Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Solomon for that question and also for the great work he does representing the families of Darwin and Palmerston. We really appreciate his advocacy. The government, of course, understands that many Australians are doing it tough right now. They are feeling the pinch, and that's why we have delivered a responsible budget that carefully calibrated a balance of competing pressures. It does strike the right balance. We are providing substantial cost-of-living relief that also provides targeted support to people on the lowest incomes without adding to inflation.

As well as helping with power bills and a record investment in the bulk-billing incentive and cheaper medicines, our $14.6 billion cost-of-living plan includes responsible and targeted help for people doing it tough. We are strengthening the social safety net which many Australians rely on. The increases to JobSeeker, youth allowance, Abstudy and other eligible working payments will support those who rely on the safety net. We are giving extra support for older JobSeekers over 55, which will take the pressure off them as they face additional barriers to finding work. And we've provided the biggest increase to Commonwealth rent assistance in 30 years. We're recognising the work that single-parent households do by expanding eligibility to the single parent payment.

Our package of measures has been described as a 'life changing' by the Brotherhood of St. Laurence and 'taking steps to a fair Australia' by St Vincent de Paul. The ACTU has said these additional payments will be welcome relief to many parents, women and children doing it tough, and, of course, the National Australia Bank's Ross McEwan said:

We welcome Government action to lessen rising cost-of-living impacts on the most vulnerable Australians. It is a challenging balancing act to provide financial support without fuelling the inflation you're trying to reduce, which is why targeted measures are critical.

While the country comes together and welcomes this Labor government's budget, there is an important question for those opposite: will the Leader of the Opposition stand up tonight and support our cost-of-living relief? We know that those opposite stood in the way of energy relief for households right across the country, but the test tonight will be: will this Leader of the Opposition endorse our cost-of-living package that's targeted, that's well-calibrated and that will be welcomed by so many. What the Australian people want to hear tonight is 'yes' from this Leader of the Opposition, not the constant 'no'.

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