Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

These changes are all about supporting aspiration in our communities and making sure that working people across communities in Australia, such as in my community in Chisholm, keep more of what they work so hard to earn. There are 81,000 taxpayers in my electorate of Chisholm that will receive a tax cut under this government's tax plan. There are 66,000 taxpayers in my electorate who will receive a bigger tax cut than under the previous plan. I know from community feedback how much this is going to make a significant and meaningful difference to the people in my community. We introduced our legislation to ensure that every Australian taxpayer will benefit from a tax cut—all 13.6 million taxpayers, not just some. The average amount of savings per year that each taxpayer in my electorate will save under our Labor government's tax plan is $1,640. More than four in five or 82 per cent of people in my electorate of Chisholm will receive a larger tax cut under our government's tax plan compared to the previous plan. This reform builds on our targeted cost-of-living relief while not adding to inflation. This is just one of many measures our government is taking to ensure that we support people in our communities to get ahead and to be able to pursue opportunities and ambitions.

Our plan delivers a tax cut for every taxpayer, and every member in this place should vote for it. Average-income earners will now be getting a tax cut of $29 a week, which is more than double what they were offered under those opposite. Our tax cuts will deliver a bigger tax cut for middle Australia to help with the cost of living. The reason we're doing this is that our government is taking responsibility for governing. We are responding to the pressure Australians are under here and now and responding to the economic circumstances that we are in. Under our plan, more Australians will get a tax cut and more Australians will get a bigger tax cut. That means nurses, teachers and truck drivers will stand to benefit, and those professions are among those that will benefit the most, with more than 95 per cent of taxpayers in those professions getting a bigger tax cut. This is a fair and reasonable change, and it's one on which I have received a lot of positive feedback in my community.

Every taxpayer needs and deserves a meaningful tax cut. Unfortunately, those opposite lacked the vision, the ambition and the aspiration for our communities with their previous plan. Our side has listened to the communities that we serve and have the privilege to represent. It's increasingly clear that people expect governments to respond to the situations they find themselves in, and they also expect governments to take action when people are struggling. We know people are under pressure, and that's why we're making this change.

Let's think about what's changed since these tax cuts were first legislated. Indeed, they were first legislated before I was even in parliament. A lot of things have happened. There's been a once-in-100 year pandemic. There have been global conflicts, a global inflation spike and higher interest rates. We know that these events together have put people under greater cost-of-living pressure. Good governments do what they need to do in the best interests of the nation. It's not just about doing what's easy, what is most politically convenient or what makes the best headlines or creates the most distractions; it's about doing things for the right reasons. Sometimes the right thing can be hard, but it's always, surely, about putting people ahead of politics. That's what people expect from governments.

We've acknowledged that this position is an improvement on what was previously offered, and we think that good governments should respond to the situations they find themselves in. We govern for the times we're in. The Prime Minister has stated that it is not the job of a leader to sit back and wring their hands when confronted with new challenges, nor should members or governments in this place be frozen in time. I certainly didn't stand to become a member of parliament just so I could sit here and do nothing. I became a member of parliament because I want to be part of a government that supports ambition and aspiration in our communities and that seeks to govern responsibly and fairly and make this country a better place for everyone in our communities. It's our job to act, to take responsibility, to do the right thing and to respond to the times we find ourselves in, and that's exactly what our government has done.

The Labor Party and the Labor government have always supported aspiration. We want people to get ahead. We want people to keep more of what they earn. People in our communities work really hard to earn their wages, and we want to make sure that they get to keep more of them so that they can pursue opportunities and be able to build the life for themselves and their families that they seek to. Reforms like this enable aspiration. I've said many times in this place and elsewhere that I'm ambitious for my community and I want people to be treated fairly and to be supported to pursue opportunities and get ahead. These changes here do precisely that.

