Holt MP Anthony Byrne has welcome Federal Government funding for major road infrastructure around the electorate.
The Federal Budget, announced on Tuesday 11 May, committed funding for upgrades to the Monash Freeway ($250 million), Hall Road ($56.8 million) and Western Port Highway ($30.4 million).
However Mr Byrne has criticised the budget for not providing funding for other vital infrastructure projects, including fixing the much-maligned mobile phone reception in the area, despite spending big and running the deficit to $161 billion.
“Despite all this spending Budget 2021 was still unable to fund local infrastructure projects in our growing outer suburbs in the south east of Melbourne, such as funding new mobile phone towers to fully guarantee reception to local residents,” he said in a statement.
Making the case for Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, Mr Byrne said a priority for a Federal Labor Government would be to protect workers from exploitation and rip-offs by criminalising wage theft.
“Wage theft costs workers an estimated $1.35 billion every year,” Mr Byrne said.
“Across Australia a worker who steals from the till is committing a crime – but in most states and territories an employer who steals their workers’ wages is not. This is completely unfair.”
In his budget reply, Mr Albanese also outlined an incentive payment of $10,000 for new energy apprentices, and $10 million in funding for a New Energy Skills Program to tailor skills training to the specific needs of new energy industries.
He also pledged to create a $10 billion off-budget Housing Australia Future Fund to build and upgrade social and affordable housing, including for women and children fleeing family violence, frontline pandemic workers, remote Indigenous communities, older women and veterans who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
