Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Families, Community Services, Indigenous Affairs and Disability Reform. Will the minister update the House on how the government is supporting families around the country. Minister, what risks are there 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 Fowler very much for his question and for all the work he does for the families in his electorate. He knows this Labor government has a very strong record in delivering for Australian families. Most recently we have delivered millions of household assistance payments to families around the country. Next year there is more to come. There will be the Schoolkids Bonus at the start and in the middle of next year. Also in the middle of next year there will be further increases in family payments to help those families make ends meet.

What we know now is that the Leader of the Opposition and all these Liberals over there have got a secret plan to cut this support to Australian families. All of us read—

Mr Simpkins interjecting—

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

The member for Cowan is warned.

Mr Dutton interjecting—

The member for Dixon is warned.

Mr Lyons interjecting—

The member for Bass is warned.

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

What we know is that this Leader of the Opposition wants to outsource support for families and outsource support for people with disabilities to his mates in the states that have now got a very clear record of slashing and burning support for families. What we can see is that in Victoria, in New South Wales and in Queensland families are losing support for playgroups, losing support for disability services and losing family payment support. If you look at what has happened in Victoria, the Victorian government cut the School Start Bonus so that 40,000 low-income families lost support because of the Victorian government's budget change. The Liberals in Queensland are up to it every single day of the week. The Liberals in Queensland have cut the extra support to people with disability. They have cut support to domestic violence services. They have cut support to tenancy advice services and, just today, they slashed Queensland's child protection watchdog.

That is the latest effort from the Premier of Queensland. Families know that this Leader of the Opposition will do exactly what his Liberal mates are doing in every state in the country— (Time expired)

Andrew Robb (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Chairman of the Coalition Policy Development Committee) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, a point of order: the comments of the minister have been both offensive and disorderly. They totally misrepresent the points that I made in the paper today. Under standing orders 91 and 92, I ask you to tell the minister to withdraw those comments.

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

The member for Goldstein will resume his seat. The minister has the call.

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

We know that Liberal governments around the country are slashing and burning, and this Liberal Party opposite will do exactly the same to fill its $70 billion budget black hole.

Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy President, I ask a supplementary question. Could the minister update the House on what the government's assistance for families will mean in my electorate of Fowler?

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

I thank the member for Fowler very much for this question. This government is delivering to people in his electorate, who we know are having a lot of trouble making ends meet. I can inform the member for Fowler that, in his electorate alone, 63,000 people have received household assistance support from this government in the last few months—families, pensioners and others who need that support. And we know that all of them will face having that clawed back by the Leader of the Opposition.

We also know that people in the electorate of Fowler fear not only the Leader of the Opposition but also the Premier of New South Wales, who has decided to claw back some of this money and hike up public housing rents because he wants to take the money out the pockets of families, out of the pockets of pensioners, to fill his budget black hole, just like the Leader of the Opposition will.