Tracey Roberts (Pearce, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

I'm going to enjoy reading this carefully considered, detailed, factual speech. Listening to the previous speech, full of innuendo, scaremongering and real concern about these tax cuts, was just beyond belief. I rise to support the Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living Tax Cuts) Bill 2024 and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living—Medicare Levy) Bill 2024.

I can tell you that when our Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, announced the proposed tax cuts there were many happy faces around my community of Pearce. Our constituency is diverse and is one of the fastest growing and largest areas in Australia, with an average of seven babies born a day. We have many young families looking to establish themselves in Pearce, people moving in from other states and territories and from overseas, plus seniors who want to enjoy their retirement years close to their grandchildren and extended families. One of the reasons the electorate of Pearce is such a large and fast-growing area is that it's a beautiful location, with 32 kilometres of coastline, national parks and regional open spaces and thriving market gardens that have earnt us a reputation as the food bowl of the north.

However, we have all been challenged by the rise in the cost of living. Everyone is more cautious about what they are buying and how much they are spending. It is a conversation we are having within our families and friendship groups, and I have found people are happy to stop and chat about it openly. Families are becoming more careful in budgeting and financial planning, tracking income and expenditures and trying to identify areas where they can cut costs or make savings so that their essential needs can be met first. Many have sought social and community support to help them cope, and I would like to thank the many services in Pearce who have stepped in to support those in need.

The Australian Council of Social Service—ACOSS—released a paper titled 'People with the least need more support'. They reported that people on the lowest incomes are bearing the brunt of spiralling prices. ACOSS stated that frontline community services, which were already overstretched, are struggling to keep up with demand. ACOSS recommended a number of actions, including removing the stage 3 tax cuts altogether, as they really benefited only people on the highest incomes, not those under the greatest financial pressure. They were not alone in their criticism of the coalition's stage 3 tax cuts.

So how did we get here? Where do we go forward? Since the tax cuts were legislated five years ago, we have experienced a once-in-100-years pandemic, wars and global conflicts, global inflation spikes and higher interest rates. These events have put people under greater cost-of-living pressure. The Morrison government was piling debt on Australia. In 2022 the Albanese Labor government inherited almost a trillion dollars of debt, which was eye watering to say the least.

Thankfully, I am part of a government that listens to the community and acts. We know the family budget is under pressure and has been for some time. We have introduced measures to help our communities, including cheaper child care, cheaper medicines, electricity bill relief, increased rent assistance, more Medicare bulk billing, fee-free TAFE training, building more affordable homes, expanding paid parental leave and getting wages moving again. The question is: what more could be done to ease the pressure? Something has to change, and it is clear that every taxpayer needs and deserves a meaningful tax cut. Put people before politics—without a doubt, it works for me.

The Albanese Labor government's tax cuts deliver more relief to more people in a way that is fiscally responsible and does not add to inflationary pressures. They are designed to provide bigger tax cuts for Middle Australia to help with cost of living while making our tax system fairer. In my electorate of Pearce, every single taxpayer—I say that again: every single taxpayer—will receive a tax cut under Labor's tax plan, with 85 per cent receiving a bigger tax cut from 1 July.

As I have already stated, my community's diverse, as are others across the nation. Let's look at some figures. All 6.5 million women taxpayers will receive a tax cut, the average being $1,649; 1.5 million young Australian taxpayers aged between 18 and 24 will receive an average tax cut of $1,007; and, for those aged between 25 and 29, the average tax cut will be $1,573. Older Australian taxpayers will receive tax cuts ranging from $1,685 to $1,726. If you look at the tax cuts by occupation, a nurse earning $76,000 will get a tax cut of $1,579, a primary school teacher earning $80,000 will get a tax cut of $1,679, a truckie earning $77,000 will get a tax cut of $1,604, and a police officer earning $110,000 will get a tax cut of $2,429. Our tax cuts are good for Middle Australia, good for women, good for helping with the cost-of-living pressures, good for labour supply and good for the economy.

Labor's tax cuts will make a real difference for 13.6 million taxpayers who will receive a tax cut, 2.9 million more than would have benefited from Scott Morrison's plan from five years ago. They mean that 84 per cent of taxpayers, including 90 per cent of female taxpayers, will now receive a bigger tax cut. Parents, particularly women with young children, will be supported to return to work under the government's changes to their take-home pay. This, on top of the changes we have made to paid parental leave, will further assist women, who for too long have faced long-term consequences for their economic security. Treasury estimates that our changes will increase labour supply, driven by increases in hours worked and participation of women with taxable income between $20,000 and $75,000. Associate Professor Ben Phillips from the Australian National University stated: 'Support now is across the board rather than just at the very top. So that's good in terms of workforce participation, and it's also good in terms of cost of living relief. I think overall it's a fairer package.'

