Interview with Andrew Murdoch, ABC Radio Mildura

ANDREW MURDOCH: Jenny McAllister is a Labor Senator for NSW and the Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy. Good morning to you.

JENNY MCALLISTER: Good morning, Andrew.

ANDREW MURDOCH: What's in the Budget for this region being the federal division of Farrer in the NSW and the Mallee in Victoria?

JENNY MCALLISTER: Look, we know that people are doing it tough right now and cost of living was at the centre of last night's budget and we have looked for ways that are both substantial and responsible to deliver cost of living support for people who need it. The two key things that will be of interest to your listeners are a tax cut for every taxpayer and energy bill relief for every household. Every household will receive $300 credit on their energy bill over the course of next year starting in July. It's a really important measure that we know will help people in their day-to-day costs, but will also put downward pressure on inflation.

ANDREW MURDOCH: Why did it need to go to every household? For instance, one text we see. Why do CEO's who receive huge payouts and multimillion dollars need a $300 energy assistance credit?

JENNY MCALLISTER: Yeah, we've thought really carefully about how to design and deliver this. There are some measures in the Budget that are much more targeted, for example, the increases to Commonwealth Rent Assistance. But this one we've kept broad and in part because our advice was that this was the most efficient way to deliver this measure, right across the community.

ANDREW MURDOCH: We're speaking to Jenny McAllister, Labor Senator for NSW and Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy. Some of those measures you've mentioned, they're beneficial for everyone right across Australia, the cities and the regional areas. What specifically for the regional areas are you excited about for this Budget?

JENNY MCALLISTER: Yeah, look, we really understand that right across the country, households are finding things very difficult. And so, of course, for the tax measure does, as you know, go across, across households, both in the city and in the country. But in places like Mallee, you know, we will see people in this area receive real benefits who've got a HELP debt. There's over 12,000 people in Mallee, for example, with a HELP debt, and they'll actually receive some relief through our decision to cut student debt. We’re going to be making investments in cheaper medicines. And we know that residents in Mallee have already saved more than 1.8 million in the decisions we've already taken to bring the cost of medicines down. And rent assistance, of course, is really important for thousands of households in the area that your listeners live in.

ANDREW MURDOCH: Another focus of the Budget was critical minerals and transitioning to net zero emissions and the plans for major projects in that industry. Can you tell us a little bit about those and what benefits they could bring to regional areas?

JENNY MCALLISTER: Yeah, well, Australia is part of a global transition towards net zero, and we shouldn't be afraid of that. That actually presents very significant opportunities for industries and for jobs. And in regional areas, what that starts to look like is jobs in construction, jobs in operations and maintenance, and we hope, jobs in manufacturing. The budget brings a real focus to those future industries where we think Australia has a chance to have an incredible competitive advantage in the global economy. Green hydrogen and critical minerals processing. We're determined for the country to seize that opportunity to make sure that people in regional communities get a chance to work in those industries. And the Budget contains really important measures to bring those industries on and give potential investors confidence that this industry is going to be an important part of Australia's future.

ANDREW MURDOCH: Are you able to tell us about any specific projects, say, for the Mallee or for the Farrer district divisions that we'll be able to benefit from?

JENNY MCALLISTER: Look, these are really dependent on proponents coming forward and saying, we wish to do green hydrogen production or we wish to do critical mineral processing in this place, but when they do, they will know that there's a production tax credit available to support that activity. We want to give these industries long term security and confidence in the Australian Government's commitment to these industries and their ability to build them here, right here in Australia.

ANDREW MURDOCH: Do you expect many companies to take these opportunities up?

JENNY MCALLISTER: We've had enormous interest and people talk to me all the time about their desire to get involved in these sectors. And the reason it works for Australia is because we have land, we have abundant solar and wind resource, and we have terrific people, skilled people, clever commercial people, great trades. We've got everything that we need to build an industry of this kind that can not only power our own economy, that actually generate energy exports that will support the economies in our region.

ANDREW MURDOCH: A common bit of feedback we receive in this region is that we feel forgotten. This is what people tell us because we aren't necessarily marginal seats, are we forgotten?

JENNY MCALLISTER: We want to make sure every Australian can see, be confident about their own future and we seek to engage with all sorts of communities. I was out in Mildura just last year and really enjoyed meeting some of the community people that I got to engage with on that occasion.

ANDREW MURDOCH: Senator, thank you.

JENNY MCALLISTER: I just wanted to finish up, Andrew, simply by saying, this is the budget for all Australians. The tax cuts, the energy bill relief. We want your listeners to know that we're thinking about them, thinking about the pressures they're under and looking for responsible ways that we can support them over the coming year.

ANDREW MURDOCH: We've been speaking to Jenny McAllister, Labor Senator for NSW and the Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy. Thank you for taking the time with us this morning, Senator.

JENNY MCALLISTER: Absolute pleasure, Andrew. Thanks for having me on.