Mrs MARINO (Forrest—Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories) (15:42): I'm very pleased to speak on this MPI, and I'm particularly proud of the efforts of this government in dealing with regional issues. Don't listen to the talk; look at the programs that we've rolled out. I think they speak for themselves. You just have to ask the people on the ground in our electorates, and they'll soon tell you exactly what they think of these programs and how useful they are. Let's look at the over $2.3 billion in regional grants programs, like the Building Better Regions Fund. For those of us who live and work in rural and regional areas, when you look at the impact of the Building Better Regions Fund, the projects that have been delivered have been significant, and they've often been projects that regional communities have been waiting an awfully long time to get funding for. So we've got a program dedicated to delivering exactly what those communities want right around Australia. There's been significant investment in the Regional Growth Fund as well. We've got over $100 million in the Stronger Communities Program, which is delivering over 7,700 projects. Around five are currently open for applications. Look at these practical programs. They are what matter on the ground in our communities. There is also the fund that wasn't there prior to us coming into government—for towers in mobile black spots, to provide the connectivity that is so important to businesses and individuals. We have worked so hard on this program, and it's delivering right around Australia. The Mobile Black Spot Program is a very sound one for rural and regional Australia, particularly for our emergency services, and it is making a huge practical difference on the ground. These are some of the key measures that we've implemented since coming into government. There are over $2.3 billion worth of regional programs, just like that one. That's the reality. When you're out there on the ground, what you find is that local people and local communities make the federal investment go even further, because they're so committed to these programs and they know that funding provided by the federal government makes such a great difference to our communities. Even in the small business space, the tax cuts and the instant asset write-off—all of these matter in rural and regal Australia. They're decisions of this government. In the health space, when we look at what's happened with the medicines that have been listed on the PBS—they're matters that affect our rural and regional people and matter very much to them. It's the same with the investment in the additional headspace units. Most of those in my area have been very, very well received. I listen to other members in rural and regional Australia as well. The presence of a headspace for young people from 12 to 25—that investment by this government is making a major difference to young people who live in our communities. I'm very proud of those programs. They actually make a difference to people in a way that makes for greater opportunity in their life and brings far more to not only them but to their families as well. I look around at the education space and our regional study hubs. We've worked for many years in this place on additional opportunities for education for young people, and we've made a difference in a way that the other side hasn't. We didn't change inner regional students and outer regional students and prevent them from having access to the independent youth allowance. The other thing we didn't do: a kneejerk reaction to shut down the live cattle export trade. We saw the damage that that did right around Australia. It can be not only what you do do but also what you don't do that matters. That's a prime example of something that was so devastating for rural and regional Australia. That was a huge blow right across Australia in this space. Then there's the practical investment in infrastructure, which has impacted right around, particularly with roads. We know that connectivity matters so much, even with our roads and our roads for export. That really is where we've invested so much for small communities like my own. The Bunbury Outer Ring Road—$682 million of federal funding for a road that's going to help connect the Busselton-Margaret River airport as well. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Hogan ): I thank the assistant member and I call the member for Bendigo.