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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-05-22 Daily Xml
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Federal Budget

Mr GEE (Napier) (15:36): I stand to lament the devastating impact on my electorate of the brutal federal budget that will divide our nation. The changes in this budget will, over time, further entrench the intergenerational disadvantage in my electorate. It will increase poverty and homelessness amongst our young people and will unfairly impact our pensioners and the general health of our population.

In the last week, I have visited service providers in my community who work with the poor, victims of domestic violence, the disabled and their carers. They all anticipate that the demand for their services will increase due to the cuts and new taxes in this budget. Elderly people are already contacting service providers; they will not be able to afford their medication or a visit to the doctor. One service provider is already seeing up to 45 people a day seeking assistance with food, bills and furniture. This will only get worse.

The largest impact will be on families and young people. Families who trusted Mr Abbott before the federal election will now feel his government's cuts to family benefits. One-quarter of the families in my electorate contain one parent. Under these cuts, a sole parent family with school-age children could lose up to $20,000 over the next four years. This is a massive hit that will see our children suffer as families have to survive with less or work a second or third job.

Medicare will be dead due to the proposed introduction of the GP tax and new fees for x-rays and blood tests. These charges will see elderly people and children in my electorate denied medical care due to their financial situation as the Abbott government turns doctors into tax collectors. It is estimated that, over the next four years, a family with two adults and two children could pay up to $1,000 in medical costs. This is on top of an increase in the Medicare levy. The Abbot government has betrayed not just those people who put their trust in them at the last election but all Australians. The fair go has ended.

It is estimated that the changes to the family tax benefit, along with the other changes which will destabilise the family budget, could lead to stress on families and possibly an increase in domestic violence. Sadly, service providers who assist women are expecting an increase in referrals to them. Domestic violence was the single largest cause of homelessness for women and children last year. This is a disgrace.

Based on the last census, about 20 per cent of the residents in my electorate are aged 15 to 30 years old. These young people will be hit by the changes to Newstart and Youth Allowance, including the six-month lockout. These measures will push young people in my electorate into poverty and increase couch surfing and will severely impact on their self-esteem and mental health. It will especially affect young people from broken families, those with learning difficulties and gay and lesbian young people, who are more likely to live away from home; they will be left behind.

The reality is that not every student sails through school, finishes year 12 and walks into the workforce. Those days are gone. For a variety of reasons, young people in my electorate with dyslexia or learning difficulties will be hard hit. The budget will cause youth unemployment to rise. As a result of this budget, Australia will cease to be the clever country producing quality teachers, nurses and doctors. University education will be out of reach for many of the students in my electorate. Increased university fees, increased interest and repayment at a lower income will see Australia having to import professionals, rather than produce them at home.

Local government will be hit, too, in this budget through cuts to local roads funding and cuts to federal assistance grants. These cuts across the three northern councils of Salisbury, Playford and Gawler will easily exceed $1 million. Councils will decide, through their budget processes, whether rates will rise, services will be cut, or work delayed to make up for this shortfall—again, another impact on the community.

The final part of the budget I wish to discuss is the rise in the fuel excise, which will act as a mini GST. I say this because, although the increase will have a small impact on families filling their tank, it will have a far greater hit across the community as the cost of goods and services—

Time expired.

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