Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, and Disability Reform. How is the government delivering support for families in the lead-up to the carbon price coming in July? Are there any challenges to this support?

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Disability Reform) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Petrie for her question and for all the work she does, especially for families in her electorate in the Northern Suburbs of Brisbane, as this government goes about its work to build a clean energy future for our country.

It is the big polluters that are going to be paying for the pollution they put into our community, and not Australian families. One of the very important things that has been happening over the last 10 days is that we have been delivering to families in advance of the carbon price starting. Families have been receiving up to $110 per child for families on family tax benefit part A and up to $69 per family for those on family tax benefit B.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why would they need that?

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Flinders is warned.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Disability Reform) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can inform the House that as of last night around 1.3 million Australian families have received their household assistance payments valued at $255.6 million. That is the money that families are getting in their pockets right now to make sure they get the extra assistance to help make ends meet.

From 1 July this year we will also be providing families and other Australians with a tax cut. More than seven million Australians will receive more money in their take-home pay because of this tax cut. It will mean that around a million of them will not even have to fill out a tax return anymore. For a family with two primary-school-aged children and an income of $80,000, this means they will get more than $1,000 in tax cuts and payment increases. That is the reality of what this side of the parliament is delivering to Australian families.

We know what the big danger is for families. We know that this Leader of the Opposition wants to claw this money back from families, take it out of their purses and wallets—

Ms Marino interjecting—

Opposition members interjecting—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Forrest is warned. The minister has the call and will be heard in silence. If you do not want to upset the Manager of Opposition Business, I think you had all better behave.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Disability Reform) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is exactly what this Leader of the Opposition intends to do: get rid of the tax cut, claw back the family payments and, of course, just say no to the schoolkids bonus.