Australian treasurer Jim Chalmers delivers 2024 budget speech

Australian Community Media

The federal treasurer delivered his 2024 budget in parliament on May 14, likely to be Labor’s last budget before the next election.

Transcript

00:00 This is a budget for the here and now and it's a budget for the decades to come.

00:05 It's a responsible budget that helps people under pressure today and invests in the promise

00:10 and potential of the more prosperous future that we can make together.

00:16 Our main priorities are helping with the cost of living, building more homes for Australians,

00:22 investing in a future made in Australia and the skills and universities we'll need to

00:28 make it a reality, strengthening Medicare and the care economy and responsible economic

00:34 management which is set to produce another surplus and help fight inflation.

00:39 Our new tax cuts for middle Australia are the biggest part of the cost of living relief

00:44 in this budget.

00:46 From July 1 all 13.6 million taxpayers will get a tax cut and for 84% of taxpayers and

00:54 90% of taxpaying women a bigger tax cut than they would have under the previous government.

01:01 This is about rewarding the hard work of our nurses and teachers and truckies and tradies

01:07 and the 2.9 million people earning $45,000 a year or less who would have received nothing.

01:16 The average benefit is $1,888 a year which is $36 a week.

01:23 Our tax cuts are better for families and communities, women and young people.

01:27 They are better for business and they are better for the economy.

01:32 In 2022 Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered the biggest shock to global energy prices

01:38 since the 1970s.

01:40 We know Australian families and businesses have felt this pain and that's why we've

01:44 stepped in to help.

01:47 Electricity prices would have risen 15% in the last year if not for our efforts.

01:52 Instead they rose an average of 2%.

01:55 And tonight I assure Australians that more help is on the way.

02:00 This budget delivers $3.5 billion in new energy bill relief for everyone.

02:07 Just as every Australian taxpayer will get a tax cut, every Australian household will

02:12 get energy price relief.

02:15 From July 1 Australians will receive an energy rebate of $300 and 1 million small businesses

02:21 will get a little bit more.

02:23 The ABS has shown how cutting energy bills directly cuts inflation too, keeping the lights

02:29 on for families and businesses and keeping downward pressure on inflation.

02:35 Going to university can be a life-changing opportunity.

02:38 For 35 years now our student loan system has supported millions of people who study hard

02:44 to chase their dream.

02:46 But spikes in inflation have exposed a flaw in this system and put young people under

02:51 unfair pressure.

02:53 We are fixing that and we are changing that so that it won't happen again.

02:57 We're capping indexation of student loans to either the consumer price index or the

03:02 wage price index, whichever is lower.

03:06 And backdating it to the middle of 2023 will cut indexation from last year in half.

03:12 It will wipe $3 billion in student debt for over 3 million Australians and save the average

03:19 person around $1,200.

03:22 Violence against women is a national shame and it requires our national action.

03:27 We're delivering $925 million to establish the Permanent Leaving Violence Program, which

03:33 takes our total investment to address violence against women to $3.4 billion.

03:39 But we know that there is more work for all of us to do.

03:43 And we are very proud, Mr Speaker, that this budget extends superannuation to parents on

03:49 paid leave.

03:50 When it comes to these first months of your child's life, you can't put a price on being

03:54 there and you shouldn't pay a price for being there.

03:58 That's why we've provided $1.1 billion to pay super on government-funded parental leave.

04:05 This will make the super system fairer, it will reduce the gender gap and it will benefit

04:10 180,000 families a year.

04:14 And we're providing another $56 million to improve access to women's health services

04:19 and $19 million to support carers to better choose how and when they work.

04:24 [END]

04:25 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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