At the time of the 2021 census, there were 177,513 people living in my electorate of Pearce alone. There were nearly 50,000 families and 66,000 dwellings. These figures have changed since that time, with many more people moving in. I stumbled upon that because I was just questioning the numbers, but they are factual. The new tax cuts will make a difference for families in Pearce. For example, for a family on an average household income of around $130,000, with one partner earning $80,000 and the other $50,000, their combined tax cut would be over $2,600, which equates to almost $50 a week and is $1,600 more than they would have received under the old plan. That makes a difference. It makes a difference to families' budgets and to what they can spend their money on. It gives them hope that things are going to be alright within the family. The additional $50 per week will make a difference. It could literally mean more food on the table. It could help with the mortgage or rent, with paying an unpaid bill or with buying a pair of much-needed school shoes. These are things that people hold dear to their hearts. They are meaningful on a day-to-day basis for people working, living and trying to make ends meet.

The government's changes will deliver a better, more progressive tax system, addressing bracket creep by dropping two tax rates, lifting two thresholds and giving everyone a tax cut. This will provide $359 billion in help with the cost of living and will return bracket creep where we can do the most good: in Middle Australia.

From 1 July this year, the government will reduce the 19 per cent tax rate to 16 per cent, reduce the 32.5 per cent tax rate to 30 per cent, increase the threshold for both—with a 37 per cent tax rate applied from $120,000 to $135,000—and increase the threshold above which the 45 per cent tax rate applies from $180,000 to $190,000. As stated previously, all 13.6 million Australian taxpayers will receive a tax cut from 2024-25 onwards. The government's tax cuts will lower average tax rates for all taxpayers. That cannot be emphasised enough. That is a really important statement of fact. As a result of the changes, the average taxpayer will pay $21,635 less of their income in tax over the next decade. Under our proposed changes, taxpayers earning less than $45,000 will now receive a tax cut of more than $1,500 a year, which is around $29 a week—more than double what they would have gotten under the coalition's plan. This will help people in jobs that pay less, and it is important to us and the economy. Whether you are working in retail or as a checkout operator, as a pharmacy sales assistant or as a childcare worker, you are deserving of additional help.

It will also help to support many of the estimated 22,000 grandparents in Australia that are raising grandchildren, mostly due to some family crisis, conflict, mental illness, substance abuse, homelessness, child abuse, neglect or family violence. These grandparents have stepped in, and our tax cuts will help those grandparents who are trying to juggle that important task, with some using their superannuation to do so. Some are still working part time to supplement their income. For the single mum on a lower income doing the best she can to support her children, every tax dollar saved will count. Cassandra Goldie, the Australian Council of Social Services CEO, said of the stage 3 tax cuts:

These tax cuts were always bad policy and so we congratulate the Albanese government for listening to the deep concerns expressed by organisations including ACOSS from the beginning. They have now moved to make these tax cuts fairer to be targeting more of the dollars to people who do need help …

That is Cassandra Goldie, and we thank her for that comment.

While Australia offers a high quality of life, the cost-of-living challenges underscore the need for comprehensive and sustainable solutions to ensure economic stability and prosperity for all residents. The Albanese Labor government is providing meaningful cost-of-living relief in a responsible manner. We are delivering more help for working families and Australians who are under financial pressure by putting cash back into their pockets where they need it most, when they need it most. My community, like many others across the nation, are resourceful, resilient and absolutely deserving of our help. Every taxpayer in Pearce will get a tax cut.

In closing, it is also important to note that Treasury has advised that our tax cuts will not add to inflationary pressures, because they are broadly revenue neutral. The most recent inflation figures show welcome moderation. It is still too high, but it is moderating, and Treasury is clear that our tax plan will not impact their forecast for inflation to return to the target band next year. Our tax cuts are about ensuring more workers in Pearce and around the country can keep more of what they earn, because we know that it'll help take the pressure off people who are, without doubt, doing it tough. I reiterate the importance of listening and putting people before politics. I commend this bill to the House.

See this speech in context