Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This budget will hurt families in my electorate Franklin. It will hurt those families that are receiving FTBA and FTBB—many, many tens of thousands of families in the electorate of Franklin. The families in my electorate are very concerned about this budget. They are concerned about the family tax benefit cut. They are also concerned about unemployment and jobs. They are concerned that this budget has unemployment going up to record highs and that it will be staying there for some time. It has been a long time since unemployment was so high. It has been 14 years since unemployment was at 6.5 per cent. There will be many, many more people unemployed, and the government's own budget papers show that. That will hurt families in my electorate, and so will these family tax benefit cuts.

The family tax benefit is very important money for families. I do not think those in government understand what families use this money for. They use it to go and buy their kids clothes. They use it for groceries. They use it to pay the bills. They use it for everyday costs of living in the family budget. It is an important part of family budgets, and I do not think the government understand that an average family will be $6,000 each year worse off if these family tax benefit cuts get through the parliament. (Time expired)