Varun Ghosh (WA, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance, Senator Gallagher. On 1 July, the Albanese government cut income taxes for every Australian taxpayer and will cut them again next year. We also delivered pay rises for around three million Australian workers and payments for 2.6 million Australians who need them most. Why has the government chosen to prioritise cost-of-living relief for working people, and how has responsible economic and budget management made that possible?

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

I thank Senator Ghosh for that question. It's an important question about how the government have been managing the budget in a way that allows us to provide that really important cost-of-living help to households, including in the good state of WA.

As we heard yesterday, there's some welcome news from the Reserve Bank—to hold interest rates steady at 4.35 per cent. This is, I think, a decision that households right around the country would have welcomed yesterday, and it's off the back of headline inflation being down for the third consecutive month in the latest data, with trimmed mean inflation holding steady—higher than we would like and certainly for longer than we would like, but that was some welcome news yesterday from the bank.

But, in conjunction with the decisions we've made in the budget, where we have found significant savings that allow us to repair the budget over time, to lower the debt and to lower the interest on that debt, we have also been able to make sensible and important investments into cost-of-living help, as Senator Ghosh asked.

There's a tax cut for every taxpayer this year and next. There are cheaper medicines, record hospital funding in our agreements with the states and record education funding—again, in our agreements with the states. We're supporting improvements and increases in wages to get wages moving again after a decade of wage stagnation. We're making important investments in social and affordable housing and helping first home buyers with that five per cent deposit scheme that has been so enormously successful. There's relief for students with free TAFE. We're slashing student debt and expanding paid prac, with some recent announcements in that regard, and making sure we're doing everything we can to keep prices at supermarkets as low as they should be.

Sue Lines (President) | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Ghosh, first supplementary?

Varun Ghosh (WA, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, you referred to a decade of wage stagnation, and this government has supported five wage increases for our lowest paid workers since 2022, benefiting those who rely on the minimum and award wages the most. How is the Albanese government helping Australians earn more, and why is lifting wages central to easing cost-of-living pressure?

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

I thank Senator Ghosh for the supplementary. As Senator Ghosh outlined, we have advocated very strongly to the Fair Work Commission for economically sustainable wage rises for Australia's minimum- and award-wage workers, many of whom are in lower paid roles and are often hit hardest by cost-of-living pressures. The recent decision by the commission to increase the national minimum wage and modern awards by at least 4.75 per cent has delivered a real wage increase from 1 July for about three million Australian workers around the country. This means, for the first time ever, a full-time worker on the national minimum wage will earn over a thousand dollars per week. I know my colleagues have had a bit to say about this today. Legislation to lock in our 15 per cent pay rise for early educators while strengthening safety requirements for services has also been important. Again, these are wage issues that had been ignored for too long by those opposite winning government.

Sue Lines (President) | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Ghosh, second supplementary?

Varun Ghosh (WA, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the cost-of-living measures in our responsible economic management is the expansion of paid parental leave to a full six months, with superannuation paid on top. How is the Albanese government delivering this expansion for families, and what does it mean for Australia's economic security?

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

I thank Senator Ghosh for that supplementary as well. There were important changes that came into effect on 1 July this year so parents will have more time with their new baby or their adopted child. They'll be able to access up to 26 weeks of paid parental leave, giving families more time at home at that really important time for families, and more money. Parents receiving paid parental leave will receive a higher rate from 1 July, increasing to more than a thousand dollars a week. Parents have also received super on their paid parental leave since 1 July last year, and more people will be eligible for PPL because the eligibility annual income limits have risen. These are really important changes to the PPL system recognising families at that time when they're adding a new member to their family so they can get that increased support both in time available and in the amount that they are financially supported during that time.