When Treasuer Josh Frydenberg stepped up to the dispatch box in the House of Representatives on Tuesday to deliver the speech for the 2022-23 Budget, he dedicated 186 words to talking about what the government was doing for regional Australia.

Despite an entirely new section of the budget focused on the regions, 'Australia's plan for a stronger future', the plan has disappointed as many as it has pleased.

It is a document firmly aimed at a May election date, and promises rural communities will see more doctors trained, more apprentices working and new roads, bridges and dams funded.

A large chunk of spending, $7 billion, was aimed at four regions: The Hunter in NSW, the NT, north and central Queensland and the Pilbara in WA.

These are the places the government believes are "primed for growth" and over the next decade the billions are earmarked for infrastructure, energy and water projects.

The numbers mentioned for regional Australia by the treasurer in his speech were $7.4 billion for dams and water projects, a new $2 billion "regional accelerator program" to improve skills and supply chains, and a $1.3 billion telecommunications package, which included $480 million to improve the NBN in regional areas.

Then there's the halving of the fuel excise tax.

While welcome, one immediate issue is rural service stations tend to get less regular, larger petrol deliveries. That will lengthen the time it will takes for tax relief to trickle through to motorists at the bowser.

Meanwhile, one regional fuel company has explained that because they bought fuel before the tax cut, they will be forced to either sell at an uneconomic rate, or even at a loss.

Educating doctors at regional universities sounds like a great move.

But while those universities can apply for some of the 80 additional Commonwealth-supported medical training places to educate doctors in regional areas, the Rural Doctors' Association of Australia has already warned it will be of little benefit without more rural training places for junior doctors.

A budget for the bush? There's a lot more work to be done.

Laurie Bullock

Group Editor