Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ever since this government was elected, regardless of who they have as Prime Minister, they have tried to cut family tax benefit. They have tried to make it harder for the families with the smallest incomes to survive—about 20,000 families in my electorate that currently get family tax benefit A and B. It is about the same in the neighbouring electorates of Murray and Mallee.

Cuts to family tax benefit hurt regional communities. But, again, the government has backed down—they have been forced to back down—because these communities have demanded of their MPs that they not proceed with voting for this legislation. So, again, the government has backed down. But people in regional Australia are in no doubt that this government will try to bring them back, because that is what they have done every single time: they have brought back another cut.

The other thing that this backdown today demonstrates is that this government is serious about increasing the GST and potentially broadening it to include fresh food. There is no way that you can say to families, 'We are going to cut your family tax benefit' and then hit them a few months later with an increase in the GST. Yesterday in question time we heard that AUSVEG have come out and said that broadening the GST to include fresh food will hurt regional communities. The government needs to come clean and back down on the GST.