Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This week we have seen a whiff of desperation from those on the government backbench about how they can possibly sell their budget, because the Treasurer in the last five weeks has done one of the worst jobs of selling what is inherently an unfair budget. But it is not surprising he has failed because he has shown that he does not understand just how unfair this budget is to many, many Australians from low- and middle-income backgrounds. Australians cannot be tricked. No matter what spin the Treasurer tries to put on it, no matter what comments he makes, the Australian people are smarter than that. They can see a budget that is littered with broken promises—promises made before the election broken straight after the election.

They can also see a Treasurer that is out of touch with ordinary families. One of the comments that show just how out of touch this Treasurer is is that he said poor people do not drive cars and, if they do drive cars, they do not drive very far. I invite the Treasurer to come to the seat of Kingston and talk to ordinary families that drive a long way. These workers have to drive an hour to work, just one way. Many are spending hours on the road, trying to get from one place to another. This budget will impact on those families. What about the carers and the patients who have to drive a long way for specialist appointments? This will affect them. It affects families, it affects children and the Treasurer needs to reconsider his words. (Time expired)