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

Thank you, Senator Green. I can. As well as the tax cuts, on 1 July, we will see two extra weeks of the government funded PPL scheme, the Paid Parental Leave scheme, taking the PPL entitlement to 22 weeks. There will be $300 off every household's energy bill, a freezing of the cost of PBS medicines and, of course, a pay rise for 2.6 million workers who are working on the award wage.

From 1 July this budget also delivers over $1 billion for women's safety, bringing investments in women's safety to over $3.4 billion. We've also provided funding to pay superannuation on PPL, $1.9 billion to lift rent assistance, over $3 billion to reduce student debt and fix indexation of HELP loans, and important investments in women's health. Importantly, we don't see any of these investments as welfare policy. I know those over there, Senator Hume, identified that the budget was welfare policy. It's not. These are important investments in women's economic independence. (Time expired)