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

Our Treasurer has already said tonight's budget will deliver for the most vulnerable Australians. We've already seen some announcements before tonight that demonstrate that this budget will do that.

One of the measures that I am particularly proud to see in our first big May budget is increasing the age that people can stay on parenting payment to until their youngest child turns 14. This decision will be welcomed by single parents, by women's organisations, by charity groups and by organisations supporting families who find themselves in this situation. It will be welcomed by them.

Speaking to a dad in my electorate a few years ago, he had tragically lost his wife to cancer and he was making this tough decision whether to quit work to help raise his three boys. They were dealing with grief and then dealing with the prospect of how they would pay the bills now that they had lost their two income earners. What this measure does is actually give single parents the choice. In households where you have two parents, you do have choice. You decide whether two parents go to work, whether a parent stays home, and who's going to have the caring responsibilities. What this measure does is ensure that if a single parent decides to stay at home with their children and do all of the running around, they won't be doing it living in poverty.