Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

In discussion with my community, there is one matter that is coming forth again and again as the most urgent and important. Whether it's parents at my kids' school, people who I run into in the supermarket or families who contact me via email, it is absolutely clear that the cost of living is what is of most concern around kitchen tables in my electorate at the moment. That is why the first and the second and the third priority of the Albanese government is helping Australian families manage what is a really difficult situation.

We're about a month on since the budget, and I think a lot of my constituents would have heard me say that we had an unprecedented $14.6 billion package, which is assisting Australian families with the cost of living, at the same time that the Treasurer, for the first time in 15 years, is going to be able to deliver a budget surplus. That's a really important combination of things there: a balanced budget that's really good for our economy and for slowing down inflation but also this big cost-of-living package that will assist families in my community.

The amount of $14.6 billion is almost an unimaginable amount of money. I want to speak a bit today about what this really means for the families in my electorate. For Hotham locals it's going to mean a lot. For 6,500 families in my community, it will mean cheaper child care. That means that parents, particularly mums, in my community will have more flexibility both in their family budgets and also in the decisions they make about staying home or taking on a bit of additional work.

I visited an early education facility in my electorate, in Clayton, and met Kashmira, who runs the centre there, an amazingly charismatic person who is doing this absolutely brilliant job in raising and assisting to support the early education of many young people in Hotham. What she said to me is, 'These cheaper childcare reforms will ensure that early education and care is more affordable for more local families.' It's already starting to show in her centre, where more parents are getting that great opportunity to make sure that their kids are getting support in those early years of life.

Hotham locals are also going to benefit from the Energy Price Relief Plan. Steve from Oakleigh contacted me about energy bills, which is a major issue facing a lot of people in my community. We've been able to limit the worst of the energy price spikes while investing in cheaper, cleaner energy, but it's absolutely true that energy bills are still far too high. The budget is going to make sure that Steve is going to get up to $500 off his energy costs, thanks to the Albanese Labor budget.

I want to mention Lily from Clayton South, who has contacted me about the expense of going to the GP. The budget had the biggest investment in bulk-billing that we have seen since the beginning of Medicare—a huge achievement and something that will be of great benefit to my community. To Hotham locals: I completely hear you. This is a really difficult time for a lot of families in my electorate. Every day, I come to this parliament and try to make sure we are doing as much as we can to assist you with this really burning problem.

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