Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage) Share this | Hansard source

In rising this evening to speak to Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2006-2007 and cognate bills, I want to proceed on four fronts. First, I want to talk about the benefits in the budget papers for 2006-07 for people within my electorate of Flinders, of which there are many beneficiaries. Second, I want to talk about some of the historic background and to draw a comparison which shows why we were able, through the Treasurer and the Prime Minister, to produce a budget with such longstanding implications and benefits for the country. Third, I want to talk about this year’s appropriations and examine what they mean for specific and general reforms being undertaken. Finally, I want to talk about the major reforms which Australia, in my opinion, still needs to address over the coming 10 years—that is, the long-term agenda.

In my electorate of Flinders, there will be a series of benefits to people in the Mornington Peninsula, Western Port and the Bass Coast areas. Firstly, we have a population of seniors—those aged over 60—of more than 32,000. Particular care and concern is needed for these people. It is worth noting that there will be more than 20,000 beneficiaries amongst the seniors population of the one-off payment, before 30 June 2006, of an additional $102.80. That will go to each household which is eligible for the utilities allowance and to each self-funded retiree who is eligible for the seniors concession allowance.

Secondly, those who are currently self-funded and receiving qualifying payments under the superannuation scheme will, as of 1 July 2007, receive those payments which are qualified appropriately tax free. That will make a significant difference to the living standards and simplify the way in which seniors in Flinders go about their personal affairs. It is a groundbreaking step to remove the tax from superannuation. In practical terms, for retirees and would-be retirees within the electorate of Flinders, this is a critical and important step going forward.

Thirdly, those seniors who are currently neither receiving a pension nor taking superannuation but who are receiving other forms of income will receive tax relief. This tax relief goes to 100 per cent of taxpayers in the Flinders electorate. Significantly, the change will be for low-, medium- and upper-income earners.

Most importantly, in many ways the budget will provide a total tax cut of $36.7 billion over four years from 1 July this year. The 30 per cent threshold will rise to $25,000. The 42 per cent marginal tax rate will be cut to 40 per cent and the threshold will rise to $75,000. The 47 per cent marginal tax rate will be cut to 45 per cent and the threshold will rise to $150,000. Critically, the low-income tax offset will increase from $235 to $600 a year. It will begin to phase out from $25,000, which is an increase from $21,600. There will be no net tax paid by anybody earning $10,000 or less. Effectively, incomes up to $10,000 will now be completely untaxed. For seniors doing part-time work, who are not engaged in full-time employment, that is extremely important. This package of measures will help seniors as well as families more generally within the electorate of Flinders.

I will now move to specific benefits for families within Flinders. The first point is that over 2,000 families will benefit from changes to the family tax benefit arrangements. The eligibility for the maximum rate of family tax benefit A is being extended to families with an annual income of up to $40,000, which is an increase of almost $7,000 and will occur as of 1 July 2006. Well over 2,000 families are expected to benefit, and the difference in income over the course of the year will be some hundreds of dollars. In addition, around 3,000 families with three children will also benefit by approximately $250 a year when the number of children required to receive the large family supplement is reduced from four to three—again from 1 July 2006.

Significantly, child-care arrangements will also have the potential to expand considerably. Ninety-nine per cent of child-care places will now be uncapped so that demand can be met where and when it occurs. Recently I visited Westernport Child Care and helped in the opening of the new wing. That is an example of an outstanding organisation which, rather than having to apply for new places, will be able to incrementally take on new children and new parents as and when the parents wish to do that. I think that is an outstanding step forward.

This brings me to the carers who will benefit within the electorate of Flinders, and there are over 2,500 carers who will benefit from the one-off carer bonus payment. This will be the third consecutive year in which the one-off bonus is paid. Significantly, about 700 recipients of the carer payment will receive a $1,000 one-off bonus before 30 June. As well, around 2,600 recipients of the carer allowance—and there is some overlap between the two groups—will also receive a $600 one-off bonus before 30 June. So, in all those areas, these are significant benefits to large numbers of people within the electorate of Flinders.

In addition, small business will also benefit in a number of ways. Most importantly for Flinders, I think, is that the rural sector will benefit. The wine equalisation tax rebate will apply now to sales of up to $1.7 million, which is an increase from $1 million. I am told that will affect between 15 and 20 businesses on the peninsula, most of which are quite large employers. That has an impact on viability, which has an impact on competitiveness, which has an impact on employment. So it is about jobs in the rural sector on the Mornington Peninsula and around Western Port. I think that is a very important development.

Finally, when looking at the local benefits to flow from the 2006-07 appropriation, there is the funding for local roads. There is a one-off payment before 30 June of $560,000 for Bass Coast Shire to help with additional road funding in the forthcoming year, $972,000 for Cardinia Shire, $851,000 for the city of Casey, $16,000 for French Island and $1,045,000 for Mornington Peninsula Shire. I have already spoken with key people in each of those shires to talk about the priorities and, on the Mornington Peninsula, I must say that the Baxter Tavern intersection in Baxter is desperately in need of an upgrade. These funds provide that opportunity, along with the Stony Point Road intersection with the Frankston-Flinders Road in Crib Point and Bittern, as well as the Bentons Road-Nepean Highway intersection in Mount Martha. All are fundamental priorities. Over $1 million to the Mornington Peninsula Shire provides that opportunity.

Those are the benefits. There is a reason we are able to provide these benefits. I want to look at a little bit of economic history here. When you look interest rates, unemployment and inflation, and compare the record from 1996 to current days with that of the previous government, and you find in each of those areas a dramatic difference. For example, if average housing rates have been 7.1 per cent under the Howard-Costello government as opposed to 12.7 per cent under the Hawke-Keating government—a difference of 5.6 per cent. If you take account of inflation—

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