Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to speak on the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2025-2026, the Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2025-2026 and the Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2025-2026, to support the passage of them and to talk about the positive impact of the budget handed down in March and our commitments from the May election and the government's economic plan and reform agenda for this term of government, both for the nation and for my electorate of Blair.

At the outset, I want to say a few things about the broader economic context because it's always critical for the framing of any budget. The Labor Party is the party of lower taxes. The coalition voted against our tax cuts in the last parliament and took a policy to the last election, notwithstanding what the shadow Treasurer said, that would increase personal income tax on the 80,000 Australian taxpayers in my electorate and also around the country. Let's be clear. When we came to power, we were emerging from a sustained period of global inflation, and that inflation surge was primarily caused by international supply-side factors such as the war in Ukraine, which had an impact on energy prices, and the global supply chain pressures arising out of the post-COVID international economic environment. This caused inflation and cost-of-living pressures to rise well before our government came to power in Australia. Inflation at a high level is something we inherited, not something we caused, as those opposite and their cheer squads, some in the media, would like to assert.

We're putting downward pressure on inflation and bringing inflation into the band of two to three per cent, and we have done so. That has been the centrepiece of government economic strategy not just over our first four budgets. For governments for a long time, the aspiration has been to have inflation within a two to three per cent band. Of course, it is something that the Reserve Bank of Australia also supports strongly. We've made significant progress on that front—inflation is below three per cent; it was six per cent and rising when we came to office in 2022. New monthly ABS figures out last week show headline and underlying inflation is still well below three per cent, for the eighth month in a row, and still within the Reserve Bank's target band. On top of this, the ABS data shows that the government's cost-of-living policies are actually detracting from inflationary pressures, not adding to them—contrary to what those opposite think.

While most other advanced economies have had to trade progress on inflation for higher unemployment, negative economic growth or, indeed, a recession, we've managed to preserve a strong labour market at the same time as strong job and wage growth. It's no small achievement, and I commend the government—the Treasurer, in particular—for it. The latest jobs figures for July show Australia's unemployment rate remains historically low, falling to 4.2 per cent, while a record 1.15 million new jobs have been created since Labor came to office in 2022.

What's more is that real wages, which were falling sharply under those opposite—remember, it's a deliberate design feature to keep wages low under them—have been growing strongly under us. We've improved the budget, with the first back-to-back surpluses in almost two decades. They promised to be 'back in black' and to have a budget surplus every year. They didn't deliver one for the near-decade they were in government. We've brought debt and debt interest down and we've restrained real spending growth with a $207 billion positive turnaround in the budget, the biggest nominal improvement in the budget in a single term. Unlike our predecessors, we've banked the vast majority of revenue upgrades, with fiscal policy and cost-of-living assistance working hand in glove with the Reserve Bank's monetary policy.

In summary, we've been able to pull off lower debt, reduced inflation, low unemployment, falling interest rates, higher real wages, improved living standards, record job creation and a growing economy. That's what a good government does. It's no small feat, and it means we're well-positioned to navigate the uncertainty and volatility we're seeing in the global economy right now. But there's more work to do. While the data and economic fundamentals are looking much better, these numbers don't always reflect people's lived experience or how people are feeling in the real world.

We know a lot of people are still doing it tough, especially those vulnerable members of our community, so the government's focus has also been about cost-of-living relief. We've been responsible economic managers but want to make meaningful cost-of-living relief while building Australia's future with a stronger and more productive economy.

I want to talk about some key budget measures and election commitments that will benefit my local community. First, the government is delivering more tax relief in the budget, with two more tax cuts— those opposite took to the election a position opposing them—to every Australian taxpayer in 2026 and 2027, adding to the first round we delivered in July last year. That means 80,000 taxpayers in my electorate of Blair will receive a new tax cut from next year of up to $268 in 2026-27 and up to $536 in 2027-28. It will increase take-home pay for people and ease cost-of-living pressures, especially for people on low and middle incomes.

In fact, the OECD's 2025 employment outlook analysis confirms that the Albanese government is delivering the lowest personal income tax rates in 50 years, while unemployment levels are below the OECD average. That analysis also notes that, when combined with the government's cheaper childcare policy, our tax cuts will increase the financial rewards for working people and, in fact, will help with additional working days, especially for secondary earners in the household—in other words, people will get a benefit from working harder and longer, including more money in their pockets and more financial security for their households. It is also expected that there would be a boost female workforce participation, which, in turn, would increase our GDP or economic growth. The OECD analysis is really a ringing endorsement of the government's economic strategy.

In addition to tax cuts, every household in my electorate, along with eligible small businesses, is getting an extra $150 to help with their power bills, building on previous rounds of energy bill relief.

On the health front, our record $8.5 billion investment in Medicare announced earlier this year is expected to see an additional 117,700 bulk-billed visits and a boost to the number of fully bulk-billed GP practices to around 35 in my electorate. This will save local patients hundreds of dollars a year, depending on how often they visit their GP. On top of this, the government has delivered two Medicare urgent care clinics for our community—one in Ipswich, in my electorate, and one in Goodna in the member for Oxley's electorate—which provide bulk-billed walk-in care to locals who need it. I'm proud to have opened the Ipswich Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in 2023. It's been a huge success, with more than 2,500 visits in the first year alone, and it's helped to ease pressure on the Ipswich Hospital emergency department.

