Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. I am not aware of any comments yesterday to that effect. I would make a couple of points. I make the points that the Prime Minister made before. The fact is that we are in the middle of a third global oil shock and this is having a tremendous impact on working families and seniors who are trying to pay the bills and fill up the car.

We understand the cost pressures on Australian families. That is why we have put additional assistance in our budget for seniors via the increased utilities allowance and it is why we are delivering the tax cuts from 1 July. We understand the pressures on working families. The opposition are terminally out of touch. We had a classic example in the House the other day where the Deputy Leader of the Opposition was turning her nose up at people who shop for specials. We are going to do everything within our power to assist families hit by the increased cost of living. It was central to our program at the last election and that is what we are delivering responsibly in our budget—a budget for which those in the Senate are irresponsibly trying to reduce the surplus. We will have responsible measures to assist Australian families and others who are hit by cost-of-living pressures and we will do it within a responsible budget. There is a very sharp contrast between those on this side of the House and those on the other side.

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