Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

What a performance from the member for Herbert! In bringing about this MPI, the Leader of the Opposition talked about honesty. Let us just take what the member for Herbert has just said in relation to jobs and mining and refineries in his electorate. Let us just assume he is genuine about what he has just said. If the Liberals actually accept the science in relation to climate change, if the member for Herbert actually believes that we need to be looking at jobs and the impact of any solutions to climate change on those industries and jobs, then the Liberals and the opposition need to be telling the Australian people why they are not sitting at the table on the multiparty climate change committee, if they are genuine about getting solutions. Why are they not sitting there? Because they are more interested in running scare campaigns than they are about genuinely dealing with climate change.

Let's talk about honesty. Despite this MPI, which is supposed to be about the cost of living, the Leader of the Opposition came in here ranting about the Premier for Western Australia, Mr Barnett. He spoke about something that the Premier had said 12 months ago in relation to royalties. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to be honest on this, then he should come into this chamber and talk about the eight occasions over the last eight months that the Premier for Western Australia has said that he will not be introducing increases in royalties in the immediate future. In September 2010 he said in the Fin Review: 'It's not something we are moving on now. It won't be in the next year's budget. We will not be moving on royalties in the immediate future.' In October 2010 on ABC radio he said: 'We have no plan to increase royalties.' In the West Australian the following day he said: 'The state has no intentions of increasing royalties.' Again, in December 2010 he told reporters in Perth: 'There is no proposal to increase royalties.' Then, in February 2011, a matter of less than eight weeks before the budget was handed down, he said in the Fin Review: 'We have no plans to increase the fines rate in the foreseeable future.' He repeated that on 6PR radio that same day. If we are going to talk about honesty, the Leader of the Opposition should be honest with the Australian people in what he is accusing the government of and what the Premier for Western Australia has actually done.

Let us get back to working families and cost of living. The Leader of the Opposition talked about working families. We all remember working families, don't we? In the previous Liberal government when the Leader of the Opposition was a senior cabinet member he said: 'Working families have never been better off.' This was a minister in the Howard government who oversaw 10 interest rate rises in a row and, at the same time said that Australian working families had never been better off. This is a person who was a senior minister in a government who brought in work choices, directly attacked job security and attacked the ability to get a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. This is a leader, who is part of an opposition, who opposed every element of the stimulus to support jobs during the global financial crisis.

In contrast it is this Labor government that supported jobs through the global financial crisis and who, once again, in their 2011-12 budget have announced initiatives to support apprentices, to support long-term unemployed, to support people with disabilities with the ability, as well as teenage mums and single parents to get back into the workforce. It is this Labor government that tore up work choices and introduced the Fair Work Act, which resulted in a decision on pay equity that could have never happened under a Liberal government.

It is this Labor government that introduced income tax cuts in 2008, 2009 and 2010 for working families. It is this Labor government that increased the childcare rebate from 30 to 50 per cent. Let us not forget that it is this Labor government that introduced the most historic reforms in pensions with a pension increase—a much needed increase to the base rate of the pension for pensioners, veterans and disability pensions across this country. Carers also saw improvements to their entitlements.

Since September 2009 payments to single pensioners are up $128 a fortnight and pensioner couples up $116 a fortnight. On 20 March 2011 pension payments rose again, $13.20 a fortnight for single rate pensioners and $19.80 a fortnight for couple rate pensioners on the maximum rate. Total pension payments for those on the maximum adult rate including the base rate and pension supplement are now $729.30 a fortnight or $18,961.80 a year for single pensioners and $1,099.40 a fortnight or $28,584.40 a year for pensioner couples combined. That is what this Labor government has delivered on.

It is this Labor government that introduced paid parental leave that came into operation on 1 January 2011—the first paid parental leave in the history of this nation. For 11 long years the Liberal Party were in government and never provided this support to families. Let us not forget this Labor government's paid parental leave scheme will also, from 1 July 2012, provide paid paternity leave for dads and will provide eligible working fathers and partners with two-weeks paid paternity leave at the national minimum wage, currently at $570 a week. Around 220,000 fathers and other partners, who are sharing the child's care and who meet the work and income tests, will be eligible to access paternity leave pay. That is what a Labor government does and that is what this Labor government has delivered.

What have we seen with the latest budget? There has been further assistance for families through increases in family tax benefit part A by up to $161 per fortnight for teenagers aged between 16 and 19 who are in full-time secondary study from 1 January 2012. This represents an extra $4,200 each year for the lowest income families. Families may also remain or become eligible for rent assistance and family tax benefit part B, worth up to $3,600 and $2,900 respectively each year. In total, the government is spending $771.9 million over five years through these measures to help families with the cost of raising older teenage children while these children complete their secondary schooling. This is real assistance in cost-of-living pressures.

In addition from this July families will also have access to more flexible advanced payments of family tax benefit part A. This will mean families facing unexpected costs such as the family car breaking down will have quick and easy access to advance payments and will not have to resort to high-interest loans or credit cards. Again, this is what a Labor government does. This is what this government has delivered in the 2011-12 budget. We are providing many methods of assistance and support to families and pensioners across this country. The alternative we have heard from the opposition once again today is a risk to the economy. They were about wrecking the surplus. We heard that again from the member for Herbert. The opposition side are just not interested in getting back to surplus. It is not important. What is important to them is going to an election. Clearly the Leader of the Opposition has his eyes set on the Lodge and that is all he is thinking about. The Leader of the Opposition is about fear and negativity. He is about opposition. We see it in relation to the appropriation bills that are being debated in this House currently. Any positive moves of this government that have been introduced into this chamber have been opposed. Everything that this government does—and that includes stimulating the economy, investing in schools, investing in health and investing in infrastructure—is not of interest to the Leader of the Opposition. He is just interested in the Lodge. That is what he wants. So he is going to keep up with the fear and the negativity. This government is about making sure that it gets on with providing for those most in need in our community. We are out there supporting jobs, supporting employment, providing opportunities, providing education, providing health, supporting our pensioners and supporting those most in need in our community.

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