Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Jagajaga told us—she warned us—and she was right: they are back. The family tax benefit cuts are back. Merry Christmas, Australia! The fight against Malcolm Turnbull's cuts to family payments continues. We have been fighting these cuts for two years, and we are back in the chamber today to take the fight up again. The government will put the rest of these cuts back in here tomorrow. We have managed to protect grandparent carers from the worst of these cuts, but for 21,000 families in the electorate of Lalor and for 1.3 million families across this country we have to stand and fight again. To the people who were on my Facebook page this week who were not quite aware yet that the schoolkids bonus had been cut: we are going to have to fight again; we are going to have to keep this fight up to this government. This means 21,000 families in my electorate will be $4,700 a year worse off. Prime Minister, this is not agile. Attacking families is not innovative, and this is not new politics. This is bad news for families across this country, and I believe the member for Jagajaga when she says a GST is coming next because I have not seen her be wrong in two years. She was right about this and she will be right about the GST. Bear it up, families! We are in for a tough year.

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