Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. We have done a whole range of things, particularly when it comes to cost-of-living issues. We have created things like the schoolkids bonus, which delivers real money—cash into people's pockets for their kids and their kids' education. It is $410 a year for a primary-school child and $820 a year for a secondary-school child.

Today is a pretty special day because we have again increased, on an indexation basis, pensions for every pensioner in this country, and it is a substantial amount. Since we have come to government, we have made a determined effort to lift people on pensions out of poverty, because that is where they were when the Howard government left office. They were in poverty. There was no question about it; there was just never any guts shown by the previous government to make the commitment to lift pensioners out of poverty. I might agree with pensioners today that the pension is still not quite enough, but let me tell you: they are a long way better off than when Howard left government. But that is what will be revisited, and the coalition cannot wait to get there. They are biting at the bit to be able to cut pensions, the schoolkids bonus, public mental health programs and all the education and skills programs that we have got.

On aged care, we have a commitment of $3.7 billion so that people can age with dignity in their own homes. On infrastructure, we have committed $36 billion to projects right across the country. On disability, we have put $1 billion down on the table. Let us start the process of the NDIS. We have put $1 billion on the table. You are going to cut $1 billion out. On superannuation—that great Australian story of super—the superannuation guarantee rate is moving from nine to 12 per cent. In the good years, when the coalition reckoned they had plenty of money and were sitting on cash, did they ever do it? No. So what is your excuse? Explain yourself to the Australian people. Why didn't you have the guts to do it when you were in government, when there were the rivers of gold flowing in and you had more cash than you knew what to do with? Why didn't you develop an NDIS then, or didn't you have any ideas? You had no ideas and no ability to actually do something for the Australian economy. You talk about all the things we have done. Let me tell you: I am pretty proud of what we have done for pensioners and ordinary working Australians, what we have done for people's mortgages, what we have done for employment, skills, training and education, and we will fight on our track record. (Time expired)

See this speech in context