Sam Lim (Tangney, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Over the past few weeks, at every door I have knocked on—from Willetton to Myaree or from Bicton to Willagee—my constituents' No. 1 concern has been the cost-of-living pressures that so many families are feeling. The second issue on my constituents' minds and in their hearts has been concerns about their families' future. So, when constituents in my seat of Tangney ask us what we are doing to ease cost-of-living pressures, I'm proud to tell them that this Labor budget provides energy bill relief not only to them but to their neighbours, to every household in Tangney and to every household in Australia.

As I talk to constituents about the tax cut that all taxpayers and 87,000 people in Tangney will receive from 1 July, I listen to people tell me how more money in their pockets will be of immediate help. Like in many families in Tangney, in my family education is everything. Like many parents in Tangney, I share the same concern for my children and the student debts they carry. My constituents and I discuss what it means for this budget to wipe out almost $3 billion in student debts and to make indexation fairer. We are helping more than three million people, mostly youngsters, in Australia. As a former TAFE student, I think it is wonderful that this year's budget builds on existing cost-of-living measures that the Albanese Labor government has already taken, like fee-free TAFE. Fee-free TAFE gives people the chance to grab an opportunity and make a change that will set them up for a better future.

My TAFE experience did that for me, and it is doing that for young people like Rebecca, Anika and Gemmalyn, who I recently met at South Metro TAFE in my seat of Tangney. Rebecca, Anika and Gemmalyn are studying for a Certificate IV in Information Technology. They told me how fee-free TAFE inspired them to make a change and go into an industry that they have a real passion for. As they spoke with great enthusiasm for their learning and about the opportunities they are getting through their studies, my heart felt so warm as I could see the bright future ahead of them. I'm proud to be part of a government that is making education more accessible to all, like addressing placement poverty by funding mandatory placement for teachers, nurses and social workers.

This Labor budget is a budget for all Australians. Cheaper medicines and freezing the maximum cost of PBS prescriptions for everyone will benefit many people in Tangney—senior citizens, pensioners, concession cardholders and families big and small. I'm especially proud to be part of a Labor government that will now ensure women are paid superannuation on their paid parental leave. This is simply the right thing to do. For far too long we have not supported women, and I'm proud to be a part of a government that has put in a real measure to help close the gender gap.

The ABS shows that our policy for electricity, rents and child care are all directly putting downward pressure on inflation. So many people that I talk to are struggling to balance the pressure of today with their concern for the future. This Labor budget helps people in Tangney ease cost-of-living pressures today, and it also invests in jobs, skills, energy and infrastructure to set us up for future growth. When I talk about this Labor budget to people in Tangney, I listen to their concerns, their stories and their dreams; I promise to continue raising the issues that matter deeply to them; and I share with them that in this Labor budget I see opportunity, growth and prosperity, not only to some Australians but to the whole of Australia.

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