Tracey Roberts (Pearce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion before us by the hardworking member for Paterson. As the member has quite rightly pointed out, the Albanese Labor government is delivering a fiscally responsible government that supports Australians, while investing in a better Future Made in Australia. The budget is designed to help people under pressure, while supporting Australians for the future. It is no surprise that the No. 1 priority is easing cost-of-living pressures.

On 1 July this year the Albanese Labor government will deliver a tax cut for every Australian taxpayer, which is 13.6 million people. This includes 86,000 residents in my community in Pearce. Every single taxpayer will receive a tax cut. The average tax cut for taxpayers in Pearce will be $1,018. Whether you are a nurse, a teacher, a police officer, a tradie or working in retail or other industry, we will deliver a bigger tax cut for Middle Australia to help with the cost-of-living pressures.

The energy rebate will also be of enormous help to families living in Pearce and across the country. We are strengthening Medicare by growing the number of urgent care clinics, delivering more free mental health services, delivering higher Medicare rebates for many common medical tests and listing new medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Everyone in Pearce who accesses PBS medicines is set to save even more, thanks to our freeze on the maximum cost of a PBS medicine. Pensioners and concession card holders in Pearce will not pay more than $7.70 for their PBS medications for the next five years, and this has been overwhelmingly well received by our community.

The Albanese Labor government have an ambitious plan to build 1.2 million homes by the end of the decade. Our plan means we are training more tradies, funding more apprenticeships and growing the workforce, and we have announced 20,000 extra fee-free TAFE and VET places in housing and construction. We are kickstarting construction by cutting red tape and providing incentives to state government to get homes built more quickly. We are delivering the biggest investment in social housing in more than a decade, to help reduce homelessness. For renters doing it tough, we have increased rent assistance, which means over 5,000 families in Pearce will receive assistance with rent. Our ambitious Homes for Australia plan will help more Australians rent, build and buy.

The government is investing in a better future, recognising the need to create new, secure, well-paid jobs in our regions and our suburbs and a new generation of advanced manufacturing. A significant part of our $22.7 billion Future Made in Australia package will help us become a renewable energy superpower, with measures designed to maximise the economic and industrial benefits of the move to net zero and secure our place in a changing global economic landscape.

Importantly, we're also supporting small business and making sure they play a central role in our plans for a Future Made in Australia. The budget provides support for over 12,000 small businesses in Pearce and across the country. There are two major industrial centres in the Pearce electorate, which currently incorporate a number of manufacturing businesses, and I am aware that some businesses are already exploring options for new opportunities in advanced manufacturing research and development, including commercialisation, aimed at getting the maximum benefit of our natural resources in Western Australia.

I agree with the member for Paterson: the Albanese Labor government has without doubt proven to be a responsible economic manager and has delivered back-to-back budget surpluses. We have saved and reprioritised $77.4 billion of spending since coming to government. We are strengthening and rebuilding the public sector and have achieved savings by reducing spending on consultants and outsourcing contractors. Since coming to government, we have limited real spending growth and improved the budget position by a forecast $214 billion over the six years to 2027-28 compared to the former government. These budget measures that we have announced are considered fiscally responsible and will without doubt help lay the groundwork for a better future for all Australians.

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