MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE

Ms JORDAN-BAIRD (Gorton) (16:10): There are 13 million workers in Australia, 13 million Australians who get up early, work hard, support their families and help keep our country moving. They are nurses, teachers, truck drivers, warehouse workers, tradies, small-business owners, and every one of them deserves a fair go. They deserve the chance to get ahead, to keep more of what they earn and a tax system that rewards hard work.

This is what our budget is fighting for and this is what our tax changes are about. I don't expect those opposite to understand that, because they don't fight for the 13 million workers in Australia—a Labor government does. It's why we're giving all 13 million Aussie workers a tax cut with the working Australians tax offset and the $1,000 instant tax deduction, as well as better pay for workers and a fair go for first home buyers.

Combined, we've cut income taxes five times in three different ways, putting nearly $3,000 a year into the pockets of the average worker by 2028. I've seen the need for this in my electorate of Gorton. We're from Melbourne's western suburbs, and we're one of the fastest-growing electorates in the country.

My community has new families moving in every week, buying homes and building their futures. These are hardworking Aussies we're speaking about. I had the honour of meeting a young first home buyer from my electorate.

I met Ishaan at his brand new home in Deanside in Melbourne's west, and he was able to buy that home as a direct result of our five per cent deposit scheme. He was over the moon to get his keys and own a home of his own, a home where he can put paint on the walls, paint them a different colour if he wants to—a home he can build his life in. He is one of the more than 3,000 people in my electorate of Gorton who have secured their first home with the Albanese Labor government's five per cent deposit scheme.

This is absolutely life-changing. This program cuts years off the time it takes to save for a deposit. It'll help people get into their first homes sooner, meaning they'll be able to pay off their own mortgages, not their landlords'.

This is about fairness, because young Aussies should be going to auctions to buy their own homes, not to get outbid by property investors standing right next to them. We're also backing small businesses, making the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent, giving small businesses certainty and helping them invest with confidence. We're also delivering tax reforms that improve cashflow and support businesses during difficult times, because when small businesses succeed, our communities succeed and our economy succeeds as well.

It's no surprise that the three right-wing parties all voted against our tax cuts. They talk about helping workers, but when push comes to shove, they vote against it on the floor of the parliament. Every time they have the opportunity to vote for higher wages and lower taxes, the right-wing parties opposite, instead of voting the way the workers of this country need them to, vote the way that Gina Rinehart tells them to.

The member for Goldstein says that Australians wake up so they can work hard, afford food, pay their mortgage and get ahead. Well, then, I ask the member for Goldstein why he, along with the three right-wing parties of Australia, have time and time again voted against tax cuts for Aussie workers. Tax cuts put more money in the pockets of everyday Australians.

When we came to government we inherited $1 trillion of debt, bigger deficits and stagnant wage growth from the coalition, and in every budget since, we have found savings. This budget is our most responsible yet. The member for Goldstein has asked in this House today what kind of a government we are.

I'll tell you: we are a government who is delivering real change to ease the cost of living. We're a government who helps Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn—whether it's slashing the fuel tax, better pay, tax cuts or a fair go for first home buyers. The three right-wing parties over there are doing nothing but standing in the way of our tax cuts, better pay and a fair go for first home buyers in this country.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ): This discussion has now concluded.