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

I thank the member for McEwen not just for his question but for the way that he advocates for his local community, particularly when it comes to helping them with the cost of living. The honourable member for McEwen is one of those local members who stays focused on the main game. If only those opposite had the same qualities and characteristics as the member for McEwen does. He knows—and every member on this side of the House knows—that one of the most important elements of the budget we handed down last night from this dispatch box was about helping people with the cost of living, with tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer.

We are cutting taxes not once, not twice but three times for every Australian taxpayer. Already the vast bulk of those tax cuts are flowing, but we'll top them up twice next year and the year after. That's all about making sure that more Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn. In the suburbs like the ones that the member for McEwen represent—the suburbs, towns and regions of cities of this country—nothing could be more important than helping people earn more and keep more of what they earn for all of the reasons that my ministerial colleague ran through a moment ago.

This does set up a very substantial contrast at the next election between this side of the House, helping Australians with the cost of living and cutting taxes for every Australian taxpayer, and those opposite, who have a secret agenda for cuts, which will make Australians worse off. As the minister said a moment ago, nothing could be clearer in this election: if they win the election, he will cut, and Australians will pay.

Now, this is the worst possible time to risk the progress that Australians are making together in our economy. Those opposite say that they want to turn back—they want to go back to higher and rising inflation and no help with the cost of living. They want to go back to stagnant wages, deliberately suppressed as a design feature of their economic policy architecture. We've deliberately taken a different approach to wages and incomes and tax cuts. We've done that proudly in all four of our budgets and especially in the budget last night.

These tax cuts are an important way that we can help people with the cost of living. They're modest in isolation but substantial when combined with all of the ways that we are helping Australians with the cost of living. And every Australian should know—

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