Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer to a report from the Queensland Council of Social Service which has just been released which shows that Brisbane residents were paying 23 per cent more for food, 35 per cent more for rent, 48 per cent more for public transport and 63 per cent more for electricity, gas and water than five years ago. I ask the Treasurer: why is this government making a bad situation worse by hitting the forgotten families of Australia with an unnecessary carbon tax?

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for this question, because we are absolutely aware of cost of living pressures on Australian families. That is the first reason why we are so emphatic about creating jobs, about putting in place an economic policy which will see more jobs and more secure jobs. And that is why we opposed the policy of those opposite when it came to Work Choices, because they wanted to make people more insecure in their employment. We are absolutely aware that we need to provide support to families, particularly those on low and middle incomes. That is why over three years we put in place tax cuts which were a very substantial benefit to people on modest incomes. That is why we have substantially increased the childcare cash rebate, to 50 per cent. That is why we have included school uniforms in the education tax rebate. That is why we have put in place a very substantial increase for those families who have got teenagers who are studying, up to something like $4,000 a year.

But overall the thing that we must do to support families is to make sure that our economy is prosperous and that jobs growth is strong. If those opposite had had their way, had they been in charge in recent years, Australia would have been in a recession, unemployment would have been far higher and Australian families would have been far less secure. We understand that we also need to price carbon in this country to make sure that we continue to have strong growth. In pricing carbon, we will ensure that every cent raised from that carbon price goes either to households or to industry. That is why we will put forward a responsible policy which will guarantee our prosperity and do the right thing by future generations. We will not do what those on that side of the House are doing—

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Heads in the sand.

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They are sticking their heads in the sand. At least the member for Wentworth understands the importance of putting in place sound policy for the future. That is what we are doing and that is what we will continue to do.