PEOPLE will spend more time working for themselves, rather than the government thanks to new tax cuts, New England MP Barnaby Joyce says. The marquee move from the federal government in this year’s budget was the decision to put $530 back in the wallets of low and middle-income earners in the form of a tax break.
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“More and more people were spending more of their week working, not for themselves, just to pay tax,” he told the Glen Innes Examiner.
The tax break was met with cynicism online as people told the government to #KeepMy10Dollars and invest their equivalent bonus of $10-per-week into more pressing social issues.
Mr Joyce, a former Deputy Prime Minister and accountant, thought most people would find the extra cash a hard prospect to reject.
“I find people are very reticent to work more for the government,” he said.
I find people are very reticent to work more for the government.
- Barnaby Joyce
“You already work for the government all of Monday and some of Tuesday for the government to send off that money to other people. That way it was going you were working all of Monday, Tuesday and some of Wednesday just to send that money to Canberra.”
More than half-a-billion dollars has been invested in securing more doctors for regional areas.
The Stronger Rural Health Strategy would create better health access for the New England electorate, Mr Joyce said.
“This means better qualified GPs, nurses and allied health professionals will have opportunities, through training and other incentives,” he said. “Because the evidence tells us when students complete the majority of their training in a regional setting, they are more likely to live locally and practise rurally after graduation.”
The package, to be delivered over the next 10 years, will change the training and supply of rural and regional doctors and will transform medical training in the regions. Minister for Rural Health, Senator Bridget McKenzie said the streamlining of GP training and qualification arrangements will mean more Australian trained doctors will be where they are needed most.
“We are also strengthening the role of nurses by enhancing their role in frontline service delivery,” Senator McKenzie said.