Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I will continue if the Committee pleases. The second point in relation to the economic benefits of the budget is that while the rest of the country has been experiencing a great decrease in unemployment and an increase in employment and real and profound benefits to families as a result of this change, there has also been a change in the real income which is being taken home by families. That real income has increased by 20 per cent over the last decade. But more than that, in the middle-income brackets we have seen a dramatic change in the amount of tax paid on that income and great reductions.

For over 15,000 families, for 60 per cent plus of the population of the electorate of Flinders in the adult ages that are engaged in the workforce, this budget decreases the amount of tax they have to pay. Firstly, it will affect those in the middle brackets, from 1 July this year—when the threshold for the 30 per cent range will increase from $25,000 to $30,000. That is important and will provide critical relief to families at the lower- to middle-income levels and is something which will have a profound effect on their capacity. It is part of the ongoing process of tax reform. It is good for them as families, it is good for the economy as a whole and it is all about providing people with reward for work and incentives to participate in the work process.

The second of the economic reforms contained in this budget is backing for small business. We have over 6,000 small businesses in the electorate of Flinders. What they have been able to receive here is a proportionate part of $540 million of tax relief for small business with, perhaps most importantly to them, compliance costs reduced. That is an eternal bugbear. Whether it is farmers, bakers, shopkeepers or any of the small businesses, they are always seeking—and rightly so—to reduce the time they spend on compliance and to reduce any costs associated with compliance. In addition to that, they will benefit from the lower personal income tax rates and will also have the opportunity to participate in the quite large industry assistance plan to help build global markets and improve productivity. For the number of export firms that are developing in high-tech areas such as hovercraft or others, I think that is an extremely important economic reform.

An additional economic reform which has a very real human dividend is the skills package. We have over 3,300 apprentices in the Flinders electorate, and a significant proportion of them will benefit from a tax exempt payment of $1,000 and a $500 voucher to help pay course fees, depending on where they are. For local plumbers, electricians, carpenters and the many other tradies who are working and training in the electorate of Flinders it is a great step forward, and I am very pleased about that.

In addition, there is the economic and social benefit which comes from the investment in local roads. Immediately following the budget we had an announcement of $860,000 for the completion and sealing of Clyde Road and an announcement of $500,000 for the completion and sealing of Dalmore Road. These roads will help the residents of Tooradin, Dalmore and Clyde. In particular, they will help the farmers transport their goods to market. It is an extremely important step forward.

I respectfully say to the City of Casey that you made a very clear statement in your application to the Commonwealth that no additional funds would be sought from any other stakeholders. The Commonwealth rightly read that as a statement that the City of Casey would not be seeking, in addition to the $800,000 from the Commonwealth for Manks Road, to impose a levy on the residents of Manks Road. I am now told that the City of Casey is seeking to charge residents over $8,000, with no choice. These are poor or struggling farmers in many cases. They are not a group of people who are extremely wealthy. Let me be absolutely clear before the Parliament of Australia that this would represent a fundamental lack of faith with the application, which said that no extra money would be sought. I hope that the council will reverse its current position. It would be a breach of a very clear undertaking to the Australian government, to the people of Australia and to the Parliament of Australia. It would be viewed with great circumspection and with enormous disapproval from the parliament, as well as being a breach of faith with the local residents.

This is a unique situation. This road is different from any others. It is a main road which has been falsely and wrongly categorised as a local road. It is a main road which should have been completed probably two decades ago. The council application was absolutely clear that it is a road which should be treated as a main road. It made no reference to the benefit to residents and it made an express, clear and absolute undertaking to the Commonwealth that no extra dollars would be charged. This would be a breach, and I urge the City of Casey to reconsider. I have raised this with the CEO and the mayor, both of whom are honourable men, and I hope that they will uphold the express and clear undertaking to the Commonwealth.

Moving beyond the question of the economic benefits to the region—to the families and others of Flinders—I want to focus on the environmental benefits contained in the budget. Of all the measures in the budget, the one on which my office has had the most feedback is the doubling of the rebate for solar panels on homes. There will now be a rebate of up to $8,000 available for those who install solar panels on their roof. I think this is an admirable chance to allow families to participate in national greenhouse gas savings. I also urge families to consider the possibility of signing up to green or renewable power. At present only three per cent of Australians do this. It is available to every Australian, and many of the people who are most critical about greenhouse, when I ask them whether or not they have signed up to green power, drop their eyes and note that they have not. For those who, rightly, believe that this is an important issue, there is no excuse for not contributing. It is our time, it is our responsibility, it is our task and so I urge people to take up that opportunity, particularly those who are critical of others for not taking steps. These solar rebates will also be extended to schools, with grants of up to $12,000 available for installing solar panels. I know there is great interest amongst the schools of the Mornington Peninsula.

I turn now to the social benefits. Perhaps the most important single item in the budget for the electorate of Flinders is the fact that over 22,000 pensioners and healthcare card holders will receive a benefit of $500 each prior to 30 June. This is a pensioner’ bonus, which reflects their contribution to Australia and the specific needs which they have. I am proud to say that locals from the electorate of Flinders may have played a very important part in securing this bonus. Representations were made to me, and I spoke at length with the Prime Minister directly about precisely this initiative. I hope that in some small way that contributed to the outcome. It is a direct case of people from our electorate being able to communicate immediately with the Prime Minister through their representative. It is how democracy should work and it is a great thing to see. I thank the Prime Minister for listening and acting, and I thank the members of the electorate of Flinders for making those representations. For our pensioners, for our seniors, for our self-funded retirees, it is a welcome and much-appreciated recognition of their great contribution.

In addition to that outcome, other social benefits include the fact that 15,000 families, in the towns of Hastings, Somerville, Rosebud, Mount Martha, Cowes on Phillip Island, Lang Lang, Koo Wee Rup and many others, will be able to access the $700 tuition voucher for children who do not achieve national literacy and numeracy benchmarks at different years. They will be able to benefit from the 13 per cent increase in the childcare benefit. Hopefully there will be more than 700 local recipients of the carer rebate who will receive a $1,000 payment, and 2,500 local recipients of the carer allowance who will receive a $600 payment. Of great importance to the electorate is the fact that those who suffer from poor dental health which may have a chronic impact on their broader health will now for the first time be able to claim up to $2,000 in annual benefits from Medicare. That is a very important benefit for our electorate. Altogether, this has been a very good result for the electorate of Flinders.

I am also pleased that, in terms of both our national security and our local community and economy, there is $14 million for an upgrade of HMAS Cerberus at Crib Point. That upgrade will go to assisting with training in the schools of gunnery, engineering, communication, seamanship, health and catering. I think that there is a long-term, 30-year vision for HMAS Cerberus. It is an integral part of the Australia’s defence network. It is a wonderful part of the Mornington Peninsula community. The fact that that now has been guaranteed is a tremendous thing and I thank the defence minister for that. Above all else, I am delighted by outcomes such as tax relief, the pensioner bonus, the increased solar rebate, the increase in funding for veterans, such as the ex gratia payment of $25,000 for Australian prisoners of war held in Europe or fortnightly increases of $50 for veterans with a disability. All of those things are good outcomes for our electorate. I commend the budget and I commend the appropriations bill.

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