Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The measure of any good government is the impact it has on the quality of life of its constituency. While this may sound like a simple proposition, there are many levers that government must carefully balance in order to deliver this positive impact. Since being elected in May last year, the Albanese Labor government has had a clear focus on addressing the cost-of-living pressures facing so many Australians, including those in my electorate and in my community.

We started last year by legislating cheaper child care for Australian families. This will have a profound impact on 6,800 families in Hawke alone. We commenced an expansion of the Commonwealth Paid Parental Leave scheme that will deliver six months leave for parents by 2026. At the start of this year, we reduced the cost of medicines by $12.50 per script and we'll soon further reduce the price as we allow Australians to purchase two months worth of medication for the price of a single script. We have also modernised workplace relations laws to help get wages moving again. We know that those opposite spent a decade in government exercising a policy of deliberate intent to suppress wage growth in our country. It was a decade of Liberal wage suppression that we have got straight onto addressing. We've also shielded families from the worst of the energy price hikes by intervening in coal and gas prices in order to keep energy prices down, to reduce their growth and to try to control their growth for families, households and businesses, protecting jobs along the way.

The recent budget handed down by the Treasurer seeks to continue this agenda of responsible relief, repair and restraint. It seeks to steer us through global economic turbulence while addressing the deep structural problems caused by a decade of Liberal economic mismanagement. Most importantly, it seeks to deliver the financial support and relief that Australians need as the cost of living rises in our communities. The Albanese Labor government's strengthening of the social safety net is about protecting and supporting some of our most vulnerable Australians.

This bill recognises the disproportionate impact that cost-of-living pressures are having on income support recipients and provides them with an increase in their fortnightly payment above and beyond the usual CPI indexation. This is an important component of the government's broader $14.6 billion cost-of-living package and will provide increased support to around two million Australians. The amendments in this bill will see a $40-per-fortnight increase for the 1.1 million Australians receiving working age and student payments, such as JobSeeker, youth allowance and Austudy, including more than 10,000 people in my own electorate of Hawke. This targeted relief is designed to help the people who are on some of the lowest incomes in our country, and it ensures that they and all Australians can continue to rely on the safety net when they need support when they face economic hardship.

While these payments are already indexed against the CPI, this additional increase recognises the financial hardship faced by so many who are receiving income support, which can in turn create barriers to broader economic participation. With this increase and the indexation changes over the past 12 months, the base rate of JobSeeker has seen increases equivalent to $2,300 in additional support each year.

The changes in this bill will also expand the eligibility into the higher single rate of JobSeeker to single recipients aged 55 and over who have been on income support for nine or more continuous months. This change in eligibility from 60 to 55 years is recognition of the barriers that older Australians are facing when looking for work. Over the past 10 years the proportion of mature-age recipients on JobSeeker payments has significantly increased, and we know that older Australians are likely to continue receiving payments for longer. The evidence shows that 81 per cent of those aged 55 or over stay on the payment for more than a year, and over half for five years or more. This change will expand access to around 52,000 people, who will receive an increase of $92.10 per fortnight.

Another significant change in this bill is the expansion of eligibility for parenting payment (single) to parents with a youngest child under 14. We know that single parents do it incredibly tough, balancing their caring responsibilities with full- or part-time work, study, or looking for work. It is clear that the current eligibility does not reflect the reality facing these single parents. The balancing act doesn't end when a child turns eight. This increase will ensure that single parents are better supported for longer and will leave them and their families in a better position as they seek to take on more paid work as their children get older. With this change, 57,000 single parents will be better off by at least $176.90 each fortnight, including more than 600 single parents in my electorate of Hawke.

This bill will also deliver the largest increase to Commonwealth rent assistance in more than 30 years, providing an additional $2.7 billion over five years from 2022-23 and benefiting around 1.1 million households, including the more than 8,000 households in my community that are currently eligible for maximum Commonwealth rent assistance rates. With this increase, the maximum amount of rent assistance for JobSeeker payment recipients who are single and living on their own will have increased by 24 per cent since May 2022, when the Albanese Labor government were elected.

You see, our government knows that the cost of housing is one of the key pressures facing Australian families and households. We also know that this record increase to the rate of rent assistance is not the whole solution. The Albanese Labor government has committed to building 30,000 new social and affordable homes in the first five years of the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund. Sadly, the hypocrisy and political grandstanding of the team between the Greens and the Liberals is blocking the rollout of that investment. Their persistent use of housing as a political football is preventing the passage of legislation that will provide significant, long-term investment in social and affordable housing in my community and in every community around our country. At every level of government, the Greens' record on housing is clear: hypocrisy, grandstanding, and blocking of meaningful investment and construction of social and affordable housing to increase our much needed housing supply.

We know that despite his florid performances in this House the member for Griffith is proposing a housing development in his very own electorate. And we know that the people who are relying on these homes are being let down by the Greens party and their refusal to support the government's practical approach to moving forward and increasing supply of housing all across our country. I very much hope that this petty politicking will not extend to this legislation.

Like the Housing Australia Future Fund, the 'strengthening the safety net' legislation is part of the Albanese Labor government's plan to address the cost-of-living challenges facing Australians. Labor governments are elected to ensure that, amongst other things, a strong social safety net is there to provide for Australians when they need it. That's why we're increasing the payments available to the approximately two million Australians who need them most and providing the much needed cost-of-living relief that people, families, and employers are crying out for. I know that the Liberals opposite come to this place, to these debates, with the shortest-term views—winning the day, arguing the point, scoring a couple of cheap political hits along the way.

In my community these changes, these interventions, these modest supports provide dignity to the human beings, to the families who rely upon them. This isn't a matter of cheap politicking amongst my neighbours, my friends, my family. This is a matter of providing the best possible life and opportunities for our children. It's about ensuring that those who, for reasons often beyond their own control—health, circumstance, in some cases terrible matters like family violence—aren't left languishing. I know that the Liberals opposite sometimes see the short-term gain of opposing these measures as something of a political opportunity. But I would urge them—I would urge everybody in this House, the Greens included—to understand the true impact that this bill and its meaningful outcomes will have on communities like mine and like their own and all across Australia. This is an opportunity for us to take positive steps to improve the lives of Australians everywhere and ensure that our communities are living happily, healthily, and with dignity.

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