Garth Hamilton (Groom, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Restraint is a big word. Until yesterday I didn't know how big, but after the budget we can put an exact figure on restraint. Apparently you can increase spending by $185 billion in less than 12 months and still call it restraint. Laughable as that sounds, it's exactly what the Treasurer did when he delivered a typical Labor big-spending, big-taxing budget. In the face of some of the greatest inflationary challenges we've seen in our lifetimes, this budget is pouring fuel onto the fire. While it's laudable for any nation to protect its most vulnerable, by taking responsible fiscal policy off the table and leaving Groom's mortgage holders sweating under the sledgehammer of further interest rate hikes, this budget condemns middle Australia to more pain for longer.

There can be no dispute now as to who's responsible for any additional mortgage pain Australians are feeling. With this budget, Labor has taken full ownership of this economy. My concern is for those aspirational Australians living in Toowoomba, Oakey and Pittsworth who are already feeling mortgage stress, people who have seen the low- and middle-income tax offset taken away, people who have seen grocery prices and energy prices absolutely skyrocket, and people whose hard-earned taxes have been frittered away in this big-spending budget. To them, I say: if you think your housing costs are high now, wait until another 1.5 million new Australians flood the market in the middle of a housing crisis. It is sad but it is true: you will always pay more under Labor.

Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday, the Albanese Labor government and Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down a budget that is good for families, good for businesses across my community and good for people who are struggling to make ends meet. It's a really strong budget for the country and also for Dunkley. In addition to our existing initiatives on cheaper child care, where 5,800 local families will benefit come 1 July, and cheaper medicines and fee-free TAFE, we have announced a new energy price relief plan. It will provide relief for more than five million households across the country. It will provide local residents and businesses with a rebate of up to $250 per household, and $325 for small businesses. It is really going to help families in my community get ahead.

The centrepiece of the budget, that is so exciting, is the investment in Medicare—our historic investment to strengthen Medicare. Tripling the bulk-billing incentive, no less, is immediately going to benefit about 70,000 people in my community alone. Around 40,000 Dunkley locals will be able to save money on prescriptions by accessing two months worth of medicine for the price of a single prescription. Aged-care wages are going to go up. About 6,850 people will see more money in their rent assistance, and 6½ thousand people will see an increase in their social security payments. If you want people to be looked after, vote for a Labor government. (Time expired)