Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

We all know that cost-of-living pressures mean Aussies have been under the pump for quite some time. They were under the pump before we came to office two years ago, and they're still under the pump. The big difference is that this government is doing something about it. We are tackling the cost of living as the No. 1 priority of the Albanese Labor government. It's why our budget and our economic plan are all about easing inflation and easing those pressures in household budgets.

From today, 1 July, every taxpayer in this country is getting a tax cut. Not just some taxpayers, and not just some who are earning high incomes, but every single Australian taxpayer, all 13.6 million, get a tax cut. That includes 280,000 Tasmanians, and that includes 46,000 of my constituents in Lyons. This government is delivering cost-of-living relief to all Australians, not just to some. Our tax plan delivers bigger tax cuts for more taxpayers than Scott Morrison's plan from five years ago. An additional 2.9 million Australians earning $45,000 or less, who missed out entirely under the former stage 3 cuts, will now receive a tax cut. Just think about that. Those who need relief the most were to receive not one red cent under the Liberal's stage 3 tax plan. We changed that plan, and we have now ensured that people earning under $45,000 a year are getting a tax cut. On average, women will retain an additional $700 per year compared with the former government's stage 3 cuts. It's still a great shame in this country that, on average, women continue to earn less than men.

I am particularly proud of these tax cuts in Tasmania because 90 per cent of Tasmanian taxpayers, nine in 10, are going to be better off under Labor's tax plan than they would have been under stage 3. As the member for Lyons, I know that my constituents in my big, regional electorate are absolutely feeling the pinch on their household budgets. It means something to me to be able to look them in the eye and say, 'We know that you are hurting, and we are doing something about it.'

This government understands the pressures they are under, and we are taking real action to ease those pressures. From today the Albanese government is rolling out meaningful and responsible cost-of-living relief. There is a tax cut for every Australian taxpayer. For many, it means doubling the tax cut that they would have received under stage 3. Every household gets $300 in energy bill relief. There is $325 for small businesses from today. There will be a freeze on the cost of PBS medicines for every Australian. There will be an expansion of our Paid Parental Leave scheme. There will be more funding to build more homes in every part of the country. If only the coalition and the Greens would get out of the way in the Senate so we could release more housing funding. All this comes on top of a third consecutive pay rise for 2.6 million workers backed by this government.

Of course, the cost-of-living relief set to flow from this week is building on cost-of-living measures the government have already delivered in our first two years of government: cheaper child care, fee-free TAFE for nearly 500,000 Australians, the biggest boost to Commonwealth rent assistance in 30 years and the biggest investment ever in expanding bulk-billing—including, of course, the creation of Medicare urgent care clinics across the country. We're about to get a fifth one in Tasmania, and I'm proud to say that it's in my electorate of Lyons. All this is making a difference to the cost-of-living pressures that people are facing.

We know that the work is not over. We don't pretend, for even one minute, that it is. We know the work is still to be done, but we are doing it. We are taking real action because we absolutely care about getting the job done. It's a fact that Australians are better off under a Labor government. More jobs, higher wages, bigger tax cuts—that's what the Albanese government is delivering. Australians are earning more, and, as of today, they will get to keep more of what they earn.

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