Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business) Share this | Hansard source

Once again, the government demonstrate how little we should take what they say into account. So much for the statement that this time, unlike last year, in this budget they would not attack family budgets in order to balance the federal government's budget. Not only have they doubled the deficit; they have had yet another go at families. NATSEM modelling shows that nine out of 10 families will be worse off under this budget than they are now.

In my electorate of Parramatta, there are many, many families—12,709 families—on family tax benefit part B. This government plans to rip that way that family benefit when a family's youngest child turns six. I have 10,152 families receiving the schoolkids bonus, which from the last budget they will lose in July next year, making them significantly worse off. We know that a single-income family of $65,000 a year with two children will be around $6,000 a year worse off because of this budget and that many, many women currently eligible for paid parental leave will lose that right because of this appalling budget.

So much for this government being a government for families. That could not be further from the truth. In every way they are doing the wrong thing by families. I urge them to rethink this if they ever get to budget No. 3.

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