Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Aged Care and Sport. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to boost pay in female-dominated industries, including aged care, and make sure workers keep more of their hard-earned wages?

Anika Wells (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Macquarie not only for her question but for the wonderful work that she does for her constituents, particularly for the 67,000 taxpayers in Macquarie who will now receive a tax cut from 1 July, and that includes many thousands of aged-care workers. The Albanese Labor government is proud to have delivered a 15 percent increase to the award wage minimum for aged-care workers in this country after a very long time in the wilderness from those opposite.

Day in, day out, our aged-care workers deliver quality care for some of the most vulnerable people in our community and, for that, we thank you. But like so many Australians, hardworking aged-care workers are feeling the cost-of-living pressures and that is why we are ensuring that the people who care for some of our most vulnerable are being cared for as well and they are now getting a tax cut. They can earn more and they can keep more of what they earn.

Under Labor's plan, on 1 July a registered nurse in aged care will receive a tax cut of $1,679, an enrolled nurse will receive a tax cut of $1,214, a cook in aged care will get a tax cut of $1,166, and a home-care worker will get a tax cut of $1,166 as well. Every single one of our valued aged-care workers will be better off because of Labor's tax cuts—better off because this is a government that cares about the people who provide care for us. They'll be better off because we have already funded a 15 per cent award wage rise for aged-care workers, a promise we made to the community, a promise that has helped people like Elle, who has three children and who works as a carer for home-care package recipient Rachel, whom I met while doorknocking in Chermside. Elle told Rachel that her pay rise meant she could buy new school shoes for each of her three children. Now we get to tell workers like Elle that not only does she have a pay rise but she is getting a tax cut too—a tax cut that will help her pay the bills, help her put good food on the table and help her care for her kids.

Now we can tell every woman who's a taxpayer that the Albanese Labor government is delivering a tax cut for her. Under Labor's plan, aged-care workers, childcare workers and disability carers are among the most likely to benefit, with more than 95 per cent of female taxpayers to receive a bigger tax cut now. That is what valuing workers looks like. That is what caring for the people who care for us and who are under pressure looks like. That is what doing the right thing looks like.

Australian taxpayers do not want the confusion being offered by those opposite on cost of living. They want stronger, fairer wages and they will continue to receive them under us.

Max Chandler-Mather (Griffith, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. This year, property investors like you will receive billions in tax handouts from this Labor government, including from negative gearing, driving up property prices. Prime Minister, you talk about supply. New housing construction has reached a 10-year low under your government. You talk about help to buy but will only help 0.2 per cent of the five million renters. Will your government phase out tax concessions for property investors, like negative gearing, so everybody can afford a good home?

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! There was far too much noise during that question. The Minister for Early Childhood Education, the Leader of the Nationals: I couldn't hear what the member was saying.

Opposition members interjecting—

Order! This works for everyone. The member will ask his question again so I can hear it.

Max Chandler-Mather (Griffith, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister.

Opposition members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just resume your seat. Order! If everyone can just stop interjecting for the remainder of question time, things will be a lot smoother. I give the call to the Prime Minister.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Mr Speaker. The member, of course, made a suggestion about you, Mr Speaker, in the language in that question, but we'll ignore that.

There are a range of measures that the government has put in place. We want tax cuts for people on low and middle incomes. That's one thing that you can do to help people. The second thing that you can do is increase rent assistance. We had the largest rental assistance increase in 30 years. Then there are other things that we can do as well in terms of supply. The foreign investment fees for housing measures that we put in place in MYEFO in December are just the latest example of the measures that we've put in place.

In addition to that, we have our Housing Accord. That included a new homes bonus of some $3 billion to incentivise new planning. It's planning that in some places is controversial, and I hope that the Greens political party talk to their local councillors about supporting—just once; anywhere will do—affordable housing in any community, including mine, because I'm yet to see the Greens political party support that, even award-winning medium-density housing in places like what was the old Marrickville Hospital site in my electorate.

The other thing we're doing is the national housing infrastructure fund—that's very important. The social housing funding that we've put in place, including the social housing accelerator—

Max Chandler-Mather (Griffith, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, a point of order on relevance: we're almost two minutes into that answer and he hasn't once mentioned negative gearing.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I know that may be what the member would like the answer to be, but when you include things like the housing supply being at a 10-year low and about everyone benefiting, it's a fairly broad question. The Prime Minister is able to deal with all aspects of the question, not just one part of the question. So he is being directly relevant. If he wasn't talking about housing supply and the issues surrounding the question, he wouldn't be relevant. But at the moment he is, so he has the call.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He's trying. We have the Housing Australia Future Fund, something that those opposite delayed month after month after month. They therefore delayed the building of housing for poor people and working-class people in our suburbs and in our regional towns. In addition to that we have our build-to-rent program. That's a tax incentive, a tax change, that we put in the last budget to encourage more investment in build-to-rent developments because we understand that it can't be just the public sector. We need to encourage that private sector investment.

We understand across all of this that the key is supply, and that's why we will continue to negotiate with the states and territories. At the moment we're working through our National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, the major funding body over a period of time. We've extended it by $1.7 billion for the additional year. (Time expired)

Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. How will the Albanese Labor government's tax cuts benefit the more than 75,000 Australians who work in the defence establishment, and what approaches have been rejected?

Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question and acknowledge his service in the Australian Army and his ongoing commitment to advocating on the part of the men and women of Australia's Defence Force, particularly those who serve at RAAF Base Edinburgh in his electorate. Every member of the Australian Defence Force will receive a tax cut under Labor's tax plan. Every public servant in the Department of Defence and every person working in Australia's defence industry will receive a tax cut, meaning that those people who are serving our nation will take home more of what they earn.

For example, a lieutenant logistics officer at HMAS Stirling in Rockingham will take home a tax cut of more than $2,500. A lance corporal at 3 Brigade in Townsville will take home a tax cut of $1,861. In the member's own electorate, an air defence guard at RAAF Base Edinburgh will take home a tax cut of $1,876. A defence civilian worker at the School of Infantry in Singleton will take home a tax cut of $1,463, which is more than twice the tax cut that person would have had under the policy of those opposite.

Not by word, but by action, it is now completely clear that those opposite—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Member for Groom will cease interjecting.

Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

support the call that has been made by this Prime Minister and this government in respect of tax, If it were different, they would be opposing the legislation in this parliament and they would be doing what the Deputy Leader of the Opposition said they should do: roll this package back. The claim by those opposite that the Liberals are the party of lower taxes—that is not a tax policy; that is now just a pathetic whimper. The truth is that it's not even true. In modern times, the highest-taxing government in Australia has been the Howard Liberal government. The reality today is that the modern Liberal Party is the party of higher taxes, deep deficits and big debt.

We understand that Australians are doing it tough with cost-of-living pressures. The only government which is delivering meaningful tax relief, which has delivered a budget surplus, which is ensuring our national security, is the Albanese Labor government.