Walking down a flooded road in Forbes, in central west New South Wales (NSW), Prime Minister Anthony Albanese smiled as Nationals MP Michael McCormack put an arm around his shoulder.
During visits to disaster zones in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania this week, the prime minister greeted local emergency service crews, gumboot-clad locals, and a sheepdog named Linnie.
But not everything is cosy between the government, the National Party and rural Australians, as regional funding has become a battleground ahead of Labor’s first budget.
For weeks, senior Nationals have warned rural programs will be on the government’s chopping block when it hands down the federal budget on Tuesday night….