Jim Chalmers
Rankin · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“It's why we have delivered and are delivering an ambitious budget defined by reform and resilience and responsible economic management. We've been delivering for the Australian people while the member for Hume has been destroying the Liberal Party. We've been delivering for Australians. He's been destroying the once great Liberal Party.”
“I acknowledge the member for Gellibrand and thank him especially for his work on Asian capability and the big report that he has just released as the chair of the education committee. Today is obviously a very important day.”
“We don't just acknowledge those challenges; we are addressing them. That's why we are delivering more tax cuts for Australian workers, more pay rises for people on awards and the minimum wage and a fairer tax system for first home buyers.”
“It's because every time the Australian people need them to vote to help them with these real pressures that they face, they vote to make things worse rather than better. They leave this parliament today more divisive and more divided than ever. We leave this parliament today delivering for the Australians who sent us here.”
“On Friday, we learned that the deficit for the year just finished will be smaller than anticipated at budget time, and we know from the AOFM this week that our debt will be $200 billion less than the trajectory we inherited from those opposite. If those opposite had their way, there'd be bigger deficits and more debt.”
“The member for Macquarie is a wonderful representative of workers and small businesses and families in her beautiful part of Australia. Today is a really important day, as the Prime Minister said a moment ago. We are delivering tax cuts.”
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“It's because every time the Australian people need them to vote to help them with these real pressures that they face, they vote to make things worse rather than better. They leave this parliament today more divisive and more divided than ever. We leave this parliament today delivering for the Australians who sent us here.”
“It's why we have delivered and are delivering an ambitious budget defined by reform and resilience and responsible economic management. We've been delivering for the Australian people while the member for Hume has been destroying the Liberal Party. We've been delivering for Australians. He's been destroying the once great Liberal Party. There's a very simple reason for this. The three right-wing parties in this country seek to capitalise on the real pressures that people are facing while they vote to make those challenges worse, not better. All three right-wing parties share this divisive anti-worker, anti-housing agenda, and you can see that in the way that they vote. So as those opposite leave the House at the end of this budget session, they should reflect on why the Liberal Party is circling the drain on the member for Hume's watch.”
“We don't just acknowledge those challenges; we are addressing them. That's why we are delivering more tax cuts for Australian workers, more pay rises for people on awards and the minimum wage and a fairer tax system for first home buyers. It's why we're delivering more help with the cost of fuel and more paid parental leave for mums and dads. It's why we're delivering super on payday and a permanent instant asset write-off for small businesses. It's why we're delivering our ban on excessive pricing at the supermarket. It's why we're delivering smaller deficits and less debt than the trajectory that we inherited from those opposite. It's why we're delivering the lowest average unemployment of any government in this country in half a century.”
“I acknowledge the member for Gellibrand and thank him especially for his work on Asian capability and the big report that he has just released as the chair of the education committee. Today is obviously a very important day. It's the 10th anniversary of your election, as I understand it—the class of 2016—but also the last day of the budget session of the parliament. We have spent every day of this session delivering cost-of-living relief and delivering real change for Australians. We know, despite welcome progress in the Middle East and lower prices for oil and lower inflation and unemployment in the most recent data, that Australians are still under pressure. They have legitimate concerns about where they fit at a time of accelerating change and intensifying global and generational pressures.”
“They cling to a broken status quo in the housing market, and we are changing it. We are delivering real change to make it easier for first home buyers. We are delivering smaller deficits and less debt. We are delivering tax cuts and cost-of-living help. And today, because it's 1 July, means that more help is on the way.”
“On Friday, we learned that the deficit for the year just finished will be smaller than anticipated at budget time, and we know from the AOFM this week that our debt will be $200 billion less than the trajectory we inherited from those opposite. If those opposite had their way, there'd be bigger deficits and more debt. If they had their way, there would be no tax cuts today and there would be no extra cost-of-living help. That's what makes the three right-wing parties indistinguishable from each other—not just their shared anti-worker agenda, not just their shared anti-housing agenda, but that they seek to capitalise on the very real pressures that people are under at the same time as they come in here and they vote to make things worse rather than better. We are taking action to address the legitimate concerns that people have.”
