Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

There is a simple question at the heart of these appropriation bills: what kind of future are we choosing to build, and who gets to share in it? The Albanese government's budget answers this question clearly. This budget is focused squarely on levelling the playing field—in our tax system, in our economy and in the services and infrastructure that underpin a good life. It is about our people. It's about the families I meet across the Bellarine, the young workers I speak to on the Surf Coast, the retirees I visit in Ocean Grove, the small-business owners in Leopold, the TAFE students from Grovedale, Newcomb, Queenscliff and the towns right across my region. It is about building a future that works for all of them.

This budget will strengthen housing, health, energy security and opportunity at a time when we have global uncertainty and supply chain pressures and when ongoing cost-of-living challenges are being felt in every household. It delivers cost-of-living relief now, while investing for the long term, and there's no better investment than education. From early years education to TAFE and university, this is where people build the skills, knowledge and experience to get ahead. That's why this budget includes investment in education.

This budget backs working Australians and the future they are trying to build for their families. A central pillar of this budget is redressing the imbalance in our tax system so that Australians know that if they work hard they can achieve. Our government knows that to do this we must make change. It's about real reform. It's not about taking the easy road. It's about setting our nation up for the future and ensuring that Australians continue to have a fair go. We are a hopeful nation, and this budget is about ensuring that hope endures.

From 1 July, every taxpayer will receive further tax relief, including a permanent additional tax offset worth $250. We're also introducing a $1,000 instant tax deduction for work related expenses, cutting through unnecessary complexity and putting money back into the hands of working people. Across all of our tax cuts, the average working Australian will be up to $2,800 better off each year. That is 13 million workers getting meaningful tax relief. For a teacher in Leopold, a nurse in Geelong, a cleaner working early shifts in Torquay or a tradie on the Surf Coast, this is practical relief that matters. These are people who are working hard, often across multiple responsibilities, and trying to keep up with rent, mortgages, groceries and bills.

We are also continuing to target fuel relief and strengthen domestic energy resilience, including measures designed to reduce exposure to volatile global energy markets. For a regional electorate like mine, where families often travel long distances for work, school and health care, that matters every single week. This is a budget that recognises pressure and responds with action, not rhetoric, and there's no clearer example of this than the housing measures we're putting in place.

Homeownership has always been central to the Australian story. It is not just an economic outcome; it's about security, stability and belonging. It is about knowing you can build a life in the community you grew up in. Too many young people are now finding that foundation increasingly out of reach. In towns like Torquay, Ocean Grove, Drysdale and across the Bellarine, young people are being priced out of the communities they call home. They are turning up to auctions and being outbid. They are watching homes in their neighbourhoods—homes that once symbolised possibility—slip further beyond reach. This is not just a housing issue. It is an intergenerational fairness issue, and it is one this budget takes seriously.

Right now, the system makes it easier to buy your 10th home than your first. House prices have risen about 400 per cent over the last two decades, and fewer young people own homes today than at any point in living history. We cannot stand by and let this keep getting worse. That is why this budget changes the rules on negative gearing and capital gains tax. From now on, negative gearing for residential property will only be available on new builds—homes that actually add to supply. Investors who already own properties will not be affected, and investors who buy new builds can still use negative gearing, but we are no longer allowing the current tax system to give investors a leg up over first home buyers competing for the same established properties. By directing investment into new builds, we are also helping build the homes Australia needs. These changes are expected to help around 75,000 Australians buy a home of their own.

On capital gains tax, we are moving back to discounting gains based on actual inflation—the system that was in place before 1999—rather than a flat 50 per cent discount that overtaxes some people and undertaxes others. These changes only apply to gains made from 1 July next year. Existing gains are not affected. Family homes are not affected and never will be under these changes. For many people investing in shares and managed funds, the new system could be as good or even better than what is in place today.

