The Rudd Government’s $42 billion Nation Building and Jobs Plan, announced by the Prime Minister in Canberra this week, delivers a welcome investment in local infrastructure and supports jobs in Calwell, local MP Maria Vamvakinou said today.
The Plan will deliver $28.2 billion in direct investment in schools, housing, roads and other essential local infrastructure.
It will also provide $12.7 billion in direct payments to low and middle income earners and a $2.7 billion temporary tax rebate expansion for small business to encourage private sector investment.
In Calwell that means:
• Every one of our 45 primary schools will have capital funding provided for essential new buildings and upgrades; and
• Eligible families will be able to install insulation in the family home for free or apply for a rebate of up to $1600 for solar hot water.
Many locals will also receive targeted bonuses, to provide an immediate stimulus to the economy and support Australian jobs in the near-term.
In Calwell that means:
• Over 15,000 families will receive a Back to School Bonus of $950 to help with the costs of kids returning to school
• Farmers and small businesses affected by the drought will receive a Hardship payment of $950
• Up to 2,800 students and nearly 5,000 people looking for work will receive a Training and Learning Bonus of $950 to support their study costs
• People whose taxable income was less than $100,000 in 2007-08 will receive up to $950.
‘These are tough economic times and this plan strikes the right balance between supporting growth and jobs now, and delivering the investments needed to strengthen the economy for the long term,’ Ms Vavmakinou said.
The Nation Building and Jobs Plan continues the Rudd Government’s decisive action in the face of a worsening global crisis that has already seen the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan fall into recession.
The crisis started in the United States on Wall Street and has spread across the world, slowing growth dramatically in China and has caused a rapid unwinding of the mining boom, with major consequences for Australian revenues, growth and jobs.
That’s why this decisive action by the Rudd Government is so critical for supporting economic growth and Australian jobs.
The Nation Building and Jobs Plan builds on the measures already in place to support economic activity and jobs.
• The $10.4 billion Economic Security Strategy and $300 million program to build local community infrastructure in local council areas are supporting growth in the short term.
• The $15.2 billion COAG funding package and the $4.7 billion Nation Building Package will strengthen investment in road, rail, health and education infrastructure.
“It remains the case that Australia is better placed than most countries to respond to this crisis, so we need to work co-operatively to get through it because we are all in this together.
CONTACT: Nina Livorness 0417 541 465
