Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is nothing fair about the Abbott-Turnbull government's plans to hit Australian families with a 50 per cent increase in the GST and to cut their family tax benefits. Liberal governments have always been about putting the highest burdens on people who can least afford it—and that is exactly what increasing the GST will do. That is why Labor will not support Mr Turnbull's plans to raise the GST. Labor will always stand with Australian families.

Last year, it was a Liberal Prime Minister who tried to cut $8.5 billion from family tax benefits. Labor fought those cuts then, and we won. Then this year, in what they touted as a compromise, they tried again, this time with $4.8 billion in cuts. Eighteen months and two Prime Ministers later, it now appears that Labor has defeated the harshest of these cuts as well. Today, because of Labor's campaigning, because we stood side by side with families, we have defeated these cuts, so 1.6 million families and 3 million children have been spared. Who could forget the Liberals abolishing the schoolkids bonus: a cut of $842 for each secondary school student and a cut of $422 for each primary school student—a massive attack on household budgets.

Today, the government has admitted that they cannot get these through the parliament. Next week is the last week of parliament before Christmas, and the new Prime Minister should come into this place and give families the certainty that they deserve. No more cuts—enough is enough.