Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I would suggest to those opposite they listen very carefully to this. If they proceed with their tactic to block this in the Senate, what would be the impact for working families who have just, for the first time in seven years, had an interest rate cut which benefits them to the tune of $600 a year? Yesterday we had an interest rate cut which benefits working families on an average mortgage with $600 a year. For a family with two average income earners and a combined income of $120,000, the increase in the Medicare levy surcharge will save them $1,200 in tax. Yesterday, through the actions of the Reserve Bank in a 25 basis point reduction, we realised something like a $600 a year saving for working families with an average mortgage.

The action which those opposite are now contemplating in the Senate today has exactly the reverse effect. It is in fact a raid on the household budget of working families. For a family with two average incomes earning a combined income of $120,000, the increase in the Medicare levy surcharge will save them $1,200 in tax. So on Tuesday the RBA provides relief of nearly $600 for families on an average mortgage, and on Thursday the Liberal Party of Australia will take that back in spades. I challenge those opposite, who stand here and talk about the cost pressures facing working families. We had action yesterday by the Reserve Bank, modest in terms of its overall impact, but what the opposition are about to do in the Senate on the Medicare levy surcharge represents a slug on working families and I would suggest to those opposite that they do the right thing in the Senate and stand up for working families instead of providing an average slug of $1,200, which hits their family budget.

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