“We're paying super with wages so people get the superannuation they've worked so hard for and are entitled to, and we're extending relief when it comes to the fuel excise. All of that happens from today, and that's why today is a really important day, because, even as petrol and diesel prices have come down over the last couple of months, even though inflation came down again in the figures released last week and unemployment came down again last week as well, we know that people are still under pressure, and that's why there is more help on the way from today. And we're providing that help at the same time as we manage the budget in a responsible way.”
“The member for Macquarie is a wonderful representative of workers and small businesses and families in her beautiful part of Australia. Today is a really important day, as the Prime Minister said a moment ago. We are delivering tax cuts. We're delivering help with the cost of living at the same time as we're delivering real change in the tax system to help first home buyers. Now, because today is 1 July, that means that there is another round of tax cuts delivered by this Albanese Labor government. All five of those tax cuts together mean about an extra $2,800 in the pockets of an average worker. The minimum wage is going up. Award wages are going up. Paid parental leave is being extended. We're extending the small business instant asset write-off.”
“Once you come to that realisation and acknowledge that truth, you've got two choices: (1) do nothing about it, which has been their approach for a decade; or (2) do something about this challenge to make it easier for first home buyers to get a toehold in a market that has been too difficult for them for too long.”
“We understand that those opposite—all three of the right-wing parties over there with their divisive, antihousing, antiworker agenda—would like to leave the housing market and the tax system exactly as it is. They are entirely comfortable with this idea that, for a quarter of a century since Mr Howard and Mr Costello made a big policy mistake to distort the housing market and lock more young people out of the market—that is the status quo that they will go to any lengths to preserve. We have a different view about the housing market. No objective observer of the housing market in this country would say that it's working exactly as it should be, and it's especially not working for first home buyers.”
“I'd be very surprised if the Leader of the Opposition wants to go down this path, which I suspect is why nobody on the frontbench asked that question. Just like the Leader of the Opposition, the questions from the Liberal and National parties are becoming increasingly desperate and more than a little bit pathetic. Our changes in the budget that we announced less than two months ago are about making the housing market fairer for everyone. They're about making sure that, for the first time in a quarter of a century, first home buyers—and, particularly, young Australians—get a fair go in a housing market that has locked them out for too long.”
“But people are still under pressure, and that's why there is more help on the way from tomorrow. This is the cost-of-living relief that Australians need and deserve, and this Albanese Labor government is providing it. We're providing this help at the same time as new numbers show that debt is now $200 billion lower than what we inherited from those opposite, and the deficit this year will be smaller as well. So we are delivering for workers, for first home buyers, for parents and for motorists, and those opposite want none of this cost-of-living relief, none of these tax cuts to flow—”
“From tomorrow, which is 1 July, we cut income taxes again, we boost wages again, we extend paid parental leave, we pay super with wages, we extend petrol price relief, and we make the small business instant asset write-off permanent. Earlier today, I was with the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors, Minister for Social Services and the member for Bean at Uniting in Weston. It's a wonderful aged-care home there. We were talking to the workers there. A personal care worker, from tomorrow, gets 59 bucks extra a week because of the award increase. A registered nurse gets 86 bucks a week and an enrolled nurse $67 a week. We support these wage rises, and we support these tax cuts, unlike those opposite. We've made progress on inflation, and we've seen petrol and diesel prices come down substantially.”
“I thank the member for McEwen for his question, and I acknowledge his wonderful granddaughters in the gallery today. Ava and Lacey, welcome to the House of Representatives, where your pa makes a really terrific contribution to our team on this side of the House. You're here on a really important week because tomorrow is a really important day where we deliver more cost-of-living relief for Australians in every corner of the country. We are delivering tax cuts, we are delivering a stronger budget, we're delivering real change in the tax system to help first home buyers, and, from tomorrow, we are delivering more help with the cost of living as well.”
