Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How will Labor's new tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer benefit Australians, and is there any opposition to these cuts?

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

I thank the member for Swan for her question. The member for Swan knows that, as a result of what has occurred in the parliament this week, every single taxpayer—all 13.6 million of them—will receive a tax cut in July. We want people to earn more and we want people to keep more of what they earn. This is what it will achieve. These tax cuts support the aspirations of all Australians. We know that aspiration doesn't start at the top of the tax bracket. We know that hardworking Australian families work hard in order to get ahead. They work hard so their children will have better opportunities in life as well.

That is why we are supporting aspiration by giving every single taxpayer a tax cut. That's why we have legislation before this parliament to help Australians own their own home. That's why we're helping people get the skills that they need through fee-free TAFE. We promised 180,000 places, but we delivered, last year alone, 350,000 places. From next year, there will be another 300,000 going ahead. The Minister for Education is working hard to make sure more kids from the outer suburbs and regions get the opportunity to go to university. That's what it means to be the party of aspiration and opportunity.

Those opposite think that aspiration just starts at the top tax bracket. They've said, in the amendments that they've supported in the House and in the Senate, that they want to go back to their form of the stage 3 tax cuts. The shadow Treasurer was out there yesterday, doing those doorstops and saying again: 'We did vote for it, but we're against it. We don't like it, but we did vote for it.' They can change the way they vote, but they can't change their values. They can't change who they are, and that's why they would never have thought of fee-free TAFE. That's why they would never have thought of trying to assist people from working-class backgrounds to get to university. That's why they reacted to our announcement about a change of position on tax cuts by saying they'd oppose it, then saying they were going to roll it back and then saying there should be an election over it—all before they ended up voting for it. We are the party of aspiration and opportunity, the party of tax cuts for Middle Australia, the party of homeownership and the party of earning more and keeping more of what you earn.