Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier this week we had the extraordinary spectacle of the Prime Minister claiming that 'good government starts today'. What an acknowledgement of just how bad this government has been so far. He is certainly right about that.

Right around Australia families are suffering because of this government and this Prime Minister. As a result of last year's budget some families on very ordinary incomes of around $65,000 a year face cuts of up to $6,000 each and every year. That is 10 per cent of a family's income. Now the Prime Minister says he wants to make families 'front and centre' of the government's agenda for 2015. Like most things with this Prime Minister, there is a huge difference between what he says and what he actually does. He says he wants to help families with the cost of raising children but he cuts $5.5 billion from family payments.

The government have abolished the schoolkids bonus. The Prime Minister says he wants to help families with the cost of child care but he has cut more than $1 billion from child care. If the Prime Minister is serious about helping Australian families, the first thing he needs to do is drop these cuts immediately and stop deceiving Australian families.