Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This government cries crocodile tears when it comes to pensioners and families, and this is particularly evident to families and pensioners in Western Sydney. All the 15,000 pensioners there know they are going to be worse off with this government's change to the indexation rate of pensions. They know that, over the course of 10 years, they will be $80 a week worse off. We have 15½ thousand single-income families in my electorate on an average salary of, say, $65,000. These families are going to be $6,000 worse off. This is what a Liberal government does.

The Liberal government went to the election promising that there would be no cuts to pensions, no cuts to health and no cuts to education—and what did they do about health? They took $16 billion off the health budget in New South Wales—and what did Premier Mike Baird do? He issued a press release. That is the sort of strongarm government in New South Wales that will stand up to the Liberal government in Canberra! What we want in New South Wales is a government prepared to put families and pensioners and those who need it first. We want a government who can stand up. Those people opposite know that they are weak in this area. Vote '1' Labor.