Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

Well, I'm sure you can take credit for that, Senator Polley. What a birthday present indeed—on 1 July, a tax cut as a birthday present! So please take credit for that, Senator Polley.

We know that what we've been doing, whether through tax or through some of our cost-of-living measures, is about what we absolutely can do to address inflation across the economy. That has been guiding a lot of our decisions. And we know the importance of these tax cuts to workers across Australia. We know the pressure workers are under. That's why we took the decision—and it wasn't an easy decision, because it was a change in our position—because it was the right thing to do, for the right reasons. Those opposite said they would oppose it. They said they'd call an election over it. They said they'd roll it back. And now the language has changed to just 'back to the drawing board'. Well, we know what 'back to the drawing board' is. It's code for taking tax cuts away from people and cutting services.