Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister yesterday in question time said that he had brought down the budget the Australian people elected him to deliver. Well, I am sure the Australian people are very surprised to hear that. The 30,000 who marched to bust the budget on Thursday certainly disagree. I know in my electorate there is a new saying: 'No cuts to health—yeah, right'. And in schools and universities around the country they are saying, 'No cuts to education—yeah, sure'. The Australian people did not vote for this unfair budget. They could not have, because they were not told what nasty surprises it would contain. They were not told about the cuts to the family tax benefit that will impact on hundreds and thousands of families. They were not told about a GP tax that would discourage attendance at the doctor. They were not told about a petrol tax. They were of told about changes and cuts to pensions and concessions. They were not told about the changes to Newstart eligibility. They were not told that this government would introduce an unfair budget that punishes the most vulnerable in their household incomes while leaving the wealthy and the big corporations to continue to receive support from taxpayers. The Australian public did not vote for this budget. They did not vote for the unfair Australia that this government is determined to create.