In a small outback town, elderly people who cannot get into aged care homes are forced to travel seven hours for help if the emergency room is full.
It’s what Jamie Chaffey calls “almost a sentence to die alone”.
The Nationals candidate for Parkes, which covers about 400,000km and makes up half of NSW, has committed a coalition government to dishing out $10 million for the Broken Hill airport.
Upgrading the runway in partnership with the local council is set to boost the economy through tourism numbers and speed up recovery efforts during disasters as larger planes can land.
Announcing the commitment at the airport on Tuesday alongside Nationals leader David Littleproud, Mr Chaffey also pointed to healthcare, aged care and childcare deserts in regional Australia.
“When you’re a person of mature age, you’ve served your community, you’ve contributed so much to then be shifted hundreds of kilometres away, that’s not acceptable,” he said.
Mr Littleproud and coalition infrastructure spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie are getting around rural and regional Australia announcing funding for local projects.
“These are shovel-ready projects that will start immediately,” Mr Littleproud said when asked how soon cheques would be cut for his commitments.
Nationals MP Pat Conaghan faces a challenge from independent Caz Heise in the NSW north coast seat of Cowper, where Mr Littleproud and Senator McKenzie joined him to announce $11 million for sewerage upgrades.
Mr Conaghan tried to sway voters, saying major parties could deliver on their commitments when in government but independents “can’t say where the money is coming from”.
Ms Heise clapped back, saying elections brought “headline-grabbing” announcements before years of inaction and Nationals leaders were only showing up because she whittled down the formerly safe seat to a 2.4 per cent margin at the 2022 election.
“It’s frankly absurd to suggest that the same party responsible for our failing health system, housing crisis and skyrocketing power bills is the only one that can fix them,” she said.
The Nationals are zeroing in on hip-pocket woes, hoping regional voters resonate with a pledge to cut the fuel excise in half for 12 months if elected.
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