Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move Greens amendments (1) and (2) on sheet 7099 together:

(1)   Schedule 2, item 3, page 27 (lines 25 to 27), omit subparagraph 61A(1)(b)(iii).

(2)   Schedule 2, item 3, page 28 (lines 30 to 32), omit subparagraph 61A(2)(b)(iii).

I will not speak for very long on these amendments because I articulated in my speech in the second reading debate our concerns about schedule 2. We believe that it focuses unfairly on just those on income support, in that it attempts to say that only those families on income support need to be or should be required to have mandatory health checks in order to access family tax benefit part A supplement, and we believe that this should be extended to all families who receive that particular supplement.

I did listen to the minister's second reading summing up comments and I would point out that development delays and various other conditions, as we talked about earlier, such as hearing and vision, do occur in children other than just those children who are from families on income support. We believe that, to make this fair, this amendment should apply to all Australian families who receive that particular supplement. I commend the amendments to the chamber.