100 days in, Justine Elliot’s promises for seat of Richmond

Justine Elliot is invigorated after 100 days of the new Albanese administration, and ready to deliver on a raft of promises for the North Coast worth millions. See what she’s promising.

The first 100 days since Labor and Anthony Albanese swept to government have seen a litany of photo opportunities and press conferences all around the country, and the world.

For local Labor stalwart Justine Elliot, it’s a feel-good moment to be a member of a majority Labor Government.

Ms Elliot was first elected as the Member for Richmond in 2004 as part of the Latham-Beazley Opposition and served as the Ageing Minister in the first Rudd Ministry, before being demoted from the frontbench in 2013 for opposing coal-seam gas mining in the Richmond electorate.

Re-elected in May for a seventh time on a comfortable 16 per cent margin, Ms Elliot is excited at the prospect of an Albanese administration.

“It’s always Labor governments that do the big reforms that create lasting prosperity and a better future,” she said.

MP Richmond Justine Elliot at a pre-poll booth ahead of the 2022 election.

Ms Elliot campaigned hard on the abolition of the cashless debit card – in July, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth introduced reforms to the House of Representatives that would see more than 10,000 people moved off the card.

The Member for Richmond counts “taking steps to abolish the Cashless Debit Card” as one of the key achievements of the new Labor government.

However, critics of the government believe it isn’t enough.

On the cashless debit card reforms, anti-poverty activist and Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union spokesman Jeremy Poxon said “the Labor Party are showing how easy it is to eliminate forced income management”.

“It is incredibly punitive, and doesn’t help struggling communities.

“The immediate next step should be abolishing the BasicsCard – it targets remote Indigenous communities and isn’t working.”

Climate change has been a significant focus of Labor’s agenda, and Ms Elliot told the Tweed Daily News she was proud to see the government “taking real action on climate change”, “introducing legislation for a new emissions reduction target and commitment to net zero”.

Asked whether plans for new offshore petroleum exploration was at odds with the claims that the government is “continuing to act on climate change” and given the generational climate events that have hit the Northern Rivers recently, Ms Elliot said “we can’t immediately stop using fossil fuels today while we transition to renewables”.

“At the same time as we strive to reduce emissions, it must be emphasised that continued exploration for oil and gas in Commonwealth waters is central to alleviating future domestic gas shortfalls.

“(This) supports ongoing investment in the nation’s resources sector, which is vital for the economy and supporting international energy security.”

Ms Elliot said all of her local commitments to the North Coast would be present and accounted for in the October Budget, including $75 million in flood mitigation and infrastructure resilience, $5 million for a one-stop Veteran Wellbeing Centre, $3.4 million for a new Ballina Headspace, and $833,000 in Black Spot funding in Myocum, Bray Park and Tomewin.

Meanwhile, Kevin Hogan, Nationals Member for the neighbouring seat of Page, only had a potshot when asked to reflect on the first 100 days of the new government.

“The Labor government needs to govern and not act like an Opposition,” Mr Hogan said.