Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for La Trobe for her question. She has a longstanding interest in reform and supporting people who are less well-off in our communities. It is correct to say that this Labor government has kept our economy strong during some of the most difficult financial circumstances seen in peace time since the Second World War. We have created 950,000 new jobs and, as much as the member for Bradfield shakes his head, these are facts which not even the coalition conservative propaganda writers can unwrite. Despite this, we know that some people are doing it tough. Labor knows fundamentally that the best way out of disadvantage for people is to have a job. The best way for families and kids to get the best start in life is to have employment in their households. It is important to go to the big picture first to set the scene for the specific points that the member for La Trobe is inquiring about. We have relatively low inflation in this country. The cash rate set by the Reserve Bank is as low as it has been in a very long time. We have unemployment which is still reasonably soft at 5.5 per cent. We have seen a 13 per cent increase in the size of our GDP since the global financial crisis, our ASX is coasting towards 5,000—a distinct increase in the last 12 months—and I am optimistic that superannuation returns will be double-digit. Business investment as a share of our GDP is 18½ per cent. So there are things going well in this country that we do not always hear about from the coalition.

Having said that, the member for La Trobe is correct—there are significant pockets of disadvantage in this country. That is why we unveiled a package in the budget to support people into work. I can report to the member for La Trobe that from 20 March 2014 this package will provide an increase in the income-free area beyond which people's allowances are affected. This is the first time that has been done in over a decade. It is a $258 million investment to increase the amount that people can earn before their income support payments are affected. We want to increase the income-free area from $62 to $100, which will increase take-home pay to $494 per week. Not only is it the first increase in more than a decade; it is the first time it has been indexed to CPI in Australia's history. That will take place from 1 July 2015. It is estimated that 150,000 Australians will benefit immediately. We will provide extra benefit for thousands to take up work.

It does not stop there. We have the pensioner education supplement. This is important because, just as a job is important to people's well-being, the best education, or re-education, and support for education is what helps Australian employees have the resilience to cope in a changing global economy. There will be nearly $40 million to increase education opportunities. This will benefit 25,000 additional single parents moving from the PPS to Newstart. It will benefit an additional 90,000 single parents already on Newstart. This pensioner education supplement of $62 a fortnight will ensure that people can train for a certificate II, III or IV in the TAFE system, or indeed for a bachelor degree.

We are also going to extend the concession card. This will see a $2.2 million increase to concession entitlements, and 2,000 people will benefit over the forward estimates. There will be a 12-week buffer when moving off income support payments because income is too high to attract some of the other allowances. This will allow people, as they make the transition, access to discounted GP costs, car registration and medicines.

All of this builds upon the $1.1 billion income support bonus for low-income earners, which this government has already passed. I am sure it disappoints the member for La Trobe, like it disappoints me and disappoints millions of Australians, but those opposite voted against giving $1.1 billion to the lowest paid Australians. When it comes to assisting multinational mining companies, the mob opposite know where to go—they do not need to be told; they just march like automatons to the beat of the multinational drum. But when it has come to supporting low-income people, those opposite have voted against it. What is worse is that they have also indicated they are going to knock off the schoolkids bonus—bang, $400-plus for children of primary school age, and bang, $800 for children at secondary school. Those opposite can always be relied upon to miss an opportunity to help the low-paid. When you look at the tax they are putting on the superannuation contributions of people earning under $37,000—a new 15 per cent great big tax—it is a shame.

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