David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm currently hosting Rory, a work experience student from Melrose High. I asked Rory, 'What should we keep front of mind in this House?' Her thoughts were:

Imagine, you, your family, your friends are forced to live out of your car or not know where your next meal will come from.

Well, this is the … reality for many of the Australians who live below the poverty line. As the cost of living rises dramatically, more people are falling under the poverty line.

It might seem like it doesn't affect anyone you know, but it's more likely than it seems.

According to a 2020 ACOSS report it's 1 in 8 adults and 1 in 6 children.

Those are the horrifying figures that really put it into perspective. That it could be you. It could be your family. It could be your friends.

This issue runs deeper than individuals, it affects the people around them and the communities that they're a part of.

And I'm sure that we can all agree … that no person should have to live a life in which they wonder if they'll be able to pay rent or have to make a choice between food and medicine.

Thank you, Rory.

That's why last night's budget includes measures that will help vulnerable Australians: an increase to JobSeeker, an increase in rent assistance, greater support for single parents, energy bill relief and a tripling of the bulk-billing subsidy—a Labor budget that both delivers targeted cost-of-living relief and broadens opportunity. The parliament has the opportunity to pass legislation that would drive the single-biggest improvement in social and affordable housing in more than a decade.

Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last night's budget was an environmental disappointment. The Treasurer's speech focused little on the environment because, frankly, there is little for the government to boast about in this budget. Even the implementation of the promised Environment Protection Australia body lacks fanfare, as did the boost to funding for our iconic national parks. Great hopes were held for a government committed to achieving a long list of nature and environmental promises: protecting 30 per cent of land and sea, achieving a nature-positive Australia and preventing any new extinctions by 2030, to name just a few. However, the money to support the achievement of these goals was glaringly absent.

The State of the environment report was a dire warning. Half of our economic output is moderately or highly dependent on nature. Budget allocations for the environment can no longer be considered a nice thing to do but are a critical sector of the economy to invest in, with returns and savings that will be realised right across society and industry. However, Australia's legacy of structural underfunding of on-ground nature conservation has largely continued. We can't rely on the private sector. It's very hard to see how the Nature Repair Market will succeed without substantial underpinning investment. I call on the government and the minister to ensure that this is rectified. I appreciate that there are a number of priorities, but the environment is omnipresent—it is always going to be there—and it has been underfunded for so long. I call on the government to rectify this as soon as possible.