Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I think the member for Forde for the opportunity to speak on the budget and on our government's actions to slow inflation and provide relief for millions of families across Australia and tens of thousands in the electorate of Hasluck, which I've now had the honour of serving for one year.

The motion mentions fiscal restraint. International observers such as Bloomberg noted the government is on the 'path of fiscal restraint' with the May budget, and our own Chamber of Commerce and Industry praised the government's fiscal restraint. These are independent commentators who have said our budget straddles the line well, with relief for those who need it most, investment in public services and innovation, banking most of the surplus revenue and paying down the Liberal debt.

The member for Forde wants simpler and fairer taxes. There are a few tax measures in the budget. A modest increase in tax revenue off the back of the eye-watering profits that resource companies are making from our minerals and gas sounds pretty fair to me and to the many constituents I've spoken to. A modest tweak to our overly generous super tax concessions for literal multimillionaires—I'm struggling to find anyone who considers this an attack on fairness. The 15 per cent global minimum tax aims to ensure that multinationals and others who seek to avoid their fair tax obligations in this country can no longer get away with it. I expect that the member for Forde, if he indeed supports fair taxes, will support this legislation when it comes to the House.

The member for Forde calls for 'real action on productivity'. I can well understand the member wanting this government to grapple with that one, as the last nine years were, on the evidence, a productivity-free zone. Challenge accepted. It's something we can work on together in the House economics committee, and I know there's more than one minister very interested in seeing our report on economic dynamism later in the year.

The motion goes on, helpfully, with 'measured relief for small business and families that does not add to inflation'. The budget relief isn't just neutral; it's even anti-inflationary. These measures include relief from energy prices for business, and cheaper child care and cheaper medicines for families.

I'm very proud of this government's achievements thus far, and they are legion. Because the government's program addresses what we need to have a progressive, fair, functioning society in 2023, it includes trust in government, an educated population, a healthy population, action on climate change, a functional safety net, gender equity, investment in the future and pride in our country.

The budget contains funding specifically for a national anticorruption commission, commencing in July, which will instil a new confidence in the workings of government, underpinning trust in our democracy. There are 300,000 fee-free TAFE places. Young people can gain skills and older workers can reskill as we transition to a green economy. There are real savings for Australians on the cost of medicines, and there is real support for Medicare for our most vulnerable. Urgent care clinics are to be rolled out across the country to meet local needs and to take pressure off emergency departments.

We are investing in what we know will be a challenging but necessary transition to a green energy economy, with emissions goals legislated, the safeguard mechanism enacted—properly this time—and significant investments in renewable technologies like hydrogen and EVs, and a national reconstruction fund to support further innovation. Aged-care workers will receive a record pay rise, and the government's very first action, of which we are all proud, was to support a significant increase in the minimum wage. Cheaper child care will help over a million Australian families, and the government's commitments to fairer workplaces and a fairer health system reflect the belief that gender equity must underpin all progress in a modern society.

This government is investing in the future of the country. In Hasluck this means progressing the Ellenbrook Line of Metronet and an Olympic-size swimming pool in Ellenbrook and addressing the NBN and other communications issues in the Swan Valley and the Perth Hills. The government is also reinvesting in the arts, with the new Creative Australia, so that our stories can be told. And on the international stage the Prime Minister, the foreign minister, the trade minister and many other ministers have given us cause to be proud again as they re-establish Australia's place in the world. The member for Forde speaks of balancing the budget. Of course the Treasurer was pleased to bring down a surplus, so I expect that the member will have already congratulated the Treasurer on that score.

I am grateful for the motion, which supports the government's budget actions. But it's time now for us to address the structural deficit left to us by the previous Morrison government.

See this speech in context