Henry Pike (Bowman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Champion Support Services in Thornlands work tirelessly to support those in my community who are experiencing hardship. They reported a tripling in demand for their food relief program during 2023. If Labor's policies are working, why are food bank lines in my electorate three times as long as they were a year ago?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bowman for his question. It goes to the fact that many people on low and middle incomes, as well as people without work, of course, are under financial pressure. That's why we're taking action. Those opposite would have done absolutely nothing.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Members on my left will cease interjecting. The member for Bowman has asked his question.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the first things you can do to provide people with assistance is to ensure that they get access to a job. We've done that with more jobs created on our watch than any other new government in Australian history—650,000 of them! Not only do we want more jobs; we want them to pay more. We want them to be more secure. With the passage of the legislation across in the Senate today, that's precisely what we are doing.

Those opposite think it was okay for people who are delivering food to Parliament House here or engaged in the gig economy to have absolutely no minimum standards whatsoever. Nothing! That's what they voted for. We want people to earn more. We want people to be in secure work.

But there's something else we want as well. We want people to keep more of what they earn. That is why we've introduced tax cuts to assist middle Australia on low and middle incomes. Do you think maybe that people on $45,000 a year and less should get a tax cut? We do. That's why we changed the unfair system. It's so that it can deliver for people who are under financial pressure. This mob speak about doing things timely. They worry about the fact that our tax cuts will come in on 1 July, and then they say, 'But five years ago we did something.' We are doing something, as a priority, to deliver every Australian a tax cut.

In addition to the tax cuts, of course, there's other legislation before the parliament that will assist 1.2 million people on modest incomes, such as the Medicare levy, to either take them out of the system completely or reduce the amount they have to pay. That's what we have done.

We are about providing assistance. Those opposite complained. They said they'd oppose it, that they'd fight it, that they'd roll it back. Now, they say, 'Actually, we're going to vote in favour of it,' but they would never have done anything— (Time expired)