Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2026-2027

Ms LAWRENCE (Hasluck) (11:24): The 2026 budget builds on the cost-of-living relief we've already delivered—practical, responsible support that recognises Australians have been under real pressure and that the government has a role to help, while keeping inflation in check and planning for the future, because we know that the cost of living is not a single problem with a single solution.

It is what families feel when they fill up the car, when they pay the power bill, when they take their kids to the doctor and when they try to get ahead at work and keep more of what they earn. We know this, and the evidence that we know this is now enshrined in legislation. In 2022 we began the work.

We cleaned up the budget we inherited and put in place the foundations for responsible cost-of-living relief while inflation was rising and global pressures were intensifying. In 2023 we delivered targeted relief: energy rebates, cheaper medicines and increases to support payments. In 2024 we broadened that relief: tax cuts for every taxpayer, more help with energy bills and additional support for renters.

In 2025 we built on that again with a second round of tax relief, major investments in Medicare and further reductions in the cost of medicines and student debt. And in 2026 we are locking that progress in with reforms in this budget that make a lasting difference to people's take-home pay, their healthcare costs and their long-term opportunities. At the centre of the 2026 budget is tax relief, which continues a multi-year plan to ensure Australians keep more of what they earn.

From 1 July the lowest marginal tax rate is reduced again to 15 per cent. That builds on the changes already delivered in 2024— A division having been called in the House of Representatives— Sitting suspended from 11:26 to 11:47 Ms LAWRENCE: That builds on the changes already delivered in 2024 and continues the pathway to a fairer, more sustainable system. And what does that mean in practice?

It means middle-income Australians—teachers, tradies, nurses—see more in their pay packet without needing to apply for anything or navigate complicated systems. And we are further simplifying the system as well. From this financial year, Australians will be able to claim a standard $1,000 tax deduction for work expenses, reducing red tape, cutting compliance costs and putting more money back into people's pockets.

We're also introducing a new tax offset—the working Australians tax offset—which will provide additional relief for workers on top of the existing tax cuts. Taken together, these reforms are about something fundamental: making sure work pays and that Australians are rewarded for their effort. Part of making work pay is making sure people actually receive what they have earned when they've earned it.

This is why our reforms to superannuation, including the move to payday super, are so important. By requiring employers to pay super at the same time as wages, we are closing the gap where too many Australians, particularly women and lower paid workers, miss out on the super that they're entitled to. It means stronger balances over a lifetime, fewer losses due to noncompliance and greater financial security in retirement.

But cost of living relief is not just about tax relief and fair pay. It's also about everyday services that we all rely on and whether those services cost too much. This is why the 2026 budget continues our major investments in Medicare, making permanent the network of Medicare urgent care clinics across the country and ensuring Australians can access free urgent care close to home without a long wait in a hospital emergency department; expanding bulk billing so that more Australians can see a GP for free, because access to healthcare, of course, should depend only on your Medicare card, not your credit card; and making medicines cheaper.

Australians with chronic conditions are seeing real savings every year. Through reforms to the tax system, we are changing the incentives that shape the housing market so that more investments go into new housing supply and more Australians have the opportunity to own their own home. It's structural reform that makes housing more attainable over time.

That is the real story of the 2026 budget. My question for the minister is: how many of these cost-of-living measures that I've mentioned does the minister think would have been enacted if we'd seen a coalition government of the Liberals, Nationals and One Nation?