Breaking it down to the cost of dog food and petrol

RUSSELL Broadbent is nothing if not different.

A Federal representative of this area, on and off, for 33 years, 24 of those in office, he’s best known for taking a principled stand on issues including the treatment of refugees, and for his unpopular conscience vote against same-sex marriage.

But it’s symptomatic of the way he operates, listening to his constituents and if necessary, taking a controversial position, if it means opening the door to a different point of view or helping an individual against the bureaucracy.

Last week in Parliament, he was again raising the profile of the fallout from the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination roll out.

But he takes up the more mainstream issues as well, highlighting the crisis in childcare in December last year.

“It's not about the money …it's about the number of places and opportunities for families to get into childcare. The problem in my area is that there are just not enough childcare places and, when there are new centres built, the opportunities for places in those centres are taken up so quickly that many people miss out.”

Medicare problems and the lack of doctors in regional areas, actually made worse by the new governments policies, he says.

And doubts that the new government can actually get wages moving with IR changes.

Last week, he got up in Parliament to add to the cost of living debate, saying that unlike most other MPs, he actually knows what it costs to run a car.

“I'm probably unusual in this House. I don't know how many others own their own car and pay for their own fuel, but I own my own car and pay for my own fuel — for good reason: I was sick of people tracking everything that I did through my service station results and accounts.

“It may be a five to seven-year-old Territory, but it is a lovely car. It's very hard to replace, and it's Australian made. But, of course, I have noticed that my fuel bill has doubled, and I'm not on my own.”

Mr Broadbent also sympathised with those facing big interest rate hikes, many experiencing it for the first time.

“On top of that, I don't know whether you have had a look at the price of dog food recently. You may laugh, but families actually have dogs and they love their animals. They spend a lot of money feeding them and looking after them. The price of dog food has gone through the roof. It's only one component of what goes in their grocery basket,” he said.

So, in a nutshell, Russell gets it, especially when it comes to looking after his dog Caesar, but he’s not sure the new government has got it when it comes to the depth of financial stress in many local households.