Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hume for the question, particularly on a day that the second of our five tax cuts have come in—the second of the five income tax cuts that we are bringing in and that those opposite voted against. They come in here and they raise concerns around the amount of tax that might be being collected, and yet, when we have sought to cut income tax, they have voted against it. They went to a campaign saying they were going to raise income taxes. They went through an election campaign promising to raise income taxes, and since then they have voted against the tax cuts that are coming in today, and the tax cuts that will come in at the end of this financial year, and the working Australian tax offset—all of that.

So forgive me for not taking your question seriously, Senator Hume. Forgive me for not believing that you are genuinely concerned about the tax that is being paid by Australians when, on this side of the chamber, when we've sought to increase wages, you've voted against it. When we've sought to reduce the pressure on people's cost of living, whether it be through medicines, whether it be through energy bill relief or whether it be through our investments in Medicare, those opposite have voted against it. They've voted against our increases to wages. They've seen as wasteful spending our investments in early education and care and aged care. So forgive me for not taking your question seriously. How you vote in here matters because that's actually where you make the difference—and you vote no to everything. Everything that we have tried to do to ease the pressure on households and to reduce inflation you have voted against, and then you come in here and you say you're concerned about it all. Well, forgive me, Senator Hume. I don't believe you.