Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I stand before you as a proud member of the Gillard Labor government, a government committed to delivering much-need cost of living relief to everyday Australian households, including thousands in my electorate of Moreton. I thank Treasurer Swan for his hard work to protect low- and middle-income earners and my most vulnerable residents. In Moreton alone the new schoolkids' bonus cash payment will help 6,800 families with kids in school to make ends meet. That is $410 for each child in primary school and $820 for each child in high school. More than 9,000 Moreton families will receive an increase of up to $600 in their family tax benefit part A payments. Vital assistance to help with the cost of living will go to over 9,000 Moreton young people, single parents and the unemployed who are currently receiving allowances by providing cash payments to help meet the cost of essential services like electricity, gas and water. Singles will receive a supplementary allowance of $210 while couples will receive $350. Thousands of Moreton workers will benefit from a boost to their superannuation, thanks to Australia's mining boom. For a 30-year-old on average full-time earnings this means around an extra $118,000 when they retire. More than 19,000 Moreton small businesses will benefit from a major new tax break from 1 July 2012. The $6,500 instant asset write-off recognises that not every small business is in the fast lane of the mining boom. Although a few of mine are, not every one is. Moreton parents are also receiving a helping hand with the cost of child care, with a 50 per cent rebate on all approved out-of-pocket childcare expenses up to a maximum of $7,500 per child per year. We have also introduced a paid parental leave scheme, providing parents with 18 weeks of government funded pay so they can stay home and care for their newborn baby. It is a great initiative that I am particularly proud of. It is hard to properly explain how valuable this support is to everyday Australians.

Many working Moreton residents are struggling and feel that it is harder and harder for them to make ends meet. For many electricity, rents, mortgages and the cost of groceries and petrol are putting pressure on family budgets. Builders have told me that the only renovation work they are doing is for those of us who are lucky enough to have work associated with people in the mining industry. Many small businesses, especially in retail, are having a slow end to a tough financial year. In my electorate, sadly, some businesses are still recovering from last year's floods. As a nation, we have come a long way since the dark days of the global financial crisis, yet we still face an uncertain world economy. We look at the French and Greek elections and see difficult days for the European Parliament as well.

The budget will provide a strong helping hand to many of my constituents. It is a very welcome package of measures to help people make ends meet. Not only have the Gillard Labor government provided this support to everyday Moreton locals; we have also found room to deliver reforms which make for a stronger community and a fairer society. The first historic steps towards the National Disability Insurance Scheme; aged-care reform to help senior Australians stay in their own homes, which is very much the hope of many of the baby boomers; a big new investment in dental health; and major investments throughout the health system—these are wonderful investments. These reforms demonstrate Labor's commitment to managing the economy responsibly in the interests of working Australians and not just a fortunate few.

We are returning the budget to surplus, on time, as promised. Obviously this is our best defence at times of global uncertainty and it gives our Reserve Bank maximum flexibility to cut interest rates further, especially with some of those other factors that are coming into play. We see the unemployment rate dropping down to 4.9 per cent, and I heard the previous speaker talk about the wage pressures that are coming into her electorate as people take advantage of the mining jobs. Interest rates are now lower than at any time under the previous Howard government. A family on a mortgage of, say, $300,000 is now paying around $3,000 a year less in repayments.

It is a pity that the opposition have been unable to offer anything but whingeing or complaining. Those opposite trip over themselves to see who can complain the loudest, but the Gillard Labor government just gets on with delivering for Australian families. We are delivering a surplus with targeted and responsible savings while protecting the front-line services that Australians rely on, as well as helping families with these cost-of-living pressures. This is a surplus for families, not taken from families, and an important delivery for the people of Australia.