4BC Breakfast

There are reports of internal rumblings within the Coalition after a fiery party room meeting yesterday, where MP's were warned not to give away anything when it comes to policy.

Leader of the National Party David Littleproud told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast, "The reality is that, effectively, there's a blackout for everybody bar the leaders, myself and Peter and the finance team to be out for the first 24, 48 hours."

"Then after that, everyone else."

"That's been a practice since I got into Parliament in 2016, there's nothing new in that," David Littleproud said.

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Labor delivered its fourth budget last night with tax cuts, cost-of-living relief and $20 million to entice Australians to buy Australian headlining the document.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast, "It's a budget to build the future and to help people with the cost of living and strengthen Medicare."

"It's all about making our economy more resilient in the face of all this global economic uncertainty and so that's what's motivated us here when it comes to this budget."

"We've been responsible, we've gone for what's affordable and we've done that in the context where we have taken difficult decisions," Mr. Chalmers said.

"We are making good progress in the Budget, we're making especially good progress in the economy more broadly."

"We know that that doesn't always immediately translate into how people are feeling and faring in the economy and that's why the cost of living help is so important," Treasurer Chalmers said.

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Tourism Research Australia data shows that New South Wales has now become the most popular domestic destination in Australia, knocking Queensland off its perch.

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Listen to 4BC Breakfast with Peter Fegan weekdays from 5.30am-9am.

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Serving Our People is a charity organisation that has opened a free supermarket right here in Queensland to help the less fortunate.

Currently there are two stores up and running in Mermaid Beach and Logan with a third shop opening soon.

Eligible customers can help themselves to 15 items per week of fresh produce, frozen meals, meat, household items, and non-perishables.

The charity’s founder Yas Matbouly told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast, "I think we couldn't have timed it at a better time because a lot of homes were flooded."

"A lot of homes lost power and lost all the food that they had in their fridges at that time."

"At the same time, a lot of the homes that were flooded, obviously, they need cleaning supplies, they need generators, they need many other things, which we also provided at the People's Market in Beenleigh," Mr. Matbouly said.

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Over the weekend Queensland paramedics had over 180 jobs that were sourced and on Monday morning there were still 150 jobs outstanding.

The average number of Triple Zero (000) calls during March is 3300, with Friday experiencing a surge of over 3700 calls, indicating that there is a major issue here in Queensland.

Health Minister Tim Nicholls told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast, "The ambulance service cancelled non-essential training, offered overtime to the workforce and redirected neighbouring districts who weren't experiencing the surge into Metro South and Metro North particularly to answer those calls."

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The Coalition is backing a plan for a public service hiring freeze along with cuts to return staff numbers to pre-pandemic levels.

Shadow Minister for Finance and the Public Service Senator Jane Hume told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast, "Our concern is that the public service has blown out in size dramatically under this government."

"There's 36,000 new public servants, that's a 20% increase in just three years."

"I don't think that a bigger public service necessarily delivers better public services," Senator Hume said.

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From January next year the price of medicines listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme will be capped at $25 per script and that's regardless of who wins the upcoming federal election.

The Labor Federal Government has made the pledge and the Coalition has agreed to match it.

Federal Minister for Health Mark Butler told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast, "We have one of the best medicine systems in the world."

"It delivers Australians the best medicines available anywhere on the planet at affordable prices, but getting them through the system is taking too long."

"We all agree it should be better," Mark Butler said.

"I think there are patients out there who are waiting for medicines to be approved and who are either paying top dollar for them or even worse, might not be getting the therapies that they wanted and needed."

"And to that extent, as the Health Minister, of course, I am sorry for that and we want the system to work better," Mr. Butler continued.

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Power prices will be one of the biggest issues at the upcoming Federal Election.

Labor is promising a $150 rebate and the Coalition has their nuclear plan, but will either of these options actually get your energy bill down.

Senator Bridgette McKenzie told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast, "It's all about supply and demand, if you get more of more energy, more electricity into the grid, prices will come down, that is a function of the laws of economics."

"We are absolutely clear that we will be getting more gas into the system, increasing the supply of energy, which means, obviously, the prices come down," Senator McKenzie said.

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