Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Families who do not meet the activity test but earn around $65,000 a year or less—you would think the honourable member who represents many of those families would have some interest in this—will still receive 12 hours a week of subsidised care for their children. The new childcare subsidy is consistent with the Productivity Commission's recommendation to have a simple, single means tested subsidy that provides greater assistance to low-income families, including those with multiple children. Under the six years of Labor fees increased by 53 per cent by contrast, costing parents $73 a week.

Turning now to the GST, I can see that right across Australia we have a broad discussion about how we are going to ensure that our tax system is relevant to 2015 and how it will support Australians and back them in as they work, save and invest—right across the board. Of course, everyone is participating in it—former Labor premiers, but not the honourable members opposite. All they want to do is run these scare campaigns. They want to play the rule-in, rule-out game. They want to frighten people. Let me tell you something—and I have given the honourable member a pretty clear answer on this. If you were to increase the GST without any compensation and without any other arrangements, households on lower incomes would be disadvantaged, and that is why it would never be done. That is why it was not done in the past—

Ms Butler interjecting—

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