there's not a cracker for Territory communities to get back on their feet after Cyclone Monica – the most destructive storm ever to cross our coastline.

'So what does that tell you about the Government's priorities?

'Despite big talk and breast-beating from Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough, there's no money for infrastructure to deal with the structural roots of Indigenous poverty and no money for Indigenous education.

'I'm interested to see how the extra money going into defence will actually benefit ADF members in the territory.

'But I'm staggered at the inept way the Government is dealing with the illegal fishing crisis.

'While there's big dollars for detaining illegal fishermen and burning their boats, the Aboriginal ranger programs – our best hope of stopping illegal fishing in our waters – have been offered an insulting pittance that's little more than small change.

'This Budget is a dead duck for Lingiari,' Mr Snowdon said.

2006-05-09