Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

Volunteers are an integral part of all communities around Australia, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the volunteers in my electorate for all the magnificent work that they do. Through its Volunteer Grants program the Albanese Labor government has delivered more than $66,000 worth of funding, shared among 31 magnificent community groups right across Brand.

Karnup Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services received $5,000 to help volunteers fight fires and provide emergency assistance to those in need—like in the recent storms that hit our community and damaged houses and property. Rockingham RSL and the Totally and Partially Disabled Veterans of WA in Baldivis will receive a total of $3½ thousand to help the many veterans who live in the community of Brand. Another community in Brand, South Coastal Health and Community Services, will receive $2,000 under the volunteer program. This money will assist them to continue delivering services to women and families within the Brand district such as counselling, therapeutic and support groups, and other health services. I'm really proud to be part of the Albanese Labor government which helps local volunteer groups do what they do best: connecting neighbourhoods and providing much-needed services to our local communities.

The Albanese Labor government's budget delivers for the communities of Rockingham and Kwinana. Thanks to the federal Labor and WA Labor governments working together, every household in Brand will receive $700 off their power bill. That's a tremendous help in the cost-of-living crisis that we're seeing in Brand as well as across the country. It is real cost-of-living relief that will go a long way to taking pressure off people in my community. As well, more taxpayers will get a bigger and better tax cut under the Albanese Labor government. From 1 July this year, every Australian taxpayer will get a tax cut, with the average tax cut being around $1,600. In this budget we're also adding more medicines onto the PBS and freezing the maximum cost of PBS prescriptions. That means that no-one will pay more than $31.60 for a PBS script. That makes a real difference. Pensioners and concession card holders won't pay more than $7.70 for the medicines they need. That's really important in my community for people who are looking after their elderly parents or who need help with concession cards themselves. It makes a real difference to making ends meet in the community.

The federal Labor government is proud to support local families and hardworking people in the communities of Brand across all the suburbs of Rockingham and Kwinana and right across the nation.

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