House debates

Tuesday, 23 May 2023

Constituency Statements

Budget

4:16 pm

Photo of Jim ChalmersJim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | | Hansard source

The Albanese government's second budget was crafted with the people of Logan and the southern suburbs of Brisbane front of mind. It's a budget for places like Browns Plains, Hillcrest and Algester; and for the families, local small businesses and pensioners of Woodridge, Calamvale and Springwood. It's a budget that recognises and addresses the near-term challenges which are presented by cost-of-living pressures while investing in the long-term drivers of jobs and opportunities in communities like mine.

We know that local people are under the pump, which is why we came up with a really carefully calibrated package to offer responsible, targeted relief. In our local community more than 100,000 people are set to benefit from our decision to triple the bulk-billing incentive and make it cheaper and easier to see a GP. Around 40,000 people will benefit from our cheaper medicines policy. Almost 5,000 people will be $40 better off a fortnight due to the uplift we've made to the base rate of income support for payments like JobSeeker, Austudy and youth allowance. Nearly 5,000 households will get a boost in support to pay the rent thanks to the biggest increase to Commonwealth rent assistance in 30 years, and many more than that will receive energy rebates of up to $500 for households and $650 for small businesses as part of the jointly funded program between the federal and state governments.

The budget offers meaningful support to those doing it tough in Logan, in the southern suburbs of Brisbane and in other communities right across our country. It also makes vital investments in our local economy and in our local people, including a major upgrade of Loganlea Road to deliver a safer, less congested and more reliable commute to work or school; 12 urgent care spaces and 31 specialist rooms as part of the Logan Urgent and Specialist Care Centre; a new skills laboratory at Loganlea TAFE to train our people for the jobs of the future; funding for a new arena in our community as part of the 2032 Olympics infrastructure deal; and, as part of the $200 million that we have dedicated to addressing entrenched disadvantage, extending the Stronger Places, Stronger People program, which includes our community as a key feature.

These are all incredibly important initiatives that will help broaden and deepen opportunity, support the development and expansion of local business, and get more people the care that they need, where they need it and when they need it. These are all the ways that the budget that I was proud to hand down two weeks ago today builds stronger foundations for our local community and stronger foundations for the better future that we're trying to build together.