Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last month, I received an email from a grandparent carer, Rita Beckman. She wrote, 'I feel highly insulted by the condescending attitude of the Minister for Social Services.' Rita will be 78 when her granddaughter turns 13, when she will face cuts to family tax benefits. She writes, 'I do not wish to complain as I love having this little girl in my life, but how can anyone possibly think an employer would take me on.' Will the minister now drop his unfair cuts to grandparent carers? (Time expired)

Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the member for Jagajaga is aware, the welfare bill that we had 10 years ago was about $83 billion. It is presently $154 billion. And just to give some sense of scale and context—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Isaacs and the member for Sydney.

Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The income tax take in Australia is about $196 billion, so about 80 per cent of everything that is brought in from income tax moves out on welfare. Family tax benefit A and B, together, represent close to $22 billion worth of expenditure every year in the federal budget. The family tax benefit system is the fourth most expensive federal program.

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sydney!

Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The bottom line with family tax benefits is that if you are unwilling to exercise some kind of restraint—

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have asked the member for Sydney to cease interjecting.

Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

in expenditure of the fourth largest piece of expenditure inside the federal budget—

Ms Kate Ellis interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I remind the member for Adelaide that she has been warned!

Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

if you are unwilling to make reasonable restraint there to pay for things like child care—to make some contribution to returning the nation to surplus—then you will find yourself in a position where you have, in essence, said you have no plan whatsoever for fiscal consolidation.

As the Treasurer has pointed out today, what members opposite have is a hint of further savings inside the family tax benefit system. They will investigate further savings. They will not tell anyone what they are. They know they must be made. When they were in government, they took enormous amounts of money out of the family tax benefit system.

Mr Albanese interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Grayndler will cease interjecting.

Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They are pretending in opposition that they will not be faced with the same challenging set of circumstances. The member for McMahon acknowledges that the same types of decisions that this government finds challenging but must make responsibly, they would have to make if they were in these circumstances. The member for McMahon has said, 'We will go to the next election with an alternative vision for the nation, with detailed policy commitments and with savings proposals which will ensure—'

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order: relevance. We are asking about grandparent carers.

Mr Christensen interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Dawson will cease interjecting.

Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And again, with respect to a question on savings the government has made, the member for McMahon has said that they will come 'with savings proposals which will ensure that our election commitments are funded and that we have plan for a sustainable budget.' He also said:

Not all these savings proposals will be universally popular or will necessarily win us votes.

Ms Kate Ellis interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Adelaide, that is your final warning.

Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What is fascinating about that statement is that when you look over the list that the Treasurer had raised earlier, there is an enormous number of spending proposals, there is an enormous number of proposals to say 'no' to savings proposals that we have offered—indeed, to say 'no' to savings proposals that those opposite previously offered. But when you look through the list, the reason why it is difficult to find an unpopular savings proposal that those opposite have come up with is that it is impossible to find a savings proposal that they have come up with. After two years, there is one savings proposal.