Broadbent says local benefits will be seen

Member for Monash Russell Broadbent says the benefits of last Tuesday’s Federal budget will be clearly seen locally.

It will help people you walk past in the street every day, he said.

Mr Broadbent said there were wide-ranging positives for Monash electorate in a budget directed at recovery from the impacts of Covid-19 on business and employment.

Continuation of JobSeeker and JobKeeper programs plus JobMaker would be some of the major factors in getting people in jobs and back to work.

Mr Broadbent said the impact of the pandemic had been hard felt in Monash that ranked on a per capita basis in the top three electorates in Australia receiving JobSeeker and JobKeeper payments.

The JobMaker program providing a $200 a week “hiring credit” for businesses that take on workers aged over 30 years would also give impetus to the recovery in the region, he said.

“Funding support for employment of another 100,000 apprentices and trainees, where businesses can claim half of the wages for the first 12 months, would be a boon locally as would asset tax write-offs, particularly for farm equipment upgrades”.

Mr Broadbent said females and young people were the hardest hit by the economic downturn from Covid-19 and the government was focusing on programs that ensured they were able to get through.

Some of the other local benefits from the budget highlighted by Mr Broadbent were support for building industries through extension of the first home buyers scheme, a number of measures that would assist food and beverage manufacturers and more financial aid for the tourism industry.

Personal income tax cuts would have direct benefits for people as would two bonus payments for pensioners of $250 each to be paid next December and March.

Mr Broadbent said while Federal funding for major infrastructure projects aligned with State Government priorities another round of the Building Better Regions Fund was available for local government to upgrade or build facilities.

Also boosting employment in regions were an additional $2 billion allocated in the budget for road safety works and an extra $1 billion, to the $500 million announced in May, under the Local Road and Community Infrastructure Program.