Ms McBAIN (Eden-Monaro—Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) (15:03): I want to thank the member for the question and acknowledge the fantastic work she did during disaster response but also recovery, so much of which she doesn't spruik because our communities don't need it spruiked. We know natural disasters have changed the lives of many Australians. Communities have been impacted across the country by floods, by fires and by cyclones and adverse weather events. Those communities really don't need to be used as political pawns, and we have seen time and time again those opposite do exactly that. Unbelievably, the New South Wales Auditor-General has now found that the New South Wales government has followed in the Morrison government's footsteps: colour coded spreadsheets which dudded local communities—a decision by all cabinet members of the New South Wales Liberal and Nationals government. The SPEAKER: The minister will resume her seat, and I'll hear from the Manager of Opposition Business. Mr Fletcher: Mr Speaker, the actions of the New South Wales government are not within the minister's responsibilities, and she ought to be directed back to the question. The SPEAKER: On the point of order I'll hear from the Leader of the House. Mr Burke: To the point of order: the minister is responding to how federal money was used. It is about how federal money was used and the question specifically asked for how the approach of this government compares to that of the previous government. The SPEAKER: I don't uphold the point of order. I was dealing with a matter with the member for Hume at the time, so I didn't hear exactly what the minister was saying and full— Mr Pasin interjecting— The SPEAKER: The member for Barker is warned. Do not speak when I'm ruling on a point of order. I don't know how many times I have to say it. I ask the minister to make sure she is relevant to the question. I'll be listening carefully to what she says. I give her the call. Ms McBAIN: We know the Morrison government showed absolute arrogance and disregard for communities that suffered catastrophic events. During a natural disaster, the thing communities need to know is that the government has their back. Mr Hamilton interjecting— The SPEAKER: The minister will resume her seat. The member for Groom will withdraw that statement immediately. Mr Hamilton: I withdraw. The SPEAKER: I give the call to the minister. Ms McBAIN: We on this side of the House have communities' back because we are delivering transparency and integrity when it comes to funding. We won't waste regional dollars on inner-city swimming pools. I don't know where those opposite—those regional champions—were when our regional dollars went to the North Sydney pool. Where was the outrage? We on this side of the House are helping our regions to recover, to rebuild and to grow. We've committed $1 billion in regional funding programs, which will have clear application criteria and transparent assessment processes. We've increased jobs with our $1.9 billion Powering the Regions Fund. We've prioritised access to Commonwealth supported university places for regional Australians. We're delivering 180,000 fee-free TAFE places in 2023 alone and we're wiping the HELP debt of nurse practitioners and GPs who practise in our rural and remote communities. We're investing $1 billion over five years for disaster risk reduction and resilience. We're delivering $656 million in our better connectivity plan for the regions. We've introduced our $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, dealing with the housing crisis in the regions left by those opposite. We'll establish the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund because the lesson learnt from the pandemic is that we need to build more things here. Do you know what? That will strengthen our regional communities. Perhaps you should get on board and vote for it. The Albanese government will continue to clean up the mess from those opposite, will implement funding and will deliver it to those who need it when they need it.