Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. Indeed, this is a budget that is providing for a stronger foundation for a better future, understanding, as the Treasurer just said, that we need to give support to take pressure off families while, at the same time, not adding to pressure on inflation.

This is a budget that provides the support where it's needed and when it's needed—right now—as well as building for the future. There's up to $500 of energy bill relief for more than five million households and boosting bulk billing, helping 11 million Australians see a doctor for free. We are halving medicine costs for more than six million Australians. There is $11.3 billion for a 15 per cent pay rise for people in the aged-care sector. There will be 250,000 workers getting a 15 per cent pay increase—no doubt opposed by those opposite. We are getting wages moving again. There are 300,000 fee-free TAFE places. We were told by the Reserve Bank that it is supply chain challenges we need to deal with. There is free TAFE, along with the National Reconstruction Fund, along with our plans for energy—all doing just that. There is the increase in JobSeeker of $40 a fortnight. We are expanding the single parenting payment; boosting rent assistance; investing in affordable and social housing; investing to prevent family and domestic violence; investing over $40 billion to make Australia a renewable energy superpower; and investing in advanced manufacturing, critical minerals and the digital economy. There will be a fund to help households and small businesses become more energy efficient, therefore reducing bills. We are supporting the instant asset write-off, to assist small business.

We're doing all that whilst we're finding examples of terminated funding, due to end on 30 June—child and youth mental health programs, family violence prevention and legal service providers, myGov, My Health Record, the National Library of Australia with its Trove program, the Office of the eSafety Commissioner. They are dropping off a cliff on 30 June. The Australian Radioactive Waste Agency is due to end, apparently, in December 2023. We've done all this while forecasting a surplus. Their only surplus was those mugs left in Josh Frydenberg's office!

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