Upper Lachlan and Goulburn Mulwaree will share in $1.5 million under Roads to Recovery funding. Both will also be able to tap into $200 million in the third round of the Building Better Regions Fund. A total $22.5m will also be available in the fourth round of the Stronger Communities Program.

Mr Taylor said Goulburn Mulwaree had been very successful in the past with Building Better Regions, scoring $10m for the Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade and $1m for the Performing Arts Centre.

“I’ll be working closely with the council to make sure we get more than our fair share of funding,” he said.

“We’re discussing a number of projects, like the aquatic centre and roads... One the council is keen to pursue is the (Goulburn to Crookwell) rail trail but we’ll see what’s best suited.”

He urged the Roads and Maritime Service to get on and spend $3m already allocated in this year’s federal budget for Lansdowne Bridge. Mr Taylor said he could well understand people’s frustration with time delays to date.

He argued the $400m allocation to duplicate the Port Botany rail line would also have direct benefits for the region.

“It will drive that push to get more freight off the road and on to rail and that’s always good for Goulburn,” Mr Taylor said.

On a broader front, the MP said tax relief for low and middle income earners would put more money in pockets from next year. For a person on an annual $75,000 salary, it would mean an extra $530.

The MP defended the strategy of giving tax breaks ahead of paying down the nation’s almost $350 billion debt. The government is using almost half of an extra $30 billion reaped from the economy’s growth to do so.

“We are paying it (the debt) out,” he said.

“The point is if we’re frugal, we can do both. The beauty of tax breaks for small business and individuals is that they then encourage people to invest, create more jobs and we get an extra dividend from that...We’re at a turning point..It’s the first time since the end of financial crisis that we’re actually seeing debt starting to fall.”

Asked whether the tax relief was an implicit acknowledgement that employers had not passed on business growth in the form of wages, Mr Taylor said he wouldn’t characterise it in this way.

He argued the 7.5 per cent jobs growth across the electorate in the past year was “unprecedented.” Employers had opted to invest in their business and employ more people but they were struggling to find enough.

“Of course we’d like to see employers passing it on in higher wages in time,” the MP said.

“We’re confident that will happen because that jobs growth is unsustainable and ultimately it will have to translate into higher incomes.”

Mr Taylor also spruiked extension of the small business instant asset write-off. It allows businesses that make capital investments of up to $20,000 to write off the amount as a tax break. It also applies to primary producers. He said the program had resulted in a surge in investment and a boost for service providers in Goulburn.

Meantime, Tribe Breweries (formerly Brewpack Pty Ltd) and other craft brewers have scored tax relief. The company is establishing the nation’s largest craft brewery at South Goulburn. Tuesday’s budget means such companies can claim back on their excise. It also puts them on a “level playing field” by extending the concessional draught beer excise rate to smaller kegs.

Mr Taylor said he’d been lobbying for the change for some time. It follows the council’s decision to grant the company almost $3.3m relief from water and sewer charges.

He told The Post that changes in the eligibility for Youth Allowance would also benefit rural students. Parents can now earn up to $160,000 to qualify. The income threshold has been increased by $10,000 for each child in the family unit.

“We’ve upped the threshold and it means more regional kids will get access to allowance to go off and study,” Mr Taylor said.

“Regional MPs like myself have been arguing for some time that threshold was too low and hard working Australians and people struggling to send kids to university weren’t getting access to the allowance.”

He also cited a boost in home care packages for older people and an additional $30 billion in hospital funding for the states and territories from 20121 to 2025 as being of direct benefit to Goulburn.

Mr Taylor rejected claims by Labor candidate for Goulburn, Dr Ursula Stephens, that Goulburn Base Hospital’s funding would decrease.

”(That’s) a 30pc increase on the past five years  and I can’t imagine Goulburn Base is getting anything other than its fair share of that total number,” he said.