Sue Lines (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Make no mistake; the Turnbull government's budget is about winners and losers, and the losers in this case are the Australian community. Almost every Australian on an average income, working hard and paying their taxes has been punished by the Turnbull government. From day one of the election of this LNP government they have done nothing but bring havoc onto ordinary Australian families and ordinary Australian workers. Quite frankly, I do not know how LNP members can stand in this place and somehow cheer the budget. They are totally, absolutely out of touch with reality.

Of course, Labor is always concerned when governments such as the Turnbull government target families and pensioners first. The Turnbull government is happy to give multinationals a big tax cut but hits families and pensioners hard for the third budget in a row. And what about this quote: 'a grab for money, it's a political statement and I don't like it'? Guess who said that. The Minister for Health, Sussan Ley, said that about Labor's tobacco plan. And what have we seen today and last night? An exact copy of our tobacco plan. Those opposite were absolute hypocrites and slammed us for that policy, which we put out months and months ago, but suddenly they pick it up last night in their budget.

Where else have they been hypocrites? Superannuation for low-income earners. Labor had a really good plan in place for low-income earners—particularly women—whose super balances need a boost. What did they do? They stood in this place and criticised us but, as soon as they could, they got rid of that. Suddenly it is back because it is another good idea that they suddenly saw and put in place for themselves, somehow now sprouting a policy for women. This budget is nothing about women. It does harm to women. All they have done is put back something they already took off people.

And what about small business? Suddenly the Turnbull government has discovered small businesses. Labor already knew about them. We had good incentives in place. I remember when they removed those incentives. Small business people were up in arms about it.

And look at what they have done to young people. I do not know what young people have done to upset the Turnbull government. They probably did not vote for them. That is the mistake they made. The first budget said you had to wait six months for the benefit and introduced the Work for the Dole scheme, which Labor said from day one would never work, and now they have to admit it does not work.

And what have they done? They have swapped apprenticeships, which lead to proper skills, a trade certificate and a career for the future, with these internships. Who in their right mind would give a subsidy to employers like Coles and Woolworths to put interns on? What is that going to do?

We all know on this side what it is going to do: it is going to mean young people are sacked, they are put on internships on $4 an hour, and somehow they should be grateful for that, and they can just keep rolling these internships along. In just the same way that Work for the Dole was a failed strategy, internships will also be a failed strategy.

Then guess what they are doing: they are giving the employers more money than the poor worker on an internship. Imagine. Why would a large employer have someone on $4 an hour working alongside someone on $20 an hour? We know on this side what is going to happen to that part-time or casual worker who is earning 20 bucks an hour: they will be sacked in favour of this worker on an internship. Quite frankly, if the Turnbull government think the way to fix youth unemployment is to give big employers like Coles and Woolworths a subsidy for employing the young people they already employ then they have well and truly lost the plot. Just like Work for the Dole and just like their punishing of young people, this internship nonsense will fall on its face. Why would you abolish apprenticeships and come up with this wishy-washy internship notion? What an insult! Get real. (Time expired)