Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I quite enjoy the company of many of my colleagues in this place, whether they're on this side of the chamber or the other, and I know we bring our particular beliefs. But what we just heard from the senator then was one of the most miserly views of what could possibly happen for Australians. Added to that was a discussion about politics and elections, as if those are the only things that matter. The reality is we have to attend to what's going on right now in Australians' lives and responsibly manage how we plan and shape the future.

We want to talk about tax relief for Australians, which was completely ignored in the contribution of Senator Dean Smith, who was just on his feet. The fact is that 13.6 million Australian taxpayers are going to get a tax cut, with an average cut of $1,888 a year. That's going to help Australians at a time when we know they are under pressure. But we heard a whinge about that. We've heard nothing but whingeing embedded in the questions that have been asked of the government today. The one thing they seem to whinge about in chorus, including in the question from Senator Cash, is the $300 energy bill relief action for all Australian households. As Senator Gallagher said, the opposition are saying, 'We'll support it,' except every question they asked here in the Senate today indicated they don't want that to happen. If they don't want that to happen, I'm sure they also don't want the $325 electricity bill assistance for the one million small businesses that are eligible.

This is a tale of two very different versions of Australia. One is the miserly, negative view that says any help being given to Australians now is irresponsible spending—this from the government that never delivered a surplus, as opposed to the Labor government that absolutely has. Those opposite have opposed so much in this budget. The reality of our investment in Australians at a time when they need help is very clear to me as a senator for New South Wales, and it's very, very clear to 67,000 workers and businesses in the Riverina. Every single taxpayer in the Riverina electorate will receive a tax cut of $1,425 on average. There'll be 13,959 people with a HELP debt in Riverina who will be advantaged by our government's investment, cutting $3 billion in student debt for more than three million Australians.

In the Riverina, we are making sure that people who need medicines, particularly those on pensions and concession cards, are going to pay no more than $7.70 for their PBS medications. That's not just for the short period of time until the next election.