“We'll also ensure that the exemption for income from genuine testamentary trusts applies to the minimum tax on capital gains as well so that they work appropriately together. Now, we've made it clear on a number of occasions—and I think those opposite know this—that it's not unusual at all for big tax reform packages to be legislated with multiple pieces of legislation. The Howard government did it with the GST. The Howard government did it when they made this mistake on the capital gains tax discount in 1999. There were something like 30 pieces of legislation on both occasions. So it's not unusual for there to be consultation. It's not unusual for there to be multiple pieces of legislation, and that's what we are doing in this instance.”
“I'll tell you what's humiliating: the shadow treasurer's inability to ask me a question himself. I thank the honourable member for her question. As we said yesterday, the arrangements are consistent with treatment elsewhere in the tax system. But, when we were asked about this yesterday, we did take particular care around our response because we were still considering the amendments that were being circulated in the Senate throughout the day. And that's why we provided the answer that we did at the time. We are and we have been, as the Minister for Housing and the Minister for Finance earlier today have said, we've been aware of these issues and we are working through them in the usual way. We do intend to address the arrangements for jointly owned assets in subsequent legislation.”
“As important as this week is in our economy, next week will be just as important, because on Wednesday next week more than 14 million Australian taxpayers will get another tax cut from this government. The national minimum wage goes up. Modern award wages go up. Parents will get 26 weeks of paid parental leave, up from 24 weeks, in addition to the usual indexation. We'll also have workers benefiting from super being paid at the same time as their salary and their wages. We'll introduce the ban on excessive pricing of groceries. People will start to get the benefit from the instant tax deduction as well. On this side of the House we're very proud of the tax reforms that will pass the House later today. We're very proud of our efforts to cut income taxes again, make it easier for first home buyers and make the tax system fairer.”
“It's a very welcome reminder of the strength of our labour market and the resilience of our economy in the face of all this global economic uncertainty. This afternoon the House will have a very important choice to make. This side of the House will be voting for tax cuts for workers, a fair go for first home buyers and a fairer tax system. The three right-wing parties, united by their divisive antiworker agenda, will be voting against tax cuts, against a fair go for first home buyers and against a fairer tax system. This legislation that will pass the House this afternoon is about making it easier for people to buy their first home, not their 20th investment property. It's all about cutting income taxes again and again, and it's about making the tax system fairer.”
“For as long as I've known the member for Maribyrnong she's stood up for and spoken up for workers, particularly low-paid workers and especially in the care economy. I thank her for her question. This is a really important week for our economy, and it's a big day for tax reform in particular. Yesterday we saw headline inflation go down. Today we saw the unemployment rate go down and employment go up. And this afternoon we passed the most ambitious tax reforms in more than a quarter of a century. Those job numbers today show that more than 1.25 million jobs have now been created on this Prime Minister's and this government's watch, most of them full-time. It means that average unemployment under our government is the lowest of any government in the last half a century.”
“Now we're making both of these tax measures permanent—because Labor backs Australian businesses and is invested in helping them grow and get ahead. That's what these measures are all about. That's what our $3.8 billion in business tax relief is all about. It's what our plan to create a more productive economy, to cut $10 billion of red tape, to grow GDP by $13 billion by working with the states and to encourage innovation and risk-taking is all about as well. We are proud of this bill, and we are proud of our ambitious tax reform package, and that's why we commend this bill to the House. Debate adjourned.”
“But, particularly thank you so much, Minister, for all of your work on these small-business measures that we are presenting today. These are sensible changes and ones that I hope this entire chamber can get behind. But they are changes that took an ambitious Labor government to introduce and an ambitious Labor government to make permanent. It was Labor that first introduced the instant asset write-off, back in 2011. And it was Labor that introduced loss carry-back at that time as well. Disappointingly, these important measures to support business were unwound when the coalition came to office. It took those opposite years to realise what a mistake they had made and bring these measures back, but, even then, they only did it temporarily.”
