Fatima Payman (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Minister Watt, representing the Minister for Youth. We know that    the cost of living is one of the biggest concerns for young Australians. Last night the Senate passed Labor's tax cuts, a plan that will benefit every Australian taxpayer. Minister, how will Labor's tax cuts benefit young Australians and ease their cost-of-living pressures?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Payman, who, as well as being a highly effective senator, is a young senator and a recently married senator. So congratulations, Senator Payman, on your recent marriage. We're all very happy for you.

The Albanese government is delivering for young Australians, building on the first budget surplus in 15 years to responsibly ease cost-of-living pressures without adding to inflation. Because of our policies, Australians are earning more, with real wages increasing, and keeping more of what they earn thanks to Labor's cost-of-living tax cuts. That includes more than three million Australians aged between 18 and 29 who will directly benefit from our tax cuts. In fact, with Labor's tax cuts now having passed the Senate, 98 per cent of young Australians will now get a bigger tax cut than they would have had under the plan put forward by the opposition.

Last year, we undertook nationwide consultation with young Australians on the issues that matter most to them. We ran 58 consultations, reaching thousands of young people across our communities. This consultation reaffirmed that the issue of cost of living is front of mind for young people right now. We are responding decisively to what we have heard to ease the pressure facing young working Australians. The 1.5 million young taxpayers between the ages of 18 and 24 will now receive an average tax cut of $1,007 a year under Labor's tax plan. A further 1.6 million taxpayers aged 25 to 29 will receive an average tax cut of $1,573 a year. These tax cuts are good for young people, they are good for Middle Australia, they're good for the economy and they're very different to what we saw on offer from the opposition. Unlike the former government, we are listening to young Australians and we're responding swiftly to what they are telling us is most important to them. We're investing in housing, we've lifted rent assistance, we're lifting wages and now we're delivering tax cuts as well. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Payman, first supplementary?

Fatima Payman (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know the No. 1 issue for young people right now is cost of living and that many young Australians are making difficult choices to balance study, work and everyday living expenses. How will the Albanese Labor government's tax cuts ease cost-of-living pressures that young people are facing and put more money in their pockets?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Payman. Our government knows that no young Australian should have to make the choice between work, study and paying their rent. That is why we're acting to provide responsible cost-of-living relief. A young person juggling part-time study while working, earning, say, $30,000 a year, will receive a tax cut of $354 under Labor's tax plan. Under the opposition's plan, they would have got zero—absolutely nothing.

Cutting taxes for Middle Australia is a central part of our economic plan, along with getting wages moving again, bringing inflation under control and driving fairer prices for Australian consumers. Under Labor, wage growth is double what it averaged under the Liberals and Nationals. The Liberals and Nationals spent a wasted decade in government keeping young Australians' wages low, a deliberate design feature of their economic architecture. Mr Dutton has consistently opposed cost-of-living measures, and he wants Australians to work longer for less. Time and time again, he has shown that he can only say no, dividing all Australians. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Payman, second supplementary?

Fatima Payman (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This morning, the morning after the Senate passed Labor's tax cuts, Senator Hume promised that, if elected, the Liberals and Nationals will go back to the drawing board on tax cuts. Why is it important that young Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn under the Albanese Labor government's plan?

Hon. Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I'm going to wait for silence before I call the minister.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Payman, you are absolutely right. We want young Australians to earn more and keep more of what they earn, and Labor's tax cuts will help make that happen. They'll make a real difference to young people's lives right now.

But what is the coalition position? It just keeps on changing. Yesterday, I mentioned that shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor had revealed he is targeting the workplace protections we have delivered for young and older workers. Now Senator Hume has let the cat out of the bag, too. She told Sunrise this morning, 'We will go back to the drawing board on tax cuts.' Oh, Jane, you've done it again! Talk about letting it slip. Of course, it's exactly what Mr Dutton and Ms Ley have been saying as well for the past month. They were opposing it. Then they were going to roll it back and then they let it through. Senator Hume has made clear that 'it's back to the drawing board when it comes to the tax cuts'. They want to rip money out of the pockets of young people in places like Frankston, while cutting their pay and conditions at the same time. You can't trust the opposition. They always want young people to work more and earn less. (Time expired)