Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise on this matter of public importance debate that the Abbott government's budget is a vicious attack on low- and middle-income Australians. Across the nation this morning, low- and middle-income Australians woke up to the news that life was going to get a whole lot tougher for them. For some, life will be just a little bit tougher; for many, the savage cuts in this government's budget will make it near impossible to make ends meet. For these and others, the changes slated as 'tough measures' will drive them into poverty, drive them into homelessness, drive them into poor health and drive them out of engagement with their community.

This is a government that is happy to cast people aside in its pursuit of a society comprised of the haves and have-nots. The pain in this budget falls almost solely on low- and middle-income Australians, while not only sparing company owners but also giving them three tax cuts. While low- and middle-income Australians do the heavy lifting, Prime Minister Abbott is cutting the company tax rate, cutting the carbon tax paid by fewer than 500 of our biggest polluters and cutting the mining tax paid by a very small number of mining companies who make super profits.

For me, the simple question that we have to pose to ourselves is: what kind of a country do we want to live in? I believe our country is wealthy enough to ensure there is a quality set of public services to care for Australians at times of need and to give all Australians an opportunity to release their potential. By 'all' that means all of us. For this government, 'all of us' really only means low- and middle-income Australians. Those opposite obviously believe that low- and middle-income Australians have it far too easy—those on a pension, those on a minimum wage, those with a full-time job with two kids. This government obviously believes that these people have it easy relative to those 'battlers' with wealth in the millions. 'Battlers' whose tax concessions in areas like superannuation, property and fuel were left completely untouched.

What if young Australians who are battling the fiercest job market in memory cannot get a job? They will no longer get any unemployment benefits for six months, but they now have to pay at least $7 extra to go to a doctor, at least an extra $5 for medicine and a few extra dollars to put petrol in a car if they are lucky enough to have one. If they cannot find a job in their hometown, this government believes that they should just up and move to remote parts of the country—away from family, away from friends—to get a job. So they have to beg, borrow or steal to raise the funds to move and then, when they get there, if times get tough and their business puts them off, what happens? What happens to them?

If they are under 30 this Abbott government will wipe their hands. 'Go and find another job,' they will say. 'You're lazy; go and do some more study,' they will say. And if no-one actually says it to these kids, it will be what is floating around in their minds. It will be what is eating away at them—'I owe mum 500 bucks; I owe nan two tanks of petrol; I owe my housemate two months rent.' They will think that as they try to get some sleep at night. For this government that is part of life. If your family cannot look after you—tough! If luck does not fall your way at every step—tough!

What does this budget mean for those in our community with a disability? Thank goodness, the government did not touch the National Disability Insurance Scheme fund—well, not yet. Mind you, there are no great plans for how the next stage of the rollout will progress. But, at the very minimum, the NDIS fund is intact. There has been no news on the plans to extend the Tasmanian trial to children aged zero to 14, but we waited with bated breath.

For those trying to survive on a disability support pension, there was plenty of news last night. The big news flash was that this Abbott government thinks most of these Australians are faking it. The government thinks that they can work in any job and they are just being lazy. Thousands of Australians with a disability are going to have the tortuous wait while they are reassessed for the disability support pension. Many of these young Australians will also be forced to complete compulsory work activities, compulsory activities that may be totally unrelated to the hopes and aspirations of the person—penalising someone based on their circumstances; penalising someone based on luck.

The Liberal government has also totally cut all specialised support for young Australians with a disability who are at school. Despite promising to deliver extra funding for students with disability, the Abbott government has, true to form, cut all dedicated support. On Monday I attended a briefing from the Australian Education Union and the organisation Children With Disability Australia, who were concerned that these promised programs would be cut in the budget. On Monday the CEO of Children With Disability Australia, Stephanie Gotlib, said to that forum:

A typical school experience for students with disability involves limited choice of school, discrimination, bullying, limited or no funding for support and resources, inadequately trained staff and having to contend with a culture of low expectations.

There was a bipartisan commitment to these programs. Both sides of politics have made commitments to young people with a disability, their families and their school communities. But this cruel budget shows that only one side of this place is prepared to do the heavy lifting to give an opportunity to all. Those opposite are prepared to cut these young people adrift, deprive them of the specialist support they need to fulfil their potential and condemn them to a life on the disability support pension and a life of compulsory work activities instead of achieving their dreams.

And what of compulsory work activities? Well, this of course is code for an expanded work-for-the-dole scheme. My home region is north-west Tasmania, and the electorate of Braddon. From his first budget as the new minister, what was the headline measure that Mr Brett Whitely spruiked in today's local daily, TheAdvocate? Work for the dole! It is in their DNA. They do not want people to find meaningful work; they are happy for Australians who find themselves unemployed to waste away in a work-for-the-dole scheme. And I say 'waste away' because, time and time again, studies are released showing that work for the dole does not lead to long-term employment.

North-west Tasmania is one of the most disadvantaged regions in our country: high unemployment, low levels of education, high rates of chronic disease and high levels of dependency on Commonwealth payments. It is also home to some world-leading advanced manufacturers, and the most fertile soils and plentiful ocean in the country. The budget still lists the $100 million Tasmanian Jobs and Growth Plan announced by Labor last year as on track to be spent. The funds were allocated by the previous government to partner with businesses in the agricultural and manufacturing industries, and to create jobs in our region. But this government is drip-feeding the announcements, leaving many businesses uncertain of their status and leaving job seekers to see news of only work-for-the-dole schemes.

The region is also the gateway to and from Tasmania, with two of Tasmania's major ports located at Burnie and Devonport. Under Labor, expenditure on freight and passenger subsidies from Bass Strait was indexed and increased every year we were in government. The Abbott government has actually cut the funding for next financial year then frozen the pool over the forward estimates, despite Tasmania being an island state totally dependent on those subsidies.

This Liberal government, whose new member for Braddon promised to have a huge 'open for business' sign in the middle of Bass Strait, has actually cut around $30 million of Bass Strait subsidies over the next three years. Meanwhile, their increase to the petrol excise is not slated to fund a single kilometre of road in north-west Tasmania. No, the petrol excise increases paid by the people of Braddon will be used to fund some of the incentive payment to the state of Victoria to sell the Port of Melbourne. This cut to Bass Strait subsidies and the sale of the Port of Melbourne will be a double whammy on low- and middle-income families in north-west Tasmania. It is a simple fact that over 98 per cent of goods freighted in and out of Tasmania must go through the Port of Melbourne. Privatisation is likely to see an increase in fees as the new owner seeks to maximise profit. Those increased fees will flow through to Tasmanian consumers and businesses who, along with their increased petrol prices, will be paying more for almost everything they buy. The impact on Tasmania has been totally ignored in this ill-thought-out, privatisation-at-all-costs policy decision. In the lead-up to the federal election, the new member for Braddon said, time and time again, 'We are open for business.' Has he deceived those who voted for him? (Time expired)