STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mr LEESER (Berowra) (13:51): The big question today is: will Labor vote for our tax-back guarantee for bigger and better tax cuts for working Australians, or will they keep taxing Australians into the Stone Age? There is white-hot anger in the community about Labor's toxic taxes. Let me quote Philip, from Dural.

He says: … the utter dishonesty and deceit of Albanese and Chalmers in not first taking these extreme changes to an election. This egregious dishonesty is compounded by the Government's refusal to even acknowledge these are broken promises and their attempts to pass them off as merely changed positions. Even Whitlam, for all his superciliousness, would not have actively lied and broken solemn pre-election promises like Albanese … has done with this budget.

Nailia, from Hornsby, has two kids, a mortgage and a family business. She says life's been much harder over the past four years. Inflation swallowed any relief that came from tax rate cuts.

Her family's weekly grocery bill has gone up by 100 bucks, and her electricity bills are now 40 per cent higher. Before the budget, she said, there was still some hope. She said: Things were difficult but we believed if we kept working hard we could eventually come out the other side—grow the business, perhaps sell it one day, buy a second … home where ageing parents could live and continue doing the right thing by our family and our community.

But this Budget feels like that hope has been taken away. Labor did not just take 'Today' from me. They took 'Tomorrow' too.

To every Australian: you didn't vote for this. You deserve better, and the coalition has your back.