In my home state of Victoria, an extra three million people will receive a bigger tax cut under our plan compared to the previous plan. When it comes to women, I'm also proud that under our plan an extra 1.5 million women taxpayers will receive a bigger tax cut. That means that 90 per cent of women in Victoria are getting a bigger tax cut under our plan compared to the previous plan. So these changes are better for women. They are a bigger cut for women, and it's fairer for women too. We know that there have been many barriers in place for women to get ahead when it comes to their wages and keeping their wages. I'm proud that our government is standing up for Australians; and I'm proud that we recognise the need to respond to the times that we find ourselves in.

We know that there are many workers who work incredibly hard to earn what they do. Around 8,000 workers in my electorate undertake working hours that exceed 50 hours a week. They are working very hard to put food on their table, and I think it's a really positive step that we're doing what we can to make sure that all workers keep more of what they earn. There are lots of different professions in my electorate which will benefit particularly from these changes, such as the almost 12,000 workers who are employed within the healthcare and social assistance sector in my electorate and the almost 6,000 labourers who work on our roads or on construction sites. I'm thinking as well of the benefits that will be realised by more than 8½ thousand workers in the retail industry who work all across my electorate, whether it's in fabulous Hamilton Place in Mount Waverley or in Blackburn Village or in larger retail precincts such as The Glen. There are many educators in my electorate too who will benefit from these changes. I've got many childcare workers and early childhood educators, many primary and secondary school teachers and many academics as well working at both Deakin and Monash universities in my electorate.

All of these workers and more in my electorate deserve a tax cut, and I'm proud that as I meet people around the electorate they can see that our government is listening to their needs and is taking action to make sure that they and their families can get ahead. I've been really encouraged by the support received in my community about our package. Maryanne from Mount Waverley contacted me to say that the government must prioritise cost-of living relief to support those hardest hit, and she commended our government for the actions that we are taking. Perran in my electorate stood to benefit the most under the stage 3 tax cut arrangements previously in place, but they contacted my office and stated very emphatically that they supported Labor's revised plan because it was fairer. I also received an email from Jessica in Burwood in my electorate who said that he proposed amendments 'are undeniably a fairer way to proceed for the majority of Australians'.

When I've been out and about, I've spoken to many in my community about the need for these changes. I know that many people have been doing it tough. That's why we've been taking the measures such as we have, whether it's for cheaper medicines, for cheaper child care, or, indeed, for this tax package, to make sure that it is easier for people to meet the costs that they need to. Our No. 1 priority as a government remains addressing the cost-of-living challenge. This package is of course in addition to the many other cost-of-living relief measures that we're delivering, and I've mentioned some of those. One that's particularly significant in my electorate has been the implementation of 60-day prescriptions in Australia. My electorate has benefited the most out of any electorate in the country with over 24,339 60-day scripts dispensed. That's more money in the pockets of patients. It's fewer people in the queue at the local GP, which makes it easier for everyone to see a doctor.

We've been doing a lot to get wages moving, and this package means that not only are people's wages increasing but they are going to be able to keep more of it. Unfortunately, those opposite have come up with no meaningful plan at all to ease the cost-of-living burden on Australian families. It is disappointing that they have failed to be constructive when it has come to a contest of ideas and wanting to solve some of the challenges of our time. I wish those opposite had more to offer our country than negativity and division. But our government is getting on with the job of thinking about ways we can improve things for families and communities right across our country. We will always have the best interests of Australians at the front of and foremost in our minds. We will always put people ahead of politics.

I'm pleased that, as part of this legislation, we will also increase the Medicare levy low-income thresholds for the coming year, which will benefit more than a million low-income Australians. Medicare is, of course, something that we enjoy only because of Labor governments, and it is something that Labor will always protect. I note that we've recently celebrated 40 years of Medicare, a really significant milestone for a really significant nation-building program.

Ensuring middle Australia can get ahead is central to our economic plan, as are getting wages moving again, bringing inflation under control and driving fairer prices for Australian consumers. I'm really proud to be part of a government that takes its responsibility to its community and to its nation seriously. Our government is ambitious, aspirational and unapologetic when it comes to supporting more Australians to keep more of their hard-earned wages, and I'm really proud to support this bill today.

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