Mr REPACHOLI (Hunter) (11:56):

Today is a very special day; it is the start of a new financial year. Do you know what that means, Deputy Speaker Andrews? Every Australian taxpayer will be getting a tax cut. It is Christmas in July for every taxpayer in Australia, and the Prime Minister and Treasurer have been working hard at delivering for everyone who pays tax. While they may not have a sled and I might be too tall to be called an elf, what they do have is a hardworking team of Labor MPs behind them and a commitment to delivering for the hardworking people in this country.

There is a lot to be excited about with all of these tax cuts, so let me just crunch a few figures. All 13.6 million taxpayers will receive a tax cut, and 2.9 million more taxpayers will receive a tax cut compared to the previous government's plan. Eighty-four per cent of taxpayers—that is, 11.5 million people—will now receive a bigger tax cut compared to the previous plan. Ninety per cent of women taxpayers, which is 5.8 million women, will now receive a bigger tax cut compared to what was previously proposed.

Time and time again we hear at election time that Labor is the party of higher taxes. It was never true but now those opposite can't possibly use that line without making their lie crystal clear. In fact, we've heard the Deputy Leader of the Opposition say that they absolutely will roll back our tax cuts. It looks like taxes will be higher under a coalition government. Our outlook is clear and simple: we want more Australians to keep more of what they earn. I grew up in a hardworking family and I've worked hard to provide for my own family as well. I know that every cent saved helps. I know that when the cost of living makes family budgets tight, times can be hard. I also know that any relief is welcome relief and that is why these tax cuts are going to have such a big impact for so many people in the Hunter electorate and right across Australia.

But it is not just tax cuts that help. Our whole budget had a big focus on cost-of-living relief across the board. We've announced new energy bill for every household and for one million small businesses. We've increased Commonwealth rent assistance by a further 15 per cent, taking the total increase to 25 per cent, making it the first back-to-back increasing Commonwealth rent assistance in three decades. We've wiped almost $3 billion in student debt, helping more than three million young Australians, with the average worker saving around $1,200.

We've provided up to $3 billion to make medicines cheaper, freezing the maximum cost of the PBS prescriptions for everyone. We've also put the poor economic managers line that those opposite used to use to bed. We've provided all of this at the same time as we're expecting to deliver a back-to-back surplus for the first time in almost two decades, we're seeing wages grow at the fastest rate in 15 years and we're getting real wage growth sooner than expected.

We are a government that is setting records. Around 800,000 jobs have been created since we have come to government and that is more than any other first-term government. It could not be clearer: we are getting on with rolling out billions of dollars of cost-of-living relief that is carefully designed to take some of the edge off some of the pressures that people are under right now. You hear those opposite bang on about cost of living, saying over and over that something needs to be done, but if you pay close attention, you'll see they've voted against every single one of these measures that will make a real difference to the lives of the people of Australia. Those opposite are all talk, no action. If they really cared, they would support this relief—but they won't.

The cost of living is hitting many of us very hard. We understand this and we are acting to do something about it, which is more than the 'no-alition' can say. We gave every Australian taxpayer a tax cut, which is more than the 'no-alition' can say. And we did it because we really care about every single Australian, which is more than the coalition can say. Under Labor, wages are growing, jobs are being created, Aussies are being supported and today everyone will be rewarded with a tax cut.