Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lyons for his question. I am sure he will be very pleased to know that from next week more than 10,000 families in his community who receive family tax benefit A will be receiving extra assistance under this package and almost 21,000 pensioners and carers and other seniors will also be receiving assistance. This is much needed assistance that will go to nearly two million families and four million pensioners, carers and people with a disability who will receive this extra help through the government’s Economic Security Strategy payments—$1,400 for single pensioners and $2,100 for couples, and families who are on family tax benefit A will receive $1,000 for each eligible child.

Many people have been in touch with us, as you can imagine, to tell us just how these payments are going to help them out. I had an email recently from Jackie in Melbourne, who wrote to say how much she welcomes the Economic Security Strategy. She writes:

Our six-year-old son has an autism spectrum disorder and we receive the carer allowance, so the $1,000 announced for carers is fantastic. My query is that we receive the family tax benefit A, so does that mean that we will receive $2,000? If that is the case, we will be heading out to get the much needed fridge and washing machine.

I am very pleased to be able to let Jackie know that she will be receiving $2,000, so she will be able to go ahead and buy that fridge and that washing machine.

We do know that there are number of people on the other side of the House who actually do not want Jackie to get that fridge and washing machine. Probably most famously—I know you have heard a few remarks from this particular person—the Leader of the Nationals in the Senate said the following to the Canberra Times about these Economic Security Strategy statements, and I am quoting:

“It was the National Party that came out to say ‘we’re going to call bull dust on this one’…

Remarkable. The National Party wants to stop nearly two million Australian families getting this $1,000 payment per child—two million Australian families that they do not want to get this extra help.

I say to the National Party and to their coalition colleagues that they really should keep up with the rest of the world. Maybe read a newspaper. There is no question they are living in complete denial about the global financial crisis and the way in which the world has changed. It does seem that the National Party are not on their own.

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