February 2024 E-Newsletters

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Topic: Labor's Tax Cuts

People are doing it tough. From renters, pensioners, working families, early to mid-career professionals, tradies, single parents, essential workers – all are facing persistent pressure on their household budgets. When young people are leaving Higgins because they can’t make the rent, families are moving for the same reason, mortgage holders are near their limit, people are sleeping in cars in Higgins- we need to act. There is not one reason to course correct, but 26 million reasons to do so.

Our decision to change the Stage 3 tax cuts was not made lightly. It was done in response to persistent and sustained pressure on household budgets despite throwing a slew of medicines at the problem like cheaper childcare, cheaper medicines, energy relief, more bulk billing, urgent care clinics, increases to income support payments and Free-Fee TAFE. Our $23 billion cost of living package across two budgets has helped but it is clear that people need more relief.

The original Stage 3 tax cuts were legislated in 2018 when the world looked very different. Who could have anticipated an inflationary storm triggered by a global pandemic linked to generous government support, disrupted supply chains and global conflicts?

This cost-of-living problem has proven to be more stubborn than we hoped for, demanding that we do more. Labor’s tax cuts will deliver more bang for buck at a time when people are under sustained pressure.

On July 1, the Albanese Government will be delivering a tax cut for every Australian taxpayer.

13.6 million Australian taxpayers will be receiving a tax cut.
85% of taxpayers will get a bigger tax cut under our plan compared to former PM Scott Morrison’s plan.
Around 85,000 people – every taxpayer in Higgins – will receive a tax cut.
Nearly 3 in 4 workers in Higgins will receive a bigger tax cut under Labor’s plan compared to previous.
The average tax cut in Higgins will be $2059.
The average Australian wage earner on $73,000 per annum will receive a tax cut of $1504 which is more than $800 extra in their pocket each year than they would have received under Scott Morrison’s proposal.

Women

Among the biggest beneficiaries are WOMEN. All women will receive a tax cut but 90% of working women will receive a bigger tax cut under Labor’s plan compared to Scott Morrison’s plan.

On average, all 6.5 million women taxpayers would receive an average tax cut of $1,649 compared with $1,278 under the previous Stage 3 tax cuts.

Treasury estimates that Labor’s tax cuts will boost workforce supply, particularly of women. These changes will encourage women to enter the workforce or increase their hours at a time when businesses and the care economy are desperate for workers.

Treasury expect an increase in workforce supply of about 930,000 hours per week, more than double the old Stage 3 tax cuts. There are many women in Higgins with in-demand skills or qualifications who are not working to their capacity. Labor’s tax plan joins other Labor legacies including childcare and paid parental leave as among the biggest economic levers supporting women who want to work or work more. At 53% women, the Albanese Government understands that gender quality and women’s economic advancement go hand in hand. We get it.

Advice from Treasury and the RBA is that Labor’s tax cuts will deliver more relief for more workers without adding to inflationary pressures or burdening the budget. I encourage you to read the Treasury advice which we released.

A massive lever that sweeps over the nation bringing more to all Australians when they need it most and rewarding their efforts is the essence of aspiration. Aspiration is not the monopoly of a few- my own story and that of my parents is testament to that.

To find out how much you will benefit from Labor’s tax cuts, use the calculator on the Treasury website: www.treasury.gov.au/tax-cuts/calculator

Higher Income Earners

Around 1 in 4 taxpayers in Higgins who earn above ~$150,000 will still get a tax cut. In fact, they will receive the biggest tax cut and we are for the first time in 16 years, raising the highest tax threshold from $180,000 to $190,000. Higher income earners do a lot of the heavy lifting as far as tax revenue is concerned in an economy that preferentially taxes income rather than wealth. For all they complain, the Liberals in their decade of government did not provide higher income earners with any tax relief even during good economic weather. Instead, they legislated the Stage 3 tax cuts to kick in 5 years later, effectively kicking the can down the road.

As the Prime Minister said at the National Press Club on 25 Jan 2024,

“...pretending you knew exactly what the economy would look like in 5 years time was a triumph of hope over experience and economic reality”.

Leadership

Now, the party of Robodebt and car park rorts question our integrity. Integrity in leadership means making the right decisions rather than the easy ones. An inflexible government unwilling to adapt to changing economic realities is frankly irresponsible and even dangerous. When there is a clearly a better option for cost-of-living pressures, workforce participation, women and the economy, not making the change is irresponsible.

We can spend hours debating the intricacies of tax reform but until we reform our political norms, we will be unable to have mature conversations about our future. When everything gets weaponised, we are all poorer for it.

Australians are under pressure right now, and it is crystal clear that every taxpayer up and down the income scale needs and deserves tax relief. We are being responsive to challenging economic times by applying the same agility that is demanded, in fact expected, in every other field whether it be business, healthcare or finance by delivering better tax cuts that come with an economic dividend. We owe it to all Australian taxpayers and most importantly, to each other to do more.

