Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Hansard source

Labor opposes this move by the Leader of the House to gag this debate on legislation which contains the most brutal cuts to our social safety net that Australia has ever seen: cuts to the age pension, cuts to the carer payment, cuts to veterans' pensions, cuts to the disability support pension. What this gag motion is all about is protecting each and every one of those members opposite from having to come in here and defend these outrageous cuts that are going to hurt millions of Australians. Millions of Australians are going to be hurt by these budget bills. They will hurt 3.2 million Australian pensioners who will have their pension cut by around $80 a week within the next 10 years. Imagine what $80 a week means to somebody who is living on around $20,000 a year—that is exactly what these budget bills do.

Of course, what the government wants to do as a result of this gag motion today is make sure that debate is cut short so that people opposite are not required to come in and support these outrageous changes. The people of Australia know that these cuts are unfair. They are unfair on the most vulnerable people in this country—

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