Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor is the party of progressive and practical policies that deliver for all Australians. Our recent Labor budget has been welcomed in my electorate, bringing much-needed cost-of-living relief, including a $300 rebate on our energy bills. All 81,000 taxpayers in Moreton will receive a tax cut and, thanks to this side of the chamber, 17 in 20 will now receive a bigger tax cut in a month's time. Twenty-eight thousand Moreton constituents with a HECS debt will also directly benefit from education reforms. For the second consecutive year we have significantly increased the rate of Commonwealth rent assistance.

But where do those opposite stand on these important issues? We know they voted against energy bill relief and then complained that energy bills were too high. Their leader said our tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer should be taken to an election. We're wiping $3 billion in HECS debt and fixing indexation, and the shadow education minister jumped on Sky News and said it doesn't matter because real wages aren't growing—not only is that manifestly untrue, but someone needs to tell the Senator that it was her party that deliberately kept wages low for a decade. Did the shadow education spokesperson miss that while she was sitting in the party room, helping to make that decision? We know the coalition under the member for Dixon is hardwired to block progressive policies; however, I didn't expect that the Greens political party would also do similar—more to come. (Time expired)