We are also making the tax treatment of discretionary trusts fairer. Right now, a high-income earner using a family trust to split income can end up paying a far lower effective tax rate than a nurse or a teacher earning a similar amount from wages. Under our changes, from 1 July 2028, trust income will be subject to a minimum 30 per cent tax rate—the same rate paid by an average middle-income worker. More than 95 per cent of individual taxpayers will not be affected by these changes at all. For small businesses, the vast majority will not be affected either. The capital gains tax concessions that most small businesses rely on are not changing, and we are making the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent so small businesses can continue to invest with confidence. These are changes grounded in fairness. The vast majority of Australians go to work every day, get paid and pay their taxes. This budget makes sure those workers are treated equitably, not disadvantaged by a system that was skewed against them.

We are continuing large-scale investment in social and affordable housing after years of underinvestment. We are working with state and local governments to speed up approvals and unlock land supply, and we are supporting pathways that give first home buyers a fairer chance to compete, including the First Home Super Saver program and support for people to buy with a deposit of just five per cent. We are choosing to build, not wait, and to invest, not ignore, because young Australians who work hard, study hard and contribute to their communities deserve a genuine opportunity to put down roots where they grew up. This is not an aspiration for a select few. It should be a national expectation.

Health care is one of the clearest expressions of fairness in Australia. Across my electorate, from Armstrong Creek to Indented Head, from our growth corridors to coastal towns, people want to know they can access quality health care when they need it, without cost determining whether they can seek treatment. This is what this budget is all about. It strengthens Medicare. We are making Medicare urgent care clinics a permanent part of the health system. This includes the Torquay and Belmont clinics in my electorate. These clinics are already making a real difference in our region, reducing pressure on emergency departments in Geelong, shortening wait times and ensuring people can get treated quickly and locally. We are continuing to strengthen bulk-billing incentives, which are already improving access across the region and in our surrounding communities. And we are ensuring that GP visits become more affordable. Delayed care can become more serious if people do not go to their GP. It can be more expensive and more distressing for the individual, so strengthening bulk billing is good for people's health and good for the health of the economy.

We are also reducing the cost of medicines to $25 per script. For concession card holders, it's now $7.70. These are real savings that make a difference to pensioners, families and people managing chronic conditions across our community. We are also investing in the health workforce of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals because growing communities like mine require sustained investment in staffing, not short-term fixes. This is what a strong Medicare system looks like: accessible, affordable and universal.

My community cares deeply about our environment and its future. From the Bellarine coastline to the Surf Coast and inland family farming communities, people see the environment not as an abstract debate but as a place to live, work and raise their children. They see the impacts of changing weather patterns, coastal erosion and pressure on ecosystems that underpin tourism, agriculture, local identity and jobs. This budget invests in Australia's clean-energy transition not as an ideology but as a commitment to the next generation to deliver jobs and reduce emissions. We are investing in renewable energy generation, battery storage and transmission. We are supporting clean manufacturing and supply chains. We are ensuring regional and peri-urban communities are not left behind but are active participants in the jobs and industries of the future. For my communities, this means opportunity. It means secure long-term employment in emerging industries. Importantly, it actually means a healthier environment for our children and for their children. This transition must be fair, orderly and forward-looking because it is so important that we continue to strive towards our net zero target. Our government has committed to this, many across my communities have advocated for it and I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure we do our very best to meet those targets.

This budget also continues the government's commitment to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Across my region, families value the NDIS for essential supports that enable independence, participation and dignity. The responsibility of government is to ensure that the scheme remains strong, fair and sustainable into the future.

This budget is also about trust—trust in a government that delivers and trust that people's taxes are being invested responsibly, effectively and fairly. This budget strengthens systems that must endure and ensures that essential programs are not only funded today but remain viable into the future. Budgets are not just about economic documents; they are building blocks to a good life. They are statements of values. This budget makes the Albanese Labor government's values clear. We choose fairness over inequality, investment over neglect, long-term stability and prosperity over short-term politics, practical solutions over slogans.

Labor's budget backs working Australians not just in principle but in practice. It supports families under pressure. It strengthens Medicare. It builds housing supply. It makes the tax system fairer and it invests in clean energy and our environment. This budget moves us in the right direction—a direction grounded in fairness, opportunity and responsibility. It recognises the pressures people are under and responds with practical measures that make a difference. It invests in the future, not just in the present. It ensures that Australia remains a hopeful nation that continues to believe in a fair go for all, where opportunity is not determined by postcode, background or circumstance but by effort, contribution and fairness.

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