Foodbank has been an iconic and trusted service in Australia for just over 30 years, offering low-cost groceries to our nation’s most vulnerable.

Federal Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox said today, some three million Australians will be hit with a crippling 7.1 per cent increase in their student loans. Fuelled by Labor’s high inflation, this is the highest HECS indexation rate in more than 30 years.

In a huge boost for our volunteers, Federal Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox has announced $63,373 will be delivered to 19 successful recipients of the 2023 Volunteer Grants.

The Albanese Government is now threatening thousands more local projects by taking aim at a raft of longstanding local road programs.

In disturbing revelations in Senate Estimates, the Roads to Recovery program, Bridges Renewal Program, Black Spot Program and the Heavy Vehicle Safety & Productivity Program are all now at risk of being axed under Labor's 90-day infrastructure pipeline review.

Dawson Councils are set to lose Federal Government support, after the Albanese Labor Government slashed funding for local councils in the May Budget.

Federal Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox, is concerned local councils will be unable to provide the facilities and programs their communities need, and ratepayers will be forced to foot the bill on large-scale community projects, as support from the Federal Government wanes.

The cost of living crisis is reaching breaking point for many across Dawson, with local business owners concerned with the unsustainable increase in taxes and levees imposed by Labor on our most important industries.

Leader of the Nationals and Shadow Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud, and Federal Member for Dawson Andrew Willcox, toured the Whitsunday region last week on an industry listening tour, witnessing first-hand how Labor’s ‘Tax Trifecta’ is impacting rural and regional areas like Dawson.

Regional Australians are set to be negatively impacted by Labor’s poorly thought through and rushed Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) policy, leader of The Nationals David Littleproud and Federal Member for Dawson Andrew Willcox have warned.

Mr Littleproud and Mr Willcox travelled to LiveLife Pharmacy Cannonvale, to speak with local pharmacist Lee McLennan about the impact of Labor’s changes, which allows 60-day dispensing instead of 30.

The Albanese Labor Government has continued its legacy of increasing taxes and red tape through the May 2023 Budget, taking aim at Australia’s agricultural producers.

Numerous measures implemented in the Budget will leave farmers with the “short end of the budget stick”, according to the Federal Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox.

The Albanese Labor Government have released their first full Budget since the federal election in May last year. Federal Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox, was holding out hope the Albanese Government would focus on two areas in this Budget; investing in the future of rural and regional Australians including the people of Dawson, and tackling the cost of living crisis. However, the Dawson MP is not convinced.

Federal Member for Dawson is calling on the Albanese Labor Government to help families with the cost-of-living crisis in the upcoming May 2023-2024 budget.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised if he won Government, there would be “no-one held back and no-one left behind.”

Federal Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox, is frustrated with Labor’s brand new attack on ten million low and middle-income earners in Australia.

The Dawson MP is shining a light on the Treasurer’s decision to cut the Coalition’s 2019 Low and Middle Income Tax Offset (LMITO) from the 2023 May Budget.

Labor’s Safeguard Mechanism is the newly announced tax on carbon, and will impact the livelihoods of our resource workers, regional communities, and now our farmers, the Federal Member for Dawson has warned.

The new Safeguard Mechanism, A.K.A Carbon Tax 2.0, is a Labor policy that will penalise the 215 largest emitters in Australia for carbon emissions over a baseline … many of whom employ workers from the Dawson region.

Federal Member for Dawson was shocked to hear the QLD Minister for Transport and Main Roads yesterday re-announce the ‘Bruce Highway – Goorganga Plains Upgrade’ project.

“I am appalled by QLD Labor’s ‘politics-before-people’ tactic, who are “using a 2018 Coalition Government commitment to run an ad hoc political campaign at the expense of the Dawson people.” Andrew Willcox said.

In Question Time last week, Dawson MP Andrew Willcox grilled the Albanese Labor Government for “grossly misunderstanding their own policy”, which targets farmers specifically.

Andrew Willcox MP asked the Assistant Treasurer whether the Superannuation changes would be just “another unfair new tax on family farms and family businesses”. In a video posted by the Federal Member, the Assistant Minister was unable to answer the question directly.

Federal Labor’s proposal to impose a 10 per cent per year increase in fuel taxes and registration charges on the nation’s truckies would cost the sector an additional $2.6 billion over three years and add to inflationary pressures.

Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox said the Albanese Government’s proposed increases to ‘truckie taxes’ would drive up cost-of-living pressures on local families and businesses and accelerate closures for small and family operated transport enterprises.

Federal Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox is calling on the Federal Government to further extend the Improving Mobile Coverage Round [IMCR] following Dawson completely missing out.

The IMCR will deliver funding to extend and improve mobile phone coverage and competition in regional and remote Australia, by co-funding new or upgraded telecommunications infrastructure in 54 target locations with up to $40 million available.

Federal Member for Dawson is urging Labor to reinstate $35 million in funding cuts to Tourism Australia after the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released new data indicating the return of international tourists to Australia is seriously lagging.

Tourism Australia’s budget under Labor will continue to be slashed by a total of $41 million by 2025, which is a major blow for the industry.

Federal Member for Capricornia Michelle Landry, Federal Member for Flynn Colin Boyce, Federal Member for Dawson and Senator for Queensland Matthew Canavan have called out Labor’s stance on the mining industry for pushing two Central Queensland mines to the brink.

Cost of living continues to rise because of agriculture workforce shortages, but the Albanese Government refuses to accept the Ag Visa as part of the solution.

In last week’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Senate estimates hearing Senator Penny Wong revealed that more ASEAN countries were interested in joining the Ag Visa.

The House Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Resources has launched an inquiry into advanced manufacturing to seek solutions to support the Australian manufacturing industry, create jobs and revive manufacturing in Australia.