I won’t leave anyone behind
Libby Coker is the Labor incumbent for the seat of Corangamite
THE rising cost of living is putting pressure on families and retirees in our community that are already struggling to pay the bills.
Inflation has risen to 5.1 per cent under Scott Morrison, the highest in 20 years.
Prime Minister Morrison tells us the economy is doing well. But in the real world, people in Corangamite are struggling to afford food, power bills, rent and child care fees.
Under Morrison, everything is going up, except your pay.
A Labor government will create secure local jobs by investing in fee-free TAFE and more university places and by improving job security, pay and conditions.
And we will take the pressure off household budgets and tackle the rising cost of living.
We will do this by increasing the childcare subsidy to up to 90 per cent, making childcare cheaper for 96 per cent of families in the system.
Childcare isn’t about welfare or child minding, it’s about giving kids the best start in life, getting parents back to work sooner, improving productivity and supporting women’s financial security.
We will build 30,000 new social and affordable homes and help an additional 10,000 first-home buyers each year, in regions like ours, to buy a home.
We will upgrade our energy grid to help drive down power prices.
And we will strengthen Medicare, bringing down the cost of medicines and making it easier and more affordable to see a GP.
Throughout the pandemic, my team and I worked incredibly hard to keep people connected. To help businesses stay open. To help workers keep their jobs.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the City of Greater Geelong, under Mayor Stephanie Asher, announced plans to stand down more than 500 workers.
That’s more than 500 families that would have been without income during the pandemic, unable to pay their bills or put food on the table.
A decision that was void of compassion. Around the same time, Scott Morrison, who failed Victorians during the pandemic, also announced the intended closure of the Australian Taxation Office in our region. Another 120 workers left out in the cold.
With my fellow state and federal Labor representatives, I fought to keep their jobs – and we won. I will always work to support good, secure jobs in our region.
Our region has a proud manufacturing history. But after a decade of the Liberals sending manufacturing offshore, including our car industry, manufacturing jobs are in decline.
Labor’s plan to rebuild Australian manufacturing will mean we can make more of the things we need, right here.
A Labor government will provide up to $15bn through our planned National Reconstruction Fund to invest in job-creating projects through loans, equity and guarantees.
Our plan will address the cost of living pressures families face right now and will rebuild our nation to seize the opportunities of future.
As your local Labor member of parliament, I’m offering plans for a better, brighter future for Corangamite, where no one is held back and no one is left behind.