“The establishment of a PNG team in the NRL is an important symbol of the deep partnership between Australia and Papua New Guinea. This partnership is underpinned by shared strategic trust and commitment to delivering peace, prosperity and opportunity for the people of PNG and Australia. Introducing these arrangements as part of this bill will provide certainty and support the effective administration of the tax arrangements that PNG has put in place. I thank Minister Conroy for working with us closely on that element of the bill. I particularly want to shout-out the small business minister, who's here with us in the House, as well as Assistant Minister Leigh and, in his absence, while he recovers from COVID, Assistant Treasurer Mulino as well.”
“The permanent $20,000 instant asset write-off is estimated to reduce ongoing compliance costs for small business by around $32 million per year. It's part of our plan in the budget to cut red tape and compliance costs by $10.2 billion a year. The final schedule in the bill, schedule 3, provides an income tax exemption for income derived in respect of employment with the PNG Chiefs Limited, the new PNG based National Rugby League franchise. This exemption seeks to ensure that income tax exemptions legislated by the Papua New Guinea government for players and staff of the PNG Chiefs Limited will operate as intended. Schedule 3 is connected to the government's broader strategy to listen and act on the priorities of our alliance partner and closest neighbour—Papua New Guinea—and support rugby league in the Pacific.”
“Up to 4.1 million businesses with aggregated annual turnover of less than $10 million will be able to immediately deduct eligible assets costing less than $20,000 from 1 July 2026. The $20,000 threshold will continue to apply on a per-asset basis so small businesses can instantly write-off multiple assets. Assets costing $20,000 or more can be placed into the small-business simplified depreciation pool and depreciated at 15 per cent in the first income year and 30 per cent each income year thereafter. The lockout rules, which prevent small businesses from re-entering the simplified depreciation regime for five years if they opt out, will continue to be suspended until 30 June 2027 so that small businesses can take advantage of the measure.”
“This is all about improving cash flow and helping firms remain resilient through periods of adjustment or broader economic shocks. Loss carry-back is expected to benefit up to 85,000 companies each year, mostly small businesses, with the largest impacts in construction, manufacturing, professional and scientific services, finance and insurance, and wholesale trade. The government is also making the instant asset write-off permanent to give small businesses the certainty they need and deserve to invest. This is all about backing small businesses, cutting compliance costs and helping them to invest with confidence. Schedule 2 to the bill amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997and the Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 to permanently extend the $20,000 instant asset write-off from 1 July 2026.”
“Schedule 1 applies to revenue losses only and is subject to a company's franking account balance, ensuring refunds are appropriately limited to prior tax paid. OECD research shows that loss carry-back is an effective policy to improve the neutrality of the tax system and increase the resilience of companies to adverse shocks. By allowing losses to be recognised against earlier profits, loss carry-back will be particularly valuable for established businesses that have been profitable in recent years but are experiencing a temporary downturn. It will also support otherwise profitable small companies that incur a tax loss because they have invested in new assets, including those that are eligible for the permanently extended instant asset write-off. I'll come to that in a moment.”
“And we're also consulting on the design of a 50 per cent CGT discount for early-stage investors, including founders and employee share scheme participants in innovative startup businesses. Altogether, we are proposing over $3.8 billion in new measures that lower taxes for businesses, supporting new and growing businesses at critical stages in their life. The reforms in this bill support resilience, investment and sensible risk taking by Australian firms. Schedule 1 to the bill amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to introduce loss carry-back for companies with annual global income of less than $1 billion from 1 July 2026. This enables eligible companies to carry back a tax loss and offset it against tax paid up to two years earlier, generating a refundable tax offset.”
