Pat Conroy (Charlton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over 200 people came to the seniors expo in Morisset last week and the number one issue raised was the budget. People told me they are worried about cuts to their pensions and losing their seniors concessions on household bills. They say it is unfair to charge pensioners $7 to see a doctor or specialist and to make them pay more for their medicine. They worry about service cuts after hundreds of millions of dollars are stripped from hospitals on the Central Coast and in the Hunter. They know life will be harder for their children when family payments are cut and the petrol tax rises. They know their grandchildren will suffer from the biggest cut to school funding in Australia's history.

They are angry because, before the election, they were promised 'no changes to pensions'. They were told the cost of living would be eased. They were not told about a GP tax; higher medicine costs; cuts to public hospitals, schools, universities and family payments; or the petrol tax. The Prime Minister says this budget is one which 'the Australian people elected us to bring down'. But he is wrong. The Liberals were not elected on the basis of these budget measures—because these budget measures were specifically ruled out before the election.

I was elected to represent the pensioners and seniors of Morisset, and the people of Charlton more broadly. I will fight this budget. Labor MPs were elected to stand by our values of fairness and equality. The Australian public are with us. A prominent public intellectual recently said that egalitarian rhetoric is woven into our national story. The public are on our side and we will fight this unfair and inegalitarian budget.