Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker Hastie, I reiterate that it is great to see the member for Fowler back in the parliament. Two days on from the Treasurer delivering the budget, I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate the Treasurer, Scott Morrison, on all his hard work that went into the preparation of this budget. I also extend my congratulations to our Prime Minister and the finance minister on their contributions as well.

This is the 10th budget I have been privileged to see delivered in my time as the federal member for Swan. Of course, six of those years were during the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years, when the budget was handed down by the member for Lilley, Wayne Swan. I recall the response to the 2013 budget in particular, when the people of Australia had endured six years of fiscal recklessness by the Labor government. I remember it well because the response was overwhelmingly described as 'lukewarm at best'.

But this week feels very different to those dark days of the Labor budgets, because what the Treasurer has delivered is a budget based on fairness, security and opportunity. It is a budget that recognises our challenges but seizes our opportunities. It realises our goals and delivers on this government's national economic plan. The Treasurer noted that, despite continued economic growth, not all Australians have shared in the rewards. He noted that many remain frustrated at not getting ahead and that the pressures on families, small-business owners and everyday, hardworking Australians have been mounting.

This rings true for the people of Swan. As I am sure most members of the House did, I went through the budget papers to assess the impact these new measures will have on my constituents. I would like the indulgence of the Chamber to say just how this budget will alleviate pressures on the residents of Swan.

For parents across Australia, our children's health and education are our priority. As a custodial single parent to my son, I understand when families approach me with their concerns about the future of their children's education. Our government has acted to guarantee the services that Australian families use and need through our needs based funding model for schools. This will see a total increase in federal government funding for the schools in Swan of $312 million over the next 10 years, going to the 55 primary and secondary schools that educate nearly 21,000 children in my electorate.

For our younger families, we have developed reforms that will assist them as they juggle work and family in securing their financial futures. There are currently 7,980 families in my electorate of Swan using government-supported child care. Our childcare reforms, passed recently, ensure each and every one of these families has access to affordable care. As they grow, we are ensuring that all children in Swan can access 15 hours of preschool a week. This will see nearly 2,000 children in Swan reaping the benefits of the $2.5 million in funding for Swan announced by the government.

Our family's health is always of the utmost importance. That is why this government will continue to provide record funding for Medicare, despite continued scare campaigns, since the election, from those opposite. In the last financial year alone there were more than 600,000 GP services bulk-billed in Swan, putting the GP bulk-billing rate at 76.2 per cent for the electorate. Our government is securing the future of Medicare with a dedicated fund which will continue to protect these vital services for all Australians.

In addition, this budget secures funding for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The Treasurer noted that as Australians we always look after our mates and we look after those who are less fortunate than ourselves. I am very proud that the coalition government are delivering the best care we can provide to those who need it the most. Once fully rolled out, the NDIS will directly help an estimated 2,891 people in the electorate of Swan.

My electorate of Swan is filled with small businesses. We have the Welshpool industrial hub, the Belmont Business Park, more than 100 car yards and an extensive cafe strip in Victoria Park, where my electorate office is located. The Turnbull government knows that it is the small businesses that are the heart and soul of the Australian economy. That is why this government is committed to delivering tax relief for small businesses. More than 17,000 small businesses in Swan can take advantage of the instant asset write-off. Further to this, more than 17,000 businesses in Swan will be eligible for our small and medium business tax cuts. This is how we deliver for hardworking Australians. We support families, we support their health services and we secure their children's education. We reward small business owners who take on a great risk to drive our nation's economy. This coalition government is committed to fairness, opportunity and security for all Australians.

Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What a week it has been. We have heard government members in this chamber wanting a pat on the back for delivering a so-called fair budget. Let's listen to the warped and twisted definition of what fairness is under a Liberal-National party government. The definition of fairness when you are a Liberal or National federal member is that you deliver a tax cut of $16,400 to a millionaire. But does a family or worker in my electorate earning $65,000 a year get a tax cut? No, they get a tax increase of $325 per year. This is the new parallel universe that this government wants my community and every other working family in Australia to live in. Millionaires get a tax cut of $16,400; working people get a tax increase.

I am not having any more nonsense from those opposite talking about the 'low-tax party' or the 'low-spend party'. They are a high-taxing party. The highest amount of tax that Australia has ever paid will be under this government. I will say that again: the highest amount of tax that Australians have ever paid in the history of the Commonwealth will be under this government. The highest amount of debt that Australia will ever face will be under this government. In four years, has debt been cut? Has it been reduced?

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 12:07 to 12:20

Let's look at the top-line figures of this unfair budget. We know that growth is down, wages growth is down and unemployment is up. There are 95,000 fewer jobs forecast in this year's budget—so much for jobs and growth. All of those members opposite, trained and programmed through the IPA, will have to go back out to their branches across Australia and explain that this is the highest-taxing government Australia will ever face. Gross debt will now pass half a trillion dollars in the coming months—$20,000 for each Australian man, woman and child. Gross debt will hit $725 billion in 10 years and keep growing. The deficit is 10 times bigger than was predicted in the Liberals' first budget for the coming year. This deficit has tripled under the Liberals' first budget. I do not want any more lectures from those opposite about preferred economic management. Net debt has blown out by more than $100 billion since the Liberals came to government, and will be at record levels for three more years. It is little wonder that the former Prime Minister, the member for Warringah, said he gave the budget 'the applause it deserved'—let alone what Prime Minister John Howard and former Treasurer Peter Costello said. Division within the Liberal Party continues just because they know that, under this Prime Minister and Treasurer, debt has completely careered out of control.

While they are doing this, the community are missing out. They are paying higher taxes. But there is some relief for some of the community—millionaires get a tax cut and large corporations and multinationals get a $50 billion tax handout. We on this side of the chamber know that the budget fails the jobs test and the Medicare test. The Prime Minister has chosen big business over middle- and working-class families. He has chosen multinationals over Medicare. As a result, we will see millionaires getting a tax cut but working families in my electorate paying higher taxes. Under this government, every working person in Australia will pay higher taxes.

The list of cuts to health and education has been placed on the record. Labor will continue to oppose these cuts that this government is putting on the table. Schools in my own community in the southwest of Brisbane do an amazing job—particularly parish Catholic schools such as St Mark's in Inala, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Darra, Good Shepherd and also St Augustine's College up at Augustine Heights. I know how hard these schools work. This government has walked away from Catholic schools in our community. We will stand by education in Australia. (Time expired)