Easing cost of living pressures and investing in an Australian-made future are at the forefront of the Australian Government’s 2024-25 budget which was handed down on Tuesday, May 14.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers called the budget “responsible and restrained”, saying, “This Budget strikes the right balance between keeping pressure off inflation, delivering cost of living relief, supporting sustainable economic growth and strengthening public finances.
“This Budget forecasts a second surplus in 2023–24, which would be the first time a government has delivered back‑to‑back surpluses in nearly two decades,” he continued.
But Federal Member for Dawson Andrew Willcox has been left unsatisfied with the results for his electorate, saying “Dawson’s missed out again”.
“When you’ve got an area like ours that contributes so much to the Australian economy, if you’re going to keep people working and contributing, you need to give them services,” he said.
Mr Willcox said he’d hoped for more investment in the Bruce Highway as well as cost-of-living relief in the form of “something that could actually be tangible and would help people”.
The Federal Member said while there has been little investment in his electorate announced, he’s not giving up.
“We’re the biggest sugar growing area in the country and 80% of our sugar is exported,” he said.
“People, at some point, are going to have to wake up; where we get our food and fibre from and where the money is generated is in rural and regional Australia, so if you want to keep that money going and you want to keep food on the table, we need to look after the people in areas like my region of Dawson.
“I’ll be constantly trying to look for what we can do, putting business cases forward and lobbying for my people to make sure we can get our fair share.
“I’ll be following this through and, every time there’s an opportunity to stand up for the people of Dawson, that’s what I’ll be doing.”
2024-25 Budget Highlights
• Easing cost of living pressures with tax cuts, energy rebates, rental assistance, student debt cuts and cheaper medicine.
• Building more homes for Australians with more social and affordable housing, more infrastructure and removal of red tape, better transport for more accessible cities and suburbs and increased housing for students.
• Investing in a Future Made in Australia and the skills and universities needed to make it a reality with a $22.7 billion investment over a decade to build a stronger and more resilient economy powered by clean energy, creating more well‑paid jobs and facilitating private investment.
• Strengthening Medicare and the care economy with more Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, free access to mental health care for more Australians, additional home care packages, essential funding for in person and online service delivery and provisioning for wage increases for aged care and early childhood education and care workers.
Federal Member for Dawson Andrew Willcox is “disappointed” with the Australian Government’s 2023-24 budget