“It introduces two-year loss carry-back to help encourage sensible risk taking and smooth out difficult periods, and it makes the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent to encourage investment and slash compliance costs. These measures go hand in hand with the steps we announced last week, which are all about providing more clarity and confidence to investors, more support for small businesses and more incentives for innovation. We will extend the eligibility of the 50 per cent active asset capital gains tax reduction to more businesses by increasing the turnover threshold from $2 million to $10 million. That means that all 2.7 million active small businesses and 98 per cent of all active businesses will be eligible for generous CGT concessions.”
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. This bill is the next step in our government's delivery of the most ambitious tax reform package for a quarter of a century. It's all about helping more people to buy their own home, cutting income taxes for workers again and again, and better aligning the treatment of labour and asset income. These measures in this bill form a package which is focused on delivering a better tax system for business by encouraging investment and innovation and delivering a simpler and more sustainable system as well. This bill being introduced today delivers the next important part of our plan. It backs Australian businesses and it helps them to succeed. Our plan is good for workers, good for first home buyers and good for the millions of businesses that make such an important contribution to our economy.”
“But whether it's tax cuts for every taxpayer, higher wages for workers or help for first home buyers, we are on the side of workers and first home buyers on this side of the House, and those opposite are against them.”
“This is on top of the substantial tax reforms that we put in the budget before the parliament to give every working taxpayer two more tax cuts in the form of the working Australians tax offset and the standard deduction that those opposite voted against, and those on top of the extension to the fuel excise relief that the Prime Minister announced on the weekend. This goes to a very important difference between this side of the House and that side of the House. This side of the House is delivering cost-of-living relief and delivering real change. The three right-wing parties over there are standing in the way of that cost-of-living help that we are delivering. They are all united by a divisive antiworker agenda, all three of them.”
“As the Prime Minister said a moment ago, if you just think about the real change that we are delivering next Wednesday—just the change that we are delivering from 1 July—more than 14 million Australians will get another tax cut from this Labor government, opposed by those opposite. The national minimum wage will increase by six per cent. Modern award wages will increase by 4¾ per cent following our submission to the Annual w age r eview . Parents will get 26 weeks of paid parental leave, up from 24 weeks. There'll be the regular indexation. There'll also be Australian workers benefiting, for the first time, from having their super paid at the same time as their salary and their wages. There'll be the new ban on excessive pricing of groceries.”
“The member for Chisholm is a wonderful representative of that proud multicultural community in Melbourne that she represents so well. New data, as I said before, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that headline inflation fell in both monthly and annual terms once again today. Inflation came off substantially in the month of May and it also moderated in annual terms. This is the second consecutive month that we have seen inflation fall in our economy. We welcome that development, but we're not complacent about that. Even though today's data was much better than the market expected, much better than forecast, we do recognise that people are still under pressure in our communities and in our economy. That's why helping with the cost of living and helping people get ahead are central priorities of this Albanese Labor government.”
“Again, I pay tribute to the transport and infrastructure ministers for that billion dollars a year. That's direct funding for councils to fix and upgrade local roads. I am aware of that additional funding request, and I engage with councils and local governments in good faith. We value the important work that they do in every single community represented here. But we are already providing substantial new funding for councils in the budget, which was only six weeks or so ago.”
“Just last week we delivered $2.9 billion in financial assistance grants for councils for roads and other services and infrastructure. We brought that forward to help councils manage the impact of the fuel crisis, in particular. In the budget, we're boosting funding for councils and communities in a range of other ways. The $2 billion Local Infrastructure Fund is to help local governments get more housing projects over the line. I pay tribute to the housing and infrastructure ministers for that. We've got an additional $780 million for thriving suburbs and growing regions programs—bringing our total investment to over $1.7 billion. We've got the Stronger Communities Program and the Active Transport Fund, which is another $500 million to invest in community road safety. That's on top of the Roads to Recovery Program funding.”
