2019 FEDERAL ELECTION

I am humbled to be re-elected to continue to represent our community in the Federal Parliament as the Member for Lalor.

I will continue to work every day to serve our community’s best interests, advocate for our needs and share our local story in the Federal Parliament.

I am proud of the local commitments that Labor made that would have made a real and practical difference to our community. I am therefore disappointed that Labor was unable to form a Government that would have delivered on these commitments.

Unlike Labor, the Liberals did not offer any local commitments to our community - they completely neglected over 250,000 people who call Wyndham home.

I am disappointed that our local public hospital was overlooked by the Liberals for a much needed full Medicare rebate MRI licence – instead choosing to pledge a licence to a private hospital in Geelong. In Government, Labor would have funded this vital investment to ensure that locals have access to subsidised MRI scans locally.

I call therefore for the government to meet this need and commit to this.

I am disappointed that our community will miss out on a $50 million contribution towards the Wyndham West Link that would have eased congestion and reduced travel times in our growing suburbs.

I believe the government should now commit to this.

I am disappointed that our local Centrelink office will not get an additional 40 staff members who would have helped to reduce increasing wait times for locals seeking assistance.

The government should make this happen in the first year.

I am disappointed that the Gordon TAFE will miss out on a $5 million contribution towards a Construction Skills and Apprenticeship Centre that would have provided more opportunities for our young people to learn a trade and gain an apprenticeship.

I am disappointed that $3 million worth of upgrades to litter traps and storm water drains will now not go ahead.

On top of this, up to 17,200 local workers in retail, hospitality, fast food and pharmacy will have their penalty rates cut again on 1 July this year.

I am disappointed that our local public schools will now miss out on over $31 million of extra funding that would have given all local students the opportunity to learn and excel at school over the next three years.

The families of over 5,000 pre-schoolers will be left in the dark without ongoing funding for 4 year old kinder and our three year olds will miss out on 15 hours of subsidised kinder.

While all the Liberals offer to health care is cuts, I am proud that Labor would have provided an extra $2.4 billion for free dental for pensioners, $2.3 billion to extend the range of cancer related services covered by Medicare and properly funded our hospitals with an extra $2.8 billion in extra funding.

Since I was elected to the Parliament in 2013, I have worked every day to give our community the fair go it deserves. Over the course of the 46^th Parliament, I will continue to advocate for the needs of our community and hold the Liberal Government to account.

DATE: 23 MAY 2019

Authorised by Joanne Ryan, ALP, Werribee