TURNBULL GOVERNMENT VOTES FOR UNFAIR CUTS TO FAMILIES, PENSIONERS, NEW MUMS AND YOUNG PEOPLE

01 March 2017

The Turnbull Government today rammed through $5.6 billion in unfair cuts to families, pensioners, new mums, people with disability and young Australians through the House of Representatives.

Federal Member for Blair, Shayne Neumann who today voted against the legislation, said Liberal and National Party MPs voted for cuts to families, pensioners, new mothers, people with disability and young Australians.

“The Liberals and Nationals voted to cut Family Tax Benefits – cuts that will leave a typical family on $60,000 around $750 a year worse off,” Mr Neumann said.

“That’s around 15,000 local families in Ipswich and the Somerset Region who will be worse off.

“The Liberals voted for a $1 billion cut to the Energy Supplement – a cut to pensioners, people with disability, carers and Newstart recipients.

“That affects 35,000 people in Ipswich and the Somerset Region.

“They voted to make young people live on nothing for over a month – by introducing a five week wait for Newstart.

“That impacts about 6,000 local young people aged between 22 and 24 years.

“The Liberals voted to cut paid parental leave to new mums with a median income of $62,000 who would be $5,600 worse off on average.

“This is a bad day for local households.

“Local families deserve better than the Turnbull Government.

“They deserve better than to be told the only way we can afford changes to child care is to make vulnerable Australians pay for it.

“Labor does not believe in robbing Peter to pay Paul, and we certainly don’t believe that the National Disability Insurance Scheme should be held hostage to these unfair cuts.

“That’s why I voted against these cuts.”

Mr Neumann said parents will not receive relief from high child care prices until mid-2018.

The Turnbull Government is cutting family payments to pay for child care changes that will leave one in three children worse off.

The Liberals have failed to fix their unfair activity test, and many Indigenous and remote mobile child care services will now face closure.

Labor now calls on the Senate crossbench to oppose these unfair cuts in the Omnibus Bill.

“Queenslanders and those in Ipswich and the Somerset Region in particular, will be interested to see whether Pauline Hanson’s One Nation will vote against the scrapping of the Energy Supplement.

“Does Pauline Hanson stand on the side of fairness for pensioners, carers and people with disability by blocking this cut?

“Will One Nation support regional Australia and lower income families to access quality child care?

“Or does One Nation stand alongside the Liberals and Nationals - on the side of harsh cuts to ordinary Australians? 

“Labor Senators will again oppose these unfair cuts when they are put before the Senate.”