“Thank you to the honourable member for her important question. I hope she won't mind me also acknowledging the representatives of local government who are in the House today and in the building this week as well. I am aware of the funding ask from the local government community. It's not unusual for local governments or for other important parts of our community to be seeking additional Commonwealth funding. We are big and enthusiastic backers of local governments. We've got a wonderful minister for local government in Minister McBain, and every one of us is a big supporter of local governments. That's because they play a vital role in providing the services and infrastructure that Australians need. We're backing councils with new funding in the budget already.”
“But, more than that, in his typically helpful way, the shadow Treasurer pointed out on social media this morning that inflation has come down substantially, and he attributes that to the budget settings. I'm not saying he does that deliberately; he does it accidentally. But he says that the war in Iran has pushed up inflation in our economy. He points out that it has come down substantially; that's also true. And, in his usual ham-fisted way, he attributes that to my budget settings. I'm not sure if that was the point he was trying to make, but it is very kind of him nonetheless. I appreciate him every day but particularly today, for making that point. The second point I'd make is that if the shadow Treasurer wants to conflate inflationary pressures in our economy—”
“Nothing darkens their mood like another fall in inflation, and that's what we saw in the figures today. For the second consecutive month we saw inflation go down in our economy, which is terribly inconvenient to those opposite but a welcome outcome nonetheless. There are inflationary pressures in our economy, and they're made worse by the war in the Middle East, and this is a point that was endorsed by the shadow Treasurer on social media this morning. The shadow Treasurer, in agreeing that there are inflationary pressures out there—and obviously we're not complacent about the inflationary pressures that are still in our economy—conceded on social media today that the war in the Middle East has made our inflation challenge worse. I'm told that he agreed with that on social media today.”
“I'm not accusing the member for Kennedy of this, but if you have a look at the quite ridiculous answer, for example, that the Leader of the Opposition gave to a very simple question about the monoculture today, you can see what's going on over there. One of the reasons why the Liberal Party is dying in his arms is because his efforts to out 'One Nation' One Nation are becoming increasingly pathetic.”
“Thanks to the member for Kennedy for his question. Of course, in this country, the net overseas migration numbers have been coming down quite considerably. They were absolutely surging when we came to office. They're now down about 45 per cent from their peak. In the most recent net overseas migration numbers, which were released last week, they were down once again and are at their lowest level in a few years. Those are the facts. I know that those opposite, as they desperately try to cosy up to One Nation, dispute those facts. But those are the facts in the ABS data. When it comes to employment, including in our major cities, this government has seen lower average unemployment than any government in the last 50 years. We're proud of that record when it comes to the labour market. Once again, those are facts.”
“The Murray inquiry said that a prohibition would preserve the strengths and benefits that the super system has delivered to individuals, the financial system and the economy and would limit the risk to taxpayers. We've made it clear that this is a relatively minor change but an important change, not the same as has been proposed in earlier elections but with a similar objective. This is all about extending the ban on borrowing, strengthening the ban on borrowing by superannuation funds but in a way that ensures that people who are doing it now will be grandfathered so that they can continue to do it. There's a responsible 45-day transition period for people who might be midstream in the process, and that's important as well. So these are responsible changes. I was also asked about trust in what people say in this place.”
“As we made clear in the press conference earlier today, we've agreed to support this amendment to reduce the risk to retirement savings and to secure the passage of these really important reforms to make the tax system fairer. We know that the member for Goldstein doesn't want to make it easier for first home buyers. We know he doesn't support our efforts to cut taxes for workers and he doesn't support our efforts to make the tax system fairer. Multiple inquiries have raised concerns about these arrangements that we are addressing in the amendments in the Senate. David Murray was appointed by those opposite to look at these arrangements, and he said that direct borrowing by super funds is inconsistent with the objectives of superannuation to be a savings vehicle for retirement income.”
“That's paid for by reforms which will make it easier for young people and first home buyers who have been locked out of the housing market in this country for too long. Addressing that challenge is what today is all about. It's why the agreement of the Senate is so welcome and so important.”
