Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The people of Newcastle have every right to wonder just what it is that this government has against families. In my electorate of Newcastle the impact of the cuts to family payments are already causing great concern. There are 47,000 families in the region that I represent who would be worse off as a result of the cuts to the family tax benefit. But here is another assault on the standards of living for families of Newcastle. Here we have the government proposing—it is another little thought bubble being floated—a GST hike of 15 per cent. Although members opposite are quick to point out that they refuse to believe that it is real, this is exactly what happened when we pointed to the GP tax when it was forthcoming. I was shouted at from across the chamber—they were saying, 'Rubbish, rubbish, you're just scaremongering.'

The comments are the same now, and families in Newcastle are wake up to it. They know full well what a GST hike means for everyday living: it is a cost on absolutely everything in their lives. That is why Labor will not support the Turnbull Liberal government's plan to raise the GST. It will push up prices on everything, and it will hurt the very families who can least afford it. We will never allow that to happen.