TRANSCRIPT: INTERVIEW WITH 7News Riverina Budget preview, 25 MARCH 2025

E&OE

STARTS: 1:03pm

ENDS: 1:13pm

 EMILY FRANCIS:
So, Budget Eve—come a little bit more than 24 hours—what are you hoping to see out of the budget for the regions, particularly the Riverina?

MICHAEL McCORMACK:
Well, certainly, I do hope that Labor commits to its $30 million for planning for a potential bypass for the Inland Rail, and for Yass—they’ve stumped up money with the State Government for better water, better water quality. Whether these projects are, in fact, budgeted remains to be seen. But Labor goes around the regions, talks itself up, but all too often it’s in the Never-Never, it’s in the long-from-here-now forward estimates, or it’s not there at all, and they just make it up as they go. But what I don’t want to see in the Budget is any more money to stop farmers farming—and that’s what we saw in the last Budget. Here it is. It was an absolute disgrace—$124 million to stop Western Australian sheep farmers from producing some of the nation’s finest sheep and then exporting them to the Middle East. So that trade is being phased out. The farmers were given $124 million to start that phase-out process, and that is already having an effect with Riverina sheep farmers. And don’t take my word for it—talk to them. They are very worried about what it will do to our markets, what it will do to the entire industry. And if it’s sheep now, what will it be next? We saw what happened with the cattle ban—the live cattle export ban—way back in 2011, and that hit Wagga Wagga markets almost overnight. The same will happen again as Labor phases out the sheep market to the Middle East. And it’s one of our prime export opportunities, and it also snubs our nose to those people in the Middle East who want our sheep. They know that the animal welfare standards are there, and it’s an important topic. Of course, the cost of living is first and foremost, and you talk to anybody—they’ll tell you that they want cost-of-living relief. I note that Labor has, just in the last 24 hours, stumped up some cash for power bills, but it’s all too little, all too late. People can see through this. The Prime Minister promised on no less than 97 occasions prior to the election that there’d be a $275 price reduction. People are paying way more for power now than they were before the election. People are paying way more when they go to the grocery checkout, way more when they go to the petrol bowser. The cost of living is through the roof, and what did we hear Labor talk about for the first 18 months? An unnecessary and divisive referendum about the Voice. So that’s the Labor way. We’ve got a plan to get the nation back on track, to certainly make sure that the regions are respected, and there’ll be certainly a good response on Thursday night from Peter Dutton about how we just do that—get the nation back on track.

EMILY FRANCIS:
Absolutely. You touched on it before, but is it fair to say that Labor tends to have a bit of a reputation for neglecting the regions, particularly, you know, that being said, the Riverina?

MICHAEL McCORMACK:
It’s a total given. They ignore the regions. They ignore the Riverina. People only have to look at the record that I’ve been able to deliver. You look at the PCYC Centre, you look at the saleyards at Forbes, you look at the Riverside Precinct, you look at the Equex Sports Stadium, you look at the Murray-Darling Medical School just near the hospital, which is already accepting 30 new young doctors each and every year. Look around and see the sort of delivery—the Pearson Street situation there. I mean, that road was an absolute schmozzle. It’s now, thanks to Federal funding, something that people want to drive to, people want to go on. And just the money—the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure funding that I provided to the 537 councils right around Australia—the benefits for regional councils in particular were at large. Even now, with the memorial halls upgraded, roundabouts put in place, main street upgrades—it gave those councils the autonomy to be able to spend the money where they wanted to. And it all dried up under Labor. That’s the Labor way—push the prices up, hire more public servants and put them in Canberra. If only they could sort out NDIS, it would be of great benefit to people who ring my office often and complain so bitterly about what we’ve seen over the past three years.

EMILY FRANCIS:
Absolutely. As well, you know, you touched on these energy rebates being too little, too late. Do you think something’s better than nothing, though?

