Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Assistant Minister for the Public Service
PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE: There’s paper cuts. There’s shortcuts. There’s director’s cuts. There’s hair cuts. And for every Australian this week because of Labor, there’s tax cuts.
13.6 million Australians will get a tax cut because of the legislation that Labor introduced, Labor argued for and Labor voted for in the House and the Senate.
We had so many naysayers saying they want to roll it back. Stop it, block it, oppose it. But Labor stayed the course. Meaning that 84% of Australians will get a bigger tax cut, come 1 July.
That means that if you are an AFL fan, or an NRL fan, you get a tax cut.
If you are an Eagles supporter or a Dockers supporter, you get a tax cut.
Because this government was elected to bring people together.
That means potato cake, potato scallop – you both get a tax cut.
X Box or PlayStation – you both get a tax cut.
Oasis fan or a Blur fan – you both get a tax cut.
Because every Australian taxpayer deserves a tax cut and under Labor, every Australian taxpayer will get a tax cut.
We wanted to make sure that middle Australia gets the support they need. That’s what we’ve been prioritising when Parliament came back. And this week, Labor ensured that the House of Representatives and the Senate delivered a tax cut to the Australian people.
We are also working to ensure that we deliver more support for those who want to buy their own home. In 2022, the Prime Minister came to Perth, launched Labor’s campaign and announced Help to Buy. It was modelled on a successful Western Australian program called Keystart. Now, for those around this place who don’t know Keystart has helped 120,000 Western Australians into their own home, 120,000 Western Australians into their own home.
The Greens senators from Western Australia, the Liberal senators from Western Australia know that their constituents – 120,000 of them – have been helped into their own home because of Keystart. But now they are voting in the Senate to block the same sort of support being rolled out nationally. I don’t know how they can explain that. But they should explain themselves. Because this is a successful program. It will help tens of thousands of Australians into their own home, at a time where it’s clear that Australians want government to be doing more support people into their own home.
Today, in Parliament, we will welcome President Marcos from the Philippines for an historic address to the Parliament. President Marcos’ address to the Parliament is the fourth ASEAN leader to address the Australian Parliament in a joint sitting. It is an historic opportunity to strengthen the bonds between our two nations. And we’re very excited about welcoming President Marcos into the chamber in just a few hours’ time.
And finally, we have seen over the last few weeks, the contest in Dunkley heat up and heat up as the people of Dunkley choose who represents them going forward, coming into this parliament. Labor has put forward Jodie Belyea, a terrific candidate, a local mum, someone who Peta Murphy herself, recruited into the cause of Labor. She will serve in the same style that Peta Murphy did for the people of Dunkley. Ensuring that they have the strong representation on things that are important to them. Housing, making sure that people get a fair tax cut, making sure that we prioritise those things that families want us to be prioritising across this nation, and particularly in Dunkley. Education, strengthening Medicare, a future made in Australia. I wish Jodie Belyea and the Labor team, the very best for Saturday, and I am sure that people of Dunkley, as they always do, will get it right. Thank you.
