Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It has been said of the Australian people, 'They will respond to an argument for change and reform but they want two requirements. They want to be satisfied it's in the national interest, because they have a deep sense of nationalism and patriotism. They also want to be satisfied it's fundamentally fair.' Those are not my words; those are the words of former Prime Minister John Howard in a clear rebuke to the Prime Minister and Treasurer for this budget. This budget is neither in the national interest or fair. When I listen to Greenway residents in their homes in The Ponds, doing the morning commute at Quakers Hill Station or going about their business at Lalor Park Shops, their anger about this government and this budget is visceral. They are angry because they know that 'fairness' and 'equality' are not in this government's vocabulary—not when research recently released by NATSEM shows that, under this budget, my electorate of Greenway is experiencing over four times the cuts than the electorates of the Prime Minister and Treasurer are experiencing.

Greenway families will on average be over $1,600 worse off each year because of this shameful budget. Let us be clear how overwhelmingly disproportionate this is. If we were to combine the financial impact of the budget on the electorates of the Prime Minister, the Treasurer, the Minister for Communications and Minister for Foreign Affairs, they would still be $150 better off per year than the people of Greenway. This government has no conscience when it comes to targeting Greenway residents. (Time expired)