Complementing our record investments in Medicare, my constituents will also save from cheaper medicines with the government's reduction of the maximum general co-payment for medicines to $25 under the PBS from 1 January next year. That means more than 42,000 cheaper scripts are expected to be dispensed, on average, each year in Blair, saving people more than $1.5 million and building on our expansion of the number of medicines eligible for the 60-day scripts, which those opposite opposed, as well. Another measure which is really resonating with students and young people in my electorate is our policy to cut student debts by 20 per cent. You only need to stand at a prepoll to know how popular that was. It will ensure that about 23,000 people in Blair with a HECS debt will see an average reduction of $5,500 to their outstanding student loans. A key issue on the ground in Blair is housing supply and affordability. In my community, some people are finding it very hard to break into the housing market. Some experience mortgage stress, and others struggle to pay the rent from week to week.

During the election, Labor announced that first home buyers will be able to get into the housing market with just a five per cent deposit. Just last week, the Prime Minister announced that this will start from 1 October 2025 instead of next year for all first home buyers, with no caps on places or income limits—in other words, it'll be demand driven. Property price caps will also be set high, in line with the average house prices. This is a real game changer, and it will bring the great Australian dream of owning a home back into reach for so many people. We're also going to invest $10 billion to build 100,000 homes that only first home buyers can buy. This is building on the fact that we've already helped more locals buy their own home, with more than 3,400 people in my community able to get into home ownership with the support of the Albanese government—the highest rate of take-up in the country. We're also supporting renters through a range of measures, including improving renters' rights, incentives for the private sector to build more long-term rentals, a 45 per cent increase in Commonwealth rent assistance and delivering more social and affordable housing rentals.

Another area that's made a big difference to families in Blair is support for child care. The government is taking the next step in building a universal early education and care system by replacing the much discredited and loathed current activity test with a guaranteed eligibility for three days a week of subsidised early education for children who need it. We've established a $1 billion Building Early Education Fund, allowing more centres to be built and expanded in areas of need. That'll help in electorates like mine, outer suburbs and regional areas. The Building Early Education Fund will deliver grants to providers, and the government will look at options for the Commonwealth to invest in owning and leasing out services. This will build on our earlier Cheaper Child Care reforms, which have helped 8,900 families in Blair, saving families $7,049 on average over the last two years. On the eve of this year's budget, the Albanese government signed a new $2.8 billion school funding agreement with the Queensland government, which will see more funding for local state schools in Blair over the next 10 years. I recall going to a number of schools after that agreement, particularly schools like Raceview State School and Bremer State High School, where that announcement was really well received.

Finally, this budget invests in key road infrastructure that will improve congestion and safety in our fast-growing region. It locks in the $20 million in funding for the Brisbane Valley Highway safety upgrades, bringing the total Australian government commitment to $40 million. That's the amount that was asked for by the Somerset Regional Council. During the election campaign, I was delighted to announce $200 million to deliver a new Amberley interchange on the Cunningham Highway, drawing on previously allocated funding. I call on the Crisafulli government to match that funding; they didn't do it in their recent budget.

In the last term, our budgets focused largely on inflation and the cost of living, but this term we know we also need to look at reforms to drive growth and productivity while ensuring inclusion and intergenerational equity. The best way to improve living standards over time is to make our economy more productive, to make it more resilient and to make sure our budget is more sustainable. These themes were all discussed at a recent Blair economic reform roundtable I hosted in Ipswich at the Ipswich Jets Leagues Club with representatives from local business, chambers of commerce, unions, government agencies, community groups and experts. The forum canvassed a wide range of issues from the need to fast-track more housing and road infrastructure to cutting red tape for local charities and cracking down on sham contracting and tax evasion. Locally we've seen strong economic and jobs growth in recent years, but we've got growing pains in a fast-growing region. We need to be investing in more housing, infrastructure, skills and services to support our high population growth. We want to keep securing good, well-paid jobs for locals now and into the future. That means backing local industries, tracking new investment and equipping people with the skills they need to succeed.

I wrote to the Treasurer with a range of ideas coming out of the Blair roundtable and sent that feedback back to participants in the roundtable. This has been fed into the national economic reform roundtable, and I'm pleased to see the initiatives coming out of the national reform roundtable. The announcements last week to cut through red tape and delays in federal environmental laws are very welcome and precisely what a number of local participants said. Going forward, the economic reform roundtable will inform the next three budgets and beyond with clear and broad areas of consensus and common ground. It's very encouraging to see real appetite and ambition for change with some clear reform directions and a number of immediate actions, or low-hanging fruit, and some further work areas coming out of the event.

In closing, we know the best way to boost living standards and modernise our economy is to make our economy more productive and resilient and to make our budget more sustainable, but we need to ensure that promotes fairness and tackles intergenerational equity so that no-one is left behind or held back. That's exactly what this budget, along with the associated appropriations bills discussed here today, will do. Our election commitments and our second-term agenda will achieve this. It backs my electorate of Blair and the strong record I have of delivering for our community, and it builds for the future. That's why this budget and the appropriations bills that we are discussing are important. I commend the appropriations bills to the House.

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