Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As a first-term member, my first experience of budget week has been a whirlwind filled with trials and tribulations. These are trying times for all Australians, but especially for low- and middle-income households like those my electorate of Fowler. These are the people I represent, and I would like to take a moment to voice their perspective.

We're seeing the low- and middle-income tax offset for workers earning up to $126,000 a year being scrapped, leaving ordinary, hardworking Australians out of pocket by up to $1,500. Yet we have also seen this government provide a $9,000 tax cut to people earning $200,000 and over. Under these stage 3 tax cuts someone in my electorate earning the median income of $65,000 will see a measly $500 tax cut. Moreover, these tax cuts will cost the government $243 billion.

If the government thinks this is fair or helping working-class Australians, this goes to show just how out of touch they are. It is incomprehensible that this tax cut would be maintained while rental stress and soaring energy prices are left untouched. I was hopeful that the budget would better consider families and small business in my electorate of Fowler who need government support the most. However, I was sorely disappointed.

This budget has plenty of plans for the future, plenty of buzzwords and plenty of headlines, but few outcomes outside of political grandstanding. We now have a new Housing Accord that's supposed to build one million new homes to ease the rental crisis, yet the tab is mostly being picked up by superannuation and other private sector groups with no obvious plan of how goals will be achieved. Making matters worse, we're apparently meant to rely on the renowned 'good nature' and 'altruism' of developers for these houses to be built swiftly and soundly. And the plan, if it happens at all, won't come into effect for another year. The housing and rental crisis is happening now, and my community of Fowler, in particular, is feeling the pain.

Even if the government can deliver on this housing promise, people need more than just a house. They need transport, they need parklands for their children, they need schools and hospitals, and they need jobs nearby. Despite a growing population in south-west Sydney, it was not until recently, due to the Western Sydney airport, that the former government collaborated with local and state governments to fill the infrastructure gap. While these infrastructure projects are a state responsibility, federal funding drives them. I therefore call on the government to consider the importance of funding long-term projects in areas like Fowler.

Energy prices remain a major concern for the people of my electorate and Australians at large, with electricity prices set to rise by 30 to 50 per cent. The government has committed to a $20 billion long-term plan, in Rewiring the Nation; however, the outrageous energy price hike we're witnessing requires immediate attention and solutions. The government somewhat acknowledged this in providing $67 million to modernise energy market regulation and improve the functioning of the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism. However, this will not alleviate price pressures in the short term, and I implore the government to consider reappropriating a small portion of the money from the Powering Australia plan to help low-income households now.

In keeping with this, I would like to again call for the government to consider extending the 22c fuel excise cut. As you know, Madam Deputy Speaker, in the majority of my electorate of Fowler and in surrounding electorates families and businesses rely on their cars to drive to work and must also drive their children and elderly parents around. Reinstating this fuel excise cut would not be inflationary and would assist millions of hardworking Australians. To wealthy Australians, a 22c per litre saving may sound small, but in Fowler, which has the sixth-lowest median weekly family income in the country, this saving is incredibly important.

Compounding the issues faced by low-income families is the fact that there has been a consistent lack of funding for amenities and public transport in Western Sydney, forcing families to consume more fuel. Here I would like to again point out that the government can afford a $9,000 tax cut for wealthy Australians but cannot provide a 22c per litre fuel excise cut that would greatly help low-income families.

In sum, this week held much promise. It was an opportunity for this government and the Treasurer to make tough decisions and reach out to show their support for low-income households, the Australians truly battling through tough times. Instead, what we saw was an inversion of the usual budget phrase of 'decisions taken but not yet announced' to 'decisions announced but not yet taken'. I therefore ask this government to consider the forgotten families of Fowler and those who are struggling the most, and to consider their plight in the present moment, not just in the future.