Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise today to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living Tax Cuts) Bill 2024 and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living—Medicare Levy) Bill 2024. These bills are about fairness. They're about delivering more relief to the Australian people in a way that is fiscally responsible and that doesn't add pressure to inflation. And they are about making our tax system fairer, because these are difficult times. A pandemic, global conflict, natural environmental disasters, persistent inflation and higher interest rates have dramatically changed the world around us. When the former government's plan was legislated five years ago, the world was a very different place. It was before that pandemic, before the persistent inflation we've seen, before two conflicts and before the global uncertainty we're currently living with. When circumstances change like this, responsible government should change with them.

The bills before us present the right thing to do. It's the right thing to do for the Australian people, the right thing for middle Australia and the right thing for our economy. These bills will deliver more relief to more people in a way that is fiscally responsible and doesn't further add to inflationary pressures. It's fairer because it delivers a tax cut for all Australians, not just some, and it makes our system fairer too. This bill returns bracket creep for all taxpayers and does more to reduce the impact on those most burdened by it.

In my state of South Australia, these bills will make a meaningful difference. They'll make a meaningful difference in a way that's economically responsible and not inflationary. In South Australia, 100 per cent of taxpayers will get a tax cut, and 89 per cent of taxpayers will get a bigger tax cut because of the Labor government.

Women in South Australia—indeed, all women across our country—will get a tax cut to the tune of $1,600 each year on average. We know that 5.8 million women across our country will get a bigger tax cut than they would have if we were still under the former coalition government. I've spoken many times in this chamber about things like the gender pay gap and structural issues in our economy that have let women down, especially women working in particular industries like early learning, teaching, nursing and disability support. These women will get a significantly bigger tax cut under Labor. Women who would have never got a tax cut under the former government will get one now.

This bill is about delivering reform that is better for the majority of Australians. It delivers more relief to those who really need it. It is the right thing to do.

We know the opposition are going to support this today, but the Australian people should be very, very wary of reading anything into that. Simply, they shouldn't believe in it, because who can forget the words of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition when she said that it was absolutely their position to roll back these changes—to roll back these tax cuts. Deep down, that's what they believe. Those across the aisle initially sought to oppose this bill before they had even read it. They wanted to oppose this policy before they'd understood it. That should tell the Australian people everything it needs to about the opposition's position on tax cuts and who tax cuts should go to.

Our tax cuts are good for the majority of Australians, for the majority of women and for the majority of people in my state, who will benefit from this relief. These are tax cuts which will not be inflationary; these are tax cuts which are economically responsible. They are tax cuts which will make a real difference in the lives of people in my state. This is the right thing to do. It's the fair thing to do. And I wholeheartedly support this bill.