Keenly awaiting next week's State Budget

Member for Narungga Fraser Ellis MP is hopeful next week’s State Budget will contain fair share investment in health services, roads and jetties, housing and mobile black spots, as well as offering local households some welcome relief from rising costs of living.

“With mortgage rates tipped to rise again and energy bills jumping by some 25% on 1 July, any increase in rates, fees and charges will not only be stretching household budgets but will be impacting local retail so all sectors are keenly interested in what this next budget offers.

“I am hopeful the electorate will be allocated some sorely needed maintenance funding to improve safety on quite a few stretches of roads that I have been advocating for, and I am also very keen to see what increases in health resources have been allocated to our region; what new social housing is being planned in our patch to address two year waiting lists; as well as what outcomes there are for our jetties that need urgent attention.

“I have specifically sought an upgrade for Wallaroo and Maitland Hospitals, a new emergency department at Yorketown, and a new funding model for Ardrossan Community Hospital.

“In response to specific community contact, I have continued to advocate for the Arthurton to Kulpara road, Minlaton to Yorketown, Bute to Port Broughton Road, as well as others, and another especially long fight has been ongoing for a replacement sea rescue vessel at Point Turton. I continue to live in hope on that one”.

Mr Ellis said whilst he recently welcomed the expansion of the Telstra Mobile Network Extension Devices Pilot Program into the Copper Coast, Yorke Peninsula and Barunga West Council areas to offer subsidised installation of mobile signal boosting devices, mobile phone black spots continue to hinder businesses and households in regional areas including across the Narungga electorate.

“We cannot afford the economic impacts of any lack of digital or phone connectivity, including to ensure vital responses to rural emergencies when they occur be they medical, fire or flood. More funding to entice providers to build more mobile phone towers in order for meaningful inroads to be made into addressing the hundreds of black spots that still remain across rural South Australia would be very welcome”.