Cost of living
Michael GALEA (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:54): Cost of living is an issue which is front of mind for my constituents in the south-east. It is why the Allan Labor government has delivered four rounds of the power saving bonus while we have made three- and four-year-old kinder free as well as delivering hundreds of free TAFE courses across my region alone. It is also why I welcome the federal government’s announced improvements to the stage 3 tax cuts from July this year. Without the change, the tax cuts would have disproportionately benefited the top end of town, with low-income earners completely missing out. Under federal Labor’s changes now every taxpayer will receive a tax cut, and 92 per cent of taxpayers will be better off than they would have been under the Liberals’ plan. The tax relief for an average income earner of $80,000 will be almost doubled under Labor’s plan. People in my region will stand to benefit the most from this, with a recent analysis by the Guardian showing that the Casey South region will benefit from Labor’s changes more than anywhere else in Victoria. These changes will mean more money in my constituents’ pockets at a time when it is needed the most.