MICHAEL McCORMACK:
Well, I suppose that could be argued, but when you see the overall cost—the cost of people’s power bills—it’s not just household power bills, it’s farms, it’s factories. We’re sending business offshore and we’re closing down businesses. I mean, just look at the number of businesses that have closed. Tens of thousands of businesses have shut up shop in the past three years, and particularly in the construction sector. And that’s certainly evident around Wagga Wagga—the construction sector is reeling. It’s been crippled by Labor—and not just the Federal Government, but also State Labor governments as well—at a time when we’ve got an urgent need for more houses to be built. And then, of course, we’re importing enough migrants to fill a place the size of Canberra every six months. It’s simply not good enough. We need to get the country back on track, and only the Liberals and Nationals can be trusted to do just that.

EMILY FRANCIS:
How evident is it that this election is being delivered in the shadow—sorry, this Budget is being delivered in the shadow of a federal election?

MICHAEL McCORMACK:
Oh, well, look—you know, believe Labor, what they do, not what they say they’re going to do. They’ll announce the Budget tonight. I’d say they’ll have a few days, and then they’ll call the election. It can’t come soon enough for a lot of people. People are saying to me, we just want to get into the ballot box and vote this mob out.

EMILY FRANCIS:
Locally, chatting to Mark Jeffreson this morning—you’ve mentioned it as well—cost of living is obviously a big thing nationwide, but locally, transport is also another thing. This Inland Rail, the airport, Rex, that kind of thing. Is that on your wish list as well?

MICHAEL McCORMACK:
Well, absolutely, and we promised $24 million for an upgrade to the airport at the last Federal election. Mark Jeffreson did not. All he came up with was a few thousand dollars for a street upgrade or some lighting upgrades out at Estella or Boorooma—Estella Public School. That’s all he came up with. We’ve got a plan to make sure that the airport is fit for purpose. And when it comes to Inland Rail, I’ll continue to work with the community and with the council. But let’s remember the benefits that also Inland Rail has already brought to Wagga Wagga—tens of millions of dollars’ worth of business and road upgrades and infrastructure out at Bomen, our industrial heart. And if we’re going to have a future as a prosperous city, we need to have an industrial heart—a hub which is leading the nation, leading regional Australia. That’s what we’ve got, thanks to the Inland Rail. And you look at Austrak—anybody who drives through Bomen and sees the number of cement sleepers, concrete sleepers that have been manufactured right here in Wagga Wagga for the Inland Rail project and other projects besides—would know how much money, how much investment, and how many jobs are being created by this project alone.

EMILY FRANCIS:
Obviously, there are benefits there. You mentioned at the start about this bypass planning funding that we are yet to see properly allocated. In speaking to the Labor candidate as well this morning, he mentioned that he would like to see the Coalition make the same commitment. Are you able to do that?

MICHAEL McCORMACK:
Well, I’m not going to promise anything that is going to hold up the Inland Rail project unnecessarily. I mean, what Labor’s proposing to do is to then go and have a look at—just have a look at what might happen in the event of a bypass being put in place. A bypass that would then add probably 15 years to the project. What we need to do is to make sure that if we’re going to look at this, then we do it in a quick time. I don’t disagree necessarily with the Wagga Ratepayers Association—if there’s going to be a plan or a study into the bypass, let’s do it and get it done and get it out of the road. Let’s not delay this. Let’s not delay this by five years, which is what the Labor plan is doing. And then, of course, if you’re going to have a bypass—where are you going to put it? And all of those affected farmers, who are they then going to complain to? Is it the Labor candidate, who we only ever see bob up every election time? We don’t hear from him other than that. Is he going to be the one who’s going to take their calls when a potential bypass is going straight through their farms, straight through their homes, straight through their livelihoods? Because this is the way it is. This also needs to be considered. And what’s it going to cost? So, if we’re going to have a study, let’s do it quickly. Let’s not muck around. I mean, the Labor proposal is to spend five years looking at it. Well, five years is too long. But look—let’s wait and see whether it’s in the Budget, wait and see whether Labor is true to its word. But also, the Yass water quality project is something that—obviously, with the new electorate boundaries—that was promised late last year. Let’s see if that also is for those Yass residents who’ve suffered inferior quality water for too long.

EMILY FRANCIS:
Easy done. That’s all I had for you.

MICHAEL McCORMACK:
Thanks, Emily.

EMILY FRANCIS:
All the best, Michael.

 

Emma Sullivan