Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

Could I thank the senator for her question and her ongoing interest in the government's support for families. For many Australian families the beginning of the school year can be a difficult time due to the extra costs that come with uniforms, books and transport. That is why the Gillard government introduced the schoolkids bonus. The year's first instalment of the schoolkids bonus has just been paid to 1.2 million families around the country. That is real help for Australian families in the form of $205 for each primary school child and $410 for each high school child in the bank. Families have another payment locked in before term 3 starts later this year. This is not an aspiration; this is not a stunt; this is not which families will get what from those opposite—it is real help in the bank today.

Just last week the Leader of the Opposition confirmed again that he will cut the schoolkids bonus. That is right: he will cut the schoolkids bonus. That means that families with two kids would be $15,000 worse off over the time of their schooling. The coalition are claiming that they care about costs of living pressures when they want to rip $15,000 out of the bank accounts of 1.2 million families. This just demonstrates that they are without vision, without knowledge and without understanding of the pressures on Australian families.