Sky News Afternoon Agenda

CHENG LEI: The Prime Minister has made his pitch for re-election, spelling out his second term agenda at the National Press Club. It set the scene for the campaign, the PM telling voters they have a choice between two different nations at the next election. Joining me now is Regional Development Minister, Kristy McBain. Hey there Kristy. Happy Friday to you. So how are we developing our regions to build Australia, especially going towards the future. 

KRISTY MCBAIN: Thanks Lei, it's great to be with you this afternoon. I’m at the Lazy George Cafe in Marulan, and we’ve made a big announcement today on the Housing Support Program. $27.2 million to help have the houses that we need to retain and attract workers into communities just like this one. When we came to government two and a half years ago, there was a skill shortage across the country, and that's because at the state and federal level, Coalition governments had ripped money out of TAFE and they'd taken completion incentives away from apprentices. I know this firsthand because my husband and I run a small business in the construction industry. The Prime Minister's pitch today was all about trying to continue to build those skills back in our communities, with making fee-free TAFE a permanent feature of the federal government, and also those $10,000 apprenticeship incentives. We know people are battling with the cost of living, and here's another way that the Albanese Labor Government can commit to seeing people through their apprenticeships. $2,000 at five different points during that apprenticeship process, to help people get through what can be a tough three or four years. It’s really important that we help people build the skills that we need right across regional Australia. 

CHENG LEI: Kristy, if you run the small business in construction, then you know the difficulties the industry faces. That is not just the labour shortage but also the land supply, the tax issue and also infrastructure that needs to be built for housing. What's being done on that? 

KRISTY MCBAIN: I've engaged with 250 councils directly, and the things that they've told me are that they need enabling infrastructure to get more homes on the ground quicker. That's why we committed to the Housing Support Program. $1.5 billion helping communities build that enabling infrastructure. $27.2 million right here in Marulan to upgrade the sewerage treatment plant, so that more homes can be built in this community here. In Kempsey, it was $45 million for both water and sewerage treatment plants, so that more homes can get on the ground there. $10 million in Griffith for roads and green space, so more homes can be constructed there. We're getting on with the job, but we're doing it in conjunction with state and local council, because it's really important that we're working together. For 12 odd years that the liberal state government was in, and nearly the ten years that the former coalition government was in, there wasn't a Housing Minister, and there weren’t any plans to help communities with this vital infrastructure. We've listened and we're delivering what those local communities are asking for. 

CHENG LEI: Tell us more about the water treatment, because I know that for a long time, water quality was quite an issue in your constituency. 

KRISTY MCBAIN: That's right. This project here, $27.2 million is for sewerage treatment. It will allow more homes to connect to a proper sewerage treatment option, and will also allow further land subdivisions, so that more homes will be able to connect to an upgraded sewage treatment plant. Detailed design works are currently underway, and then the local council will be working with the regulatory authorities, the Office of Water, the EPA, to make sure that plant complies with all the regulations. It's on top of the $17.2 million I've just delivered down the road in the Yass Valley, where water quality was absolutely a huge issue. It's been an issue that's been talked about for decades, and we've seen press releases from a whole bunch of Liberal and National politicians, but it took a Labor Government to come in and change the guidelines to the National Water Grid to ensure that town water projects, like the Yass project, could actually get national water funding. That's exactly what the Albanese Labor Government has delivered. $17.2 million so that people will not have to deal with brown, smelly water, which we wouldn't expect anywhere else.

CHENG LEI: Finally, how are you celebrating the Australia Day long weekend?

KRISTY MCBAIN: I’m really looking forward to the Australia Day long weekend. I’ll be attending three different celebrations across my electorate. Goulburn in the morning, Captains flat in the afternoon, Queanbeyan in the evening. I’ll be heading home to my family in the evening, hopefully in time for a barbi, and hanging out with a few mates. I hope everyone has a great day, celebrates in the way they chose, and hopefully we have some nice weather so they can get out and about as well.

CHENG LEI: Thanks so much Kristy, I was just in Queanbeyan last weekend. I enjoyed a really nice bush walk.

KRISTY MCBAIN: We look forward to welcoming you back soon.

CHENG LEI: Minister for Regional Development, thank you.