Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Senator Evans. Is the minister aware that the federal government is going to take up to $50 a week in family and childcare payments from some 200,000 low-income families in the community sector due to changes to fringe benefits tax reporting? How can the minister for families say that the government has only recently been made aware of the problem when: (1) I asked questions in estimates two weeks ago on this issue; (2) these measures are contained in schedule 6 of the minister’s own bill, debated in the other house two weeks ago; and (3) the department wrote to the affected workers a fortnight ago setting out how their payments would be cut?