Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon has told the federal Parliament this week that the government's cuts to Medicare and Centrelink have had a devastating effect on his electorate.
During his Constituency Statement, he said the support services were "in a state of crisis".
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| Joel Fitzgibbon |
"These are not just the unemployed, they're families who have lost a loved one and need to make arrangements, they're pensioners who have had their financial situations change."
The cuts come amid claims the Turnbull government have prioritised cities and other metropolitan areas over the regions.
Joel Fitzgibbon says the lack of services is felt harder outside the city.
"It affects the cities and regions, but the regions are hurting most," he said.
"This is a government that has its priorities all wrong, they're giving big tax cuts to the big end of town but say they need to repair the budget by cutting things that hurt people on lower incomes.
"It's a disgrace that they're being left out in the cold."
Unfortunately, says Fitzgibbon, only money can fix the issue.
"The Labor party went into the last election promising an additional $80 million to address this problem," he said.
"The government needs to do the same. Only, sadly, money will fix this.
"We need to have the resources we need to service people's needs."
