Thursday, 19 March 2026

 Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (10:01): I just want to say thank you to so many people in the community that have shared feedback. I invited people to have their say, and it was very interesting to receive some of the insights. One of the issues was tax dollars and how they are being used and how people feel the state government is spending them: ‘Does it support your family?’ Certainly with that one ‘Not at all’ was the dominant response. As far as issues that are important to people go, certainly cost-of-living pressures and the economy were mentioned as well as hospitals; law and order; roads, quite significantly; and taxes and charges – which I am not surprised about, because we have certainly seen a lot of that under this government. Expenses are hitting people very hard right now, like electricity and gas, groceries, healthcare costs, and insurance was very significant as well. On family budgets, people certainly indicated that they are budgeting very carefully. They are making tough choices each week, and they have had to cut back on family priorities. On how they are feeling supported by the government, ‘very poorly’ was the dominant response that I received. On areas where people are worried about government spending, they are feeling that not enough is going into essential services like schools, hospitals and police. There are too many highly paid public servants, and too much money is going to the city instead of local areas. Thank you to all those that have contacted me. I will continue to do my best to serve our region.