“As the PM said, Senator Cash in the other place has said that they will repeal this legislation. We've heard this story before, when the member for Hume last said that they would repeal tax cuts. That's one of the reasons why they sit over there in much fewer numbers than in the last parliamentary term. They shouldn't have listened to him then. They shouldn't be listening to him now. By repealing the legislation, they would be taking the small-business concessional threshold back from $10 million down to $2 million. What a genius! Do not listen to the member for Hume. We are delivering cost-of-living help and we are delivering real change. We're making petrol and diesel cheaper in a temporary, targeted and tapered way. We're delivering higher wages and lower taxes for workers in an ongoing way.”
“But securing the agreement of the parliament for our tax reforms means that we are now putting the core elements of those reforms in place. We are also giving effect to the details the PM and I announced in Sydney last week, which means that every active small business now has access to concessions and carve-outs. We are strengthening the rules that limit borrowing by super funds, consistent with the recommendations of the Murray review that those opposite commissioned, and dealing with the risks identified by the financial regulators. The three right-wing parties in this country have vacated the field on reform, and they've left first home buyers and workers hanging as a consequence. That whole three-ring circus over there share a divisive anti-worker agenda. They don't support tax cuts for workers or a fair go for first home buyers.”
“I thank the member for Gorton for her question but also for the outstanding contribution she is already making to our team as a first-term MP. This is a really important day for tax reform in this country. Today we make progress on the difficult but necessary reforms which have been in the too-hard basket for too long in Australia. Today we are one step closer to a fair go for first home buyers, more tax cuts for Australian workers and a fairer tax system. Economic reform and especially tax reform is never easy, but it's worth it. Every time there's major tax reform in this country, there are multiple pieces of legislation and multiple waves of consultation, and that's what we are engaged in right now.”
“All of these measures are about helping Australians with the cost of living and responding to the very real pressures that they are facing while we shore up our critical supply chains and navigate all of this global uncertainty. This extra fuel excise relief is just the latest but still a very important way that we are continuing to help Australian families and small businesses. That's why we commend this bill to the House. Debate adjourned.”
“All of this helps to take the pressure off for the farmers who grow our food, the truckies who get goods to where they're needed and the businesses that sell our everyday essentials. It also builds on all the other ways that we're providing responsible cost-of-living relief, including income tax cuts for every worker, making medicines cheaper, helping more Australians into a home and backing higher wages for workers. From 1 July, we'll have more temporary cost-of-living help in this extension to the fuel tax cut but also more permanent cost-of-living help in another round of tax cuts for every taxpayer and more increases to the minimum wage. This comes after a budget that is all about making it easier for people to buy their own home. It's got more income tax cuts and is better aligning the treatment of income from labour and assets.”
“This responsible cost-of-living relief is in addition to all of the other actions that we are taking on fuel—and, again, I pay tribute to colleagues for these efforts—creating the $7½ billion Fuel and Fertiliser Security Facility for additional supply and storage; securing over 800 million litres of diesel and 150 million litres of jet fuel by Export Finance Australia; providing $3.2 billion to establish the Australian fuel security reserve and bring our total stocks of diesel and jet fuel to 50 days; legislating new ACCC powers to enable faster, coordinated industry responses during exceptional circumstances; supplying a $1 billion economic resilience program for loans to eligible businesses, including heavy vehicle operators; releasing $1.1 billion in support for domestic production of low-carbon liquid fuels; and providing over $80 million to roll out more kerbside and regional EV chargers and electrify Australia Post's delivery fleet.”
“That's why a more modest but still meaningful discount is the appropriate way to continue this support for a bit longer. This bill delivers that cost-of-living relief in a responsible way. It is temporary, and it is tapered. We know that economic and fuel market recovery will take time, and this extra month will help Australian motorists and businesses as this support tapers off and we return to those normal excise settings. It's also a responsible way to help manage demand at service stations across the country towards the end of this month.”