Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Once again the Liberal government has delivered a budget that supports big business and high-income earners and leaves hardworking families throughout McEwen as the biggest losers. Once again I am left wondering whether the Prime Minister and Treasurer actually know where places such as Sunbury, Mernda, Doreen, Craigieburn or Wallan are. We have seen an awful lot of money in this budget for Sydney, Western Australia and Queensland, but not a cent for us. Less than 12 months ago Labor committed $180 million for our towns and suburbs with the election of a Labor government. The Turnbull government delivered us zero—nothing, nada. Where is the funding we need for the critical infrastructure we need, like the duplication of Bridge Inn Road? Where is the commitment to local health and community services? Where is the much-needed school and hospital funding? The government, we know, owes Victoria $1.46 billion to invest in our projects under the asset recycling agreement signed in 2014. Alongside the Andrews Labor government, we had a plan to use this funding to revive regional rail across Victoria. This budget has delivered no promises to better McEwen. It is plain wrong.

We have heard several times that the Treasurer's budget is about choices; that there are better days ahead and it is making things right. Then why are the choices they are making only benefiting big business? Why are the better days only for multinationals? Why is the only job-saving measure a rescue package for the Prime Minister? Unsurprisingly, this budget is for millionaires, not for working people. Debt is on the rise, taxes on the rise, unemployment is on the rise and the Prime Minister's tax cut is also on the rise. The Turnbull government is giving millionaires a $16,400 tax cut, leaving the rest of the community to pick up the Slack and roll up our sleeves, while the government-supported penalty rates cut will cost our community some $19.2 million. Do not fret—the government says it has sugarcoated the budget, to trick us into thinking we are all winners.

That is why I am here—to talk about the truth hidden behind the distracting hand gestures and fancy glasses-waving. The government say they are putting more money into schools, but what they are leaving out is that schools will actually get $22 billion less than they would have under a Labor government. Over the next two years alone Labor would have invested $3 billion more than the Liberals in our schools. If we average that out, the Turnbull government's cuts would mean losing $2.4 million from every Australian school, which is the equivalent of sacking 22,000 teachers. To make matters worse, the Turnbull government is waging a war on public schools, meaning that one in seven public schools will not even reach a fair level of funding in the next 10 years. But the government's attacks on education do not end in schools. Our universities and our university students are going to be worse off than ever before. The government wants to hike up university fees while they cut $3.8 billion from universities and make students pay back more debt when they are earning less. The irony that a government full of people who got free education are now telling the rest of us that we cannot! The Labor Party will not stand for this. We will continue to fight for quality education for future generations.

Prime Minister Turnbull went to the election saying that no-one would pay more to see a GP, but here we are today and there is still no action on reversing the Medicare cuts for another three years. Australians will have to wait more than 12 months for relief, and will be left waiting more than two years for the freeze on specialist procedures and allied health services to be lifted. The budget means that cancer patients will still be paying more for blood tests. It means that pregnant women are still paying more for scans and tests to monitor their babies' health. It means that 1.2 million Australians living with diabetes still pay more for their regular check-ups. The cherry on the cake is that we all still have to pay more to see a doctor.

Why is the Liberal government making basic services such as health care a luxury for the people of McEwen and Australia? The Treasurer said this budget is about choices, and the government has clearly made a choice when it comes to my community. The choice in this budget is that the rich get a tick and the poor get a kick. The budget is leaving McEwen behind, it is leaving Australians behind and it reminds us that if we want Canberra to know we exist, we have to change the government.