Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to speak in support of this motion moved by the member for Lalor, and I thank the member for bringing it to this place. After almost a decade of economic mismanagement, our government is getting things back on track, delivering the first budget surplus in 15 years—something, of course, that the former government repeatedly promised to do and repeatedly failed to do. This is no small feat for our government. Our economic plan is all about easing inflation and easing the cost of living at the same time that we lay foundations for growth in our economy.

Recent figures show that we have made welcome and encouraging process in the fight against inflation. But, as the Treasurer has noted, this is not 'mission accomplished', given that we know how many people are still under pressure. There is still more to do. But our responsible approach has made room for critical investments that boost the capacity of our economy and lay stronger foundations for growth, including in energy, housing and skills. We're ambitious for our communities. We know that people are under pressure because of higher global inflation and higher interest rates, and the economy is slowing in expected ways. We cannot undo nearly a decade's worth of economic mismanagement in just over 18 months, but we are making welcome progress.

Our entire approach to the economy and the budget is defined by responsible economic management. We said that we would get wages moving again, and we are. Real wages growth is back and ahead of schedule. We believe that hardworking Australians should earn more—and this is great for our local economies too; it's more money to spend in our communities. We want people to earn more and keep more of what they earn.

Additionally, we know that, from 1 July this year, every single Australian taxpayer will get a tax cut. That is 13.6 million people who will receive tax cut, thanks to Labor's tax plan, with 11.5 million taxpayers receiving a bigger tax cut than under the old government's plan. In my electorate of Chisholm, 81,000 taxpayers will receive an average tax cut of $1,640. This will make a meaningful difference to families in my community, including the thousands of nurses, teachers and hospitality workers that call Chisholm home. We are supporting the aspirations of all Australians to build a good life for themselves and their families.

Our cost-of-living tax cuts come on top of the tens of billions of dollars in cost-of-living relief already rolled out and rolling out, including electricity bill relief, cheaper child care and increased rent assistance. We've also invested in more Medicare bulk-billing and cheaper medicines. We've boosted income support payments and invested in fee-free TAFE training, and we're getting to work on building more affordable homes. Our government is also expanding paid parental leave and making sure that wages keep moving.

This is of course in stark contrast to those opposite, who just say no to any idea and have no real policies of their own. We want Australians to earn more and keep more of what they earn, while the opposition wants Australians to work longer and for less. The Liberals said no to cheaper medicines and to energy bill relief, and now they're saying no to lower taxes for Middle Australia. When it comes to the cost of living, those opposite have no genuine plan and always say no. It is all negativity, with zero policies. As the Treasurer highlighted last week, since coming to government the average amount of money that we will bank as a nation will be much higher than under our predecessors. We are more responsible and we're making sure that we've got an eye to the future and to the economic foundations we know we need to build now for growth.

I'm proud to be part of a government that's not only supporting Australians where and when it can but also delivering good economic management that lays a solid foundation for the future. I'm so pleased that the member for Lalor has brought this matter to the House today, and I'm very pleased to have had the opportunity to support it.

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