What do we know about next week's federal budget and what's in it for us?

The Leader asked several local politicians and public figures what they want to see the Australian Government deliver to our region.

Here's what they said.

Most attention is on the government's stage three tax cuts which have been changed to benefit lower and middle income Australians.

A person earning the average Australian salary of around $80,000 a year will receive a tax cut of $1679 instead of a cut of $875 under the original plan for stage three.

On the lower end, people earning around $40,000 a year will receive a $654 tax cut whereas in the original plan they weren't set to receive any benefit.

Tamworth Business Chamber president Matthew Sweeney said the tax cuts are a tricky balancing act for the government because it's one of the most straightforward ways to provide cost of living relief, but at the same time increasing households' discretionary spending adds to inflation.

"It's a bit of a catch 22 for the government because they don't necessarily want people spending more money because that adds to inflation, but they do want people to be able to pay for the essentials like food, rents, and mortgages," Mr Sweeney said.

Liverpool Plains mayor Doug Hawkins said he knows many pensioners in our region who are struggling to pay their bills.

"I would really like to see something come out of the budget that benefits our elderly people. Our regions are really suffering with home care, with nursing homes, and with doctors and medicals," Cr Hawkins said.

The Liverpool Plains mayor said he'd like to see the federal government tackle big-ticket issues like affordable housing,

Last year's budget included $3 billion in power bill discounts delivered to households, though it wasn't enough to keep power bills from surging for most households.

Member for New England Barnaby Joyce told the Leader he's hoping the budget from across the aisle will prioritise tackling the cost of living crisis and the rising cost of electricity.

"It is incredibly disappointing that at a time of a cost of living crisis, the number one priority for this government seems to be climate policy," Mr Joyce said.

"We have to focus on the fact that higher power means higher everything, like rent and higher costs of goods that you buy and higher power bills of course, so if you want to deal with the cost of living crisis we have to deal with the cost of electricity, and the current pathway we are on is a path to oblivion."

The Albanese Government recently announced the budget will include $1 billion in subsidies, grants and other forms of support for the production of Australian-made solar panels.

"I keep repeating this ad nauseam because it's the only way Australian people in general will realise that we might be able to do something about it and take some pressure off you, the tax payer, the worker," Mr Joyce said.

Mr Joyce has consistently argued renewable energy projects are increasing the price of power despite independent reports showing solar and wind have become the cheapest energy producing technologies.

Tamworth Business Chamber president Matthew Sweeney said he'll be keeping an eye on Labor's "Made in Australia" policy.

"From a business perspective we understand that's looking at manufacturing in particular, and we want to know what that means particularly for small businesses in regional towns," Mr Sweeney said.

"Is that simply tax benefits for buying Australian assets or is it grants and support services for manufacturing?"

The business chamber president said with the opening of the Tamworth's intermodal freight hub the potential for growth in our local manufacturing industry is nearly limitless.

Tamworth mayor Russell Webb said his biggest hope is for cost of living relief, and funding for some of the local council's road works and major projects would also be well received.

"The cost of road work has increased considerably to what it was a couple of years ago so we do need to see increases in funding just to deliver the same level of service," Cr Webb said.

"We're also waiting for notification from the federal government as to whether they're gonna come through with the $15 million for the aquatic centre we've applied for."

The mayor said he'll be disappointed if he doesn't see increases to the Australian Government's Federal Assistance Grants and Roads to Recovery programs come budget day.

Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, and Regional Development Catherine King recently told the Leader those programs are set to get substantial boosts this year.

The Regional Australia Institute (RAI) is calling on the Australian Government to focus its budget on developing and supporting the regions by prioritising long-term investment in infrastructure and services.

"Housing stocks are under immense pressure in many communities, 3.7 million regional Australians still live in a childcare desert, and too many regional residents struggle to access a GP," RAI CEO Liz Ritchie said.

Ms Ritchie said a coordinated approach to ensure investment, population and migration, infrastructure, jobs and skills, and housing policies work in unison for rapidly-growing regional communities is needed.

The Australian Government has committed to setting up a national firearms register by 2028, costing $161.3 million over four years.

At least some of that funding is expected to be in the budget next week and the move has provoked opposite reactions from the region's mayors.

Liverpool Plains mayor Doug Hawkins says as someone with a military background he's seen the destruction firearms can cause and he supports measures to promote safe and well-regulated gun ownership.

"I think there has to be safeguards there. I've got no problem with people who are licensed and have been through the checks and balances and I'm a believer in those restrictions," Cr Hawkins said.

"I think our gun laws have saved a lot of lives, I'm a big believer in them. I also believe in the sporting aspect but all the people who have those weapons for sport or to use on their farms are responsible people."

Tamworth's mayor offered a different opinion.

Cr Webb said as a gun owner himself he worries extra rules and regulations will prove increasingly onerous while creating no extra benefit for society at large.

"You come to my place, the guns are locked up, everything's done properly, what else can you do?" he said.

"These laws don't do what they set out to do. It's the illegal gun owners who do what they want because they're going to be illegal anyway. The rules generally only impact law-abiding citizens."