Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our government's No. 1 priority in Lingiari is easing the cost of living. This budget is designed to help people, particularly in Lingiari, and that's why we're giving every taxpayer a tax cut and giving every household $300 in their energy bill. And, certainly for electorates like mine, that is welcome news, and I can't wait to get out there and talk to people in my electorate about this Labor budget. When we look at the funding for infrastructure in Lingiari, we're seeing new investment, like $23.2 million for the Sandover Highway upgrades and the national network highway, where we had some recent floods. That's certainly welcome in terms of resilience upgrades. There is $40 million for some of the remote communities, and we're seeing funding going into the Barkly Highway. There's a lot of money in infrastructure across all of our road networks, particularly in this wet season, where a lot of our roads have taken a big hit. But there's a lot of welcome news, particularly in the seat of Lingiari, and I'll be looking forward to getting out there and communicating with my electorate about the good news in this Labor budget.

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

How can this Labor government know that there are millions of renters and mortgage holders choosing between feeding their kids or making their rent or mortgage payment, and the best they can do is offer them scraps? Meanwhile, they're giving property investors $175 billion. How is it that the best Labor can do for renters is give nothing to four million of them, and then, for the precious few that do get Commonwealth rent assistance, all they get is $9 extra a week when rents are sometimes going up by hundreds of dollars a week?

This budget also gives every politician in this place $4½ thousand off on their tax. That is $87 dollars a week for every politician in this place and just $9 a week for some of the poorest renters. Surely Labor knows people are hurting. Surely they know that there are millions giving up on ever being able to buy a home. Surely they know that there are millions choosing between making that rent payment and feeding their kids. How can Labor know all of this and then turn around and give billions of dollars to billionaires and big corporations and, to top it all off, bank a $9.3 billion surplus that could build over 18,000 public homes? I'll tell you what will help people: stop giving money to billionaires and use it to bring dental into Medicare, build public housing and scrap student debt—the sort of things that will help people in this country.

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

Last night, the Treasurer delivered a budget for all Australians, not just for the fortunate few or the fortunate few electorates. We on this side recognise that Australian families are under pressure, and that's why in this budget we are responsibly easing that pressure with measures that will also reduce inflation.

Nearly 16,000 residents in Bean will benefit from this budget's wiping of $3 billion worth of debt from HELP and HECS debts, and, from 1 July next year, teaching, nursing, social work and midwifery students doing their mandatory placements will be able to access nearly $320 in weekly payments to support them during those placements. All households in Bean and right across Australia will be able to access a $300 power bill relief rebate, with eligible small businesses being able to access $325 in power bill relief. In addition to this, 82,000 taxpayers in Bean—every single taxpayer—will receive a tax cut on 1 July this year. On average, a taxpayer in Bean will be $1,800 better off. That's more money back into household budgets. A future made in Australia will also be made here in the ACT—an Australia that will be a renewable energy superpower. This is a true Labor budget because it keeps to our commitment of no-one left behind and no-one held back. It deals with cost-of-living pressures now but invests in all Australians' future.