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

My question is to the . Will the minister outlined to the House how the government is helping Australian families with everyday expenses? What is the history of this support and what challenges exist to it today?

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

I add my congratulations to you, Madam Speaker, on your elevation. I thank the member for Petrie very much for her question and congratulate her as well, as I have many times, for the outstanding work she does for her constituents, particularly for those families which really do need that extra help. It is of course the case that 12,500 families just in the electorate of Petrie have received additional help from this government to make sure—

Mr Pyne interjecting—

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

The member for Sturt has been warned once!

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

that they are able to meet their everyday expenses. It is this government that is also delivering extra help to families in the electorate of Petrie and in every other electorate in the country. In Petrie, 9,700 families are receiving extra help with the costs of sending their children to school. We know that everybody over there voted no to that—no to helping families with the costs of sending their children to school. Of course, you do not trust families with managing their money.

We on this side of the House know how important it is to help families. That is why we were so pleased to deliver the Schoolkids Bonus in the middle of this year. It was this government that also delivered Australia's first national Paid Parental Leave scheme and there are 1,400 families just in the electorate of Petrie who have already benefited from the Paid Parental Leave scheme.

We know that this lot over there had 12 years to implement paid parental leave. This Leader of the Opposition said that it would be introduced over his dead body. As the Minister for Community Services has just indicated, we continue to help families, particularly low-income working women who are responsible for their families. What we are delivering today in the legislation introduced by the minister is certainty of a pay rise, to make sure that families can meet their living expenses. I congratulate the Prime Minister and the minister concerned for the work they have done.

This all comes on a very special day: it is 100 years ago that Australia's first family payment for mothers was introduced by the Fisher Labor government that said that it was delivered to see that every child born into the world should have a fair start in life, and of course I can let the House know that the conservatives then, just like the conservatives today, voted no—voted no 100 years ago— (Time expired)