Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hawke for his question. The member for Hawke understands—just as every member on this side of the House who has stood up to speak about the Albanese government's tax cuts and who has asked a question this week about cost of living understands—that cost of living is the No.1 issue for families across Australia. Of course, we knew that before we came to government. That's why the Prime Minister pledged to take action to relieve cost-of-living pressures for families in Australia. That's why, in government, we're not just talking about cost-of-living pressures; we're taking action to deliver cost-of-living relief. That's why we delivered cheaper child care for more than a million families across Australia, including, I might say, 6,800 families in the member for Hawke's electorate.

I'm pleased to report that the ACCC review confirmed that our Cheaper Child Care reforms reduce out-of-pocket costs for families for centre based care by an average of 11 per cent. According to the ACCC report, a family earning $80,000 with a child in care for three days a week will have saved $1,351.80 in early childhood learning fees. And we're building on that. We're delivering more cost-of-living relief through our better tax cuts for every Australian, including families. Under our plan, someone earning $80,000 will get a tax cut of $1,679. That's over $3,000 a year —real money going back into the pockets of middle Australians in the suburbs, in the bush, in the city and in the regions. It's for all Australians, and that's on top of other measures: cheaper medicines, fee-free TAFE, energy bill relief—all part of our comprehensive plan to tackle cost-of-living pressures whilst balancing downward pressure on inflation.

That's the difference. That's the difference between a government that is prepared to take action, that has a plan for cost-of-living relief and that wants people to earn more and to keep more of what they earn and an opposition that wants to keep people working longer for less. (Time expired)

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