Good and bad in Federal Budget

State Member for Barwon Roy Butler said the Federal Budget announced last week has offered some good things for the people of Barwon.

Mr Butler said the Budget includes: relief from cost-of-living pressures for lower income earners; a boost to the incentives for bulk billing which should make it easier for patients to find a doctor who bulk bills and doesn’t charge a large upfront fee; more funding for disaster preparedness planning including levee bank upgrades; tax breaks for small businesses; electricity bill relief for small businesses and lower income homeowners; measures to get the NDIS back on track, with initiatives to improve its effectiveness and quality; and $1.1 billion to continue existing road maintenance and safety programs.

“However, like every budget, there are good and bad things,” Mr Butler said.

“One things is the increase in the Heavy Vehicle Road User Charge rate, which will likely increase the cost of transport for things such as livestock

“There is also a question mark still hanging over many regional infrastructure programs, which will be subject to an audit to determine their viability.

“I will monitor any audits that apply to projects in Barwon,” he said.

Alldeadlines 2pmMondays