Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I am directly on the question, because the Leader of the Opposition asked about the government's budget strategy and cost-of-living pressures and impacts for low-income Australians and for pensioners. That was the question, so I am talking about cost-of-living pressures for pensioners and low-income earners. I am pointing out that we have low inflation and low interest rates. We have provided a historic increase to pensioners. We have provided a change in the tax arrangements which means that low-income workers—and they tend predominantly to be women—can earn $18,200 before they pay a dollar of tax. And then, of course, if they are buying a family home, they are also in the circumstance where they are paying $5,000 less for a $300,000 mortgage than they used to when those opposite were last in government. So, in terms of cost of living, in terms of working with pensioners and low-income Australians, I refer the Leader of the Opposition to the facts—to the clear economic concepts and to the facts.

On the government's budget: nothing asked by the Leader of the Opposition and nothing asked by the shadow Treasurer actually would cause an observer to conclude that they know that a global financial crisis happened and that they recognise that, as a result of that global financial crisis and other pressures in our economy, we have seen huge revenue write-downs—indeed, $160 billion in revenue write-downs across the period of the GFC. You have to ask yourself the question in those circumstances: do you support jobs? We always will. When the Leader of the Opposition has been called on to come into this place and put his hand up for jobs, he never has. (Time expired)

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