Wyatt Roy (Longman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today we are stopping Labor's raid on ordinary Australians' bank accounts. When the Labor Party was in government they loved to spend Australian taxpayers' money, and at a much greater rate than they were saving it. We know they were spending about $2 for every $1 they were getting in revenue, and as they came to the end of their time in government the Labor Party made promise after promise after promise to return the Australian government's books back to a surplus. But of course they never reached that, and in those last few months of desperation the now Leader of the Opposition, as the financial services minister, thought it would be a great idea to raid the bank accounts of ordinary Australians—of ordinary people in my electorate trying to make ends meet.

I remember asking at the time what the next initiative from the Labor Party was going to be. They were raiding disused bank accounts—bank accounts that had been sitting there for only three years. What was next? Was the now Leader of the Opposition going to look in our piggy banks? Was he going to look in our spare change in the car? Where were these guys going to get money to pay for their ridiculous spending on things like pink batts and the blow-outs on border security and school halls that were twice the price they were meant to be? Today we are stopping that. Today we are stopping Labor's raid and returning that money for the future bank accounts of people in my electorate. It is a great change. (Time expired)

Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise again today to talk about the budget delivered last May that just keeps on hurting families in my electorate of Lalor. Today I want to talk about the cuts to the Financial Assistance Grants. Wyndham City Council is set to lose almost $6 million in the next four years. It is an absolute shame. The Senate has told us that the Abbott government undertook no analysis of the impact these cuts would have on communities before making the decision to pause this indexation, and it is families in my electorate who will bear the brunt of that decision.

Earlier in the week I spoke about the Wyndham Legal Service and the cuts of $140,000 this year and next year to that legal service—which also supports the most needy in my electorate and assists people affected by domestic violence—only to find out that Attorney-General Brandis has reinstated the community legal centre funding to the Healesville Community Legal Centre. I stand here today to say that again and again and again I am on my feet to talk about the budget that just keeps hurting, yet we hear today that some people are having those decisions overturned—money reinstated. Well, I want the money for Wyndham City Council, and I want the money for Lalor, and I will keep getting on my feet. We have another few opportunities between now and the next budget to talk about the last budget, which we are just uncovering—still uncovering ways it is going to hurt our families. (Time expired)