Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Canberrans are still furious about the Abbott government's budget. Why are they still furious? Because, as one constituent said at my mobile office on the weekend, 'This budget is bad for all of us.' But it is especially bad for those who can least afford it: low- and middle-income families, single income families, single parents. Let's recall what this budget means for these families. Family tax benefit payments will not be indexed for another two years; family tax benefit eligibility thresholds will remain at their current levels for three years; the family tax benefit clean energy supplement will remain at current levels permanently; family tax benefit B payments will now only be paid until the youngest child turns six; the family tax benefit means test will be tightened from $150,000 to $100,000 a year for the primary earner; the family tax benefit A and B supplements will be reset at $600, down from $726, and $300, down from $354, respectively; the large family supplement will now be paid only for fourth and subsequent children, not for the third and subsequent children as is currently the case; and, of course, families are also having to deal with the GP co-payment, higher costs of prescriptions and the increased petrol tax.

All of this is from a government that promised again and again that it would bring down the cost of living for families. In reality, it has done the opposite. This budget is bad for Canberra families, it is bad for Australian families. The government is bad for all families across the nation. (Time expired)