Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I hear those opposite interjecting. If they wanted it to go beyond round 8, why didn't they budget for it? Why didn't they budget for it? There is a pattern of behaviour here. They make big announcements about how they were going to chip in 50 per cent of Brisbane Olympic funding, and they provisioned exactly zero dollars for it. There is a pattern of behaviour. They were really good at the press release, but they weren't much chop at provisioning in the budget for the things that they announced, and that's the case for Stronger Communities as well.

I know that the honourable member for Fowler has asked this question in good faith. I know that she has also asked about cost-of-living pressures on her community in Fowler, that really important community in New South Wales. I wanted to tell the House as well that in addition to deliberating on future rounds of the Stronger Communities grants, when it comes to the cost-of-living assistance we're providing in Fowler, 39,150 people in Fowler will benefit from cheaper medicines; 95,485 people in Fowler are eligible for the bulk billing assistance; 14,840 people in Fowler will get the increase to JobSeeker, Austudy or youth allowance; 725 people aged 55 to 59 in Fowler will get the extra JobSeeker—

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