The Prahran Priority Primary Care Centre (PPCC), opposite my previous workplace, the Alfred Hospital offers walk in, bulk billed GP care. This is one of 58 clinics we are rolling out around the country- a fantastic service, check it out.

Sincerely,

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Topic: Improving Government Services

When I came to office in May 2022, I was alarmed at the deluge of grievances about passport delays in my inbox. One constituent even went as far as paying someone to spend a night outside the Passport Office in desperation as they were due to fly out. She decried,

'After 2 visits to the line paying someone to queue all night my son received the passport. This is totally crazy and poorly executed by the Department.'
– June 2022

This is one example of what happens when Government in its ideological quest for small government fails to invest in the basics, leaving a bureaucracy unable to provide the services at a standard Australians are entitled to. At its worst, the system was hollowed out, devoid of the usual checks and balances including an ethical heartbeat, which permitted the policy catastrophe that was Robodebt. Rather than small vs big Government, the real question is what type of Government do you want? I want a functional one that works in the national interest.

Since coming to office, the Albanese Government continues to boost the capability of departments providing vital services to Australians. Here is a summary of some recent changes that will make life easier for Higgins residents, from addressing backlogs in the Department of Veterans Affairs and Services Australia to free broadband for school students to create a more inclusive economy.

Eliminating the DVA Backlog

We are committed to properly resourcing the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) to eliminate the unacceptable backlog of veteran compensation claims. The claims backlog – which stood at a massive 42,000 in mid-May 2022 – was exacerbating the mental health of veterans. The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide set a deadline to clear the backlog of compensation claims by 31 March 2024. Thanks to the Albanese Government’s investments in 500 additional claims processing staff and in information technology, this target will be exceeded. Eliminating the claims backlog is a huge step in the right direction and the staff in the DVA are to be commended for their tireless work. Thanks to increased staffing and resources for DVA, all new initial liability and incapacity claims are now allocated for processing within a two-week period – effectively eliminating this part of the backlog, returning to business-as-usual levels.

Passports Processing Back to Pre-Pandemic Timelines

The independent Australian National Audit Office revealed how the Liberals mishandled the Australian Passport Office. The Auditor found that the former Government failed to prepare the Australian Passport Office for the surge in travel when the borders re-opened.

The Liberals were warned as early as December 2020 to prepare for a 'pent-up demand surge' but in characteristic style, failed to plan. As a result, Australians were waiting 50 days on average to receive a passport when the backlog was at its peak.

Our Government got to work to clean up the mess, enabling me to help the many constituents who were banging on my door in desperation. The decay in Government services was fuelled by Liberal incompetence and contempt for the public service which extended to neglect in housing, energy, climate, environment, healthcare, integrity in Government, aged care and economic management resulting in a trillion dollars of debt with not enough to show for it.

Wait times for passports have now returned to pre-COVID normal. In 2023, 95 per cent of routine passport applications were processed in the target 10-day period. Average wait times for passport processing were only 4 days from 50 days at its worst. More than nine in ten Australian Passport Office customers were satisfied with the service they received in 2023. In the last financial year, the Australian Passport Office issued a record 3.1 million Australian passports, one million more than the pre-pandemic record of 2.1 million.

Digital Statutory Declarations

We have dispensed with the paper based stat dec. You can now create a digital Commonwealth Statutory Declaration using MyGov and your Digital Identity in place of a witness.

See Digital Commonwealth statutory declarations | Attorney-General's Department (ag.gov.au) for all information on this including creating a MyGov account if you do not already have one. This initiative will save time and money and is supported by robust security arrangements.

Note that you can still create a statutory in the existing way with a witness if you wish to.

Free Broadband for School Students

The need to bridge the digital divide was exposed during the early days of the pandemic with the switch to online learning. Launched in February 2023, the School Student Broadband Initiative program is providing up to 30,000 eligible families with free broadband until 31 December 2025, covering the cost of installation, NBN equipment and monthly fees. If you know of a family who may benefit, please alert them to this initiative. Children should not have to stay back at school or after hours in the local library to access the internet.

To be eligible for the SSBI program, a family must:

· have a child living at home enrolled in an Australian school

· be referred by a nominating organisation or self-nominate through the National Referral Centre

· have no active broadband service over the NBN network, or have not had an active NBN connection during the previous 14 days

· live in a premises that can access a standard NBN service.

To check your eligibility and get connected, simply contact the National Referral Centre, operated by Anglicare Victoria, on 1800 954 610 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm AEDT) or visit the website at Student Internet Program - Anglicare Victoria.

More Medicare Refunds Reaching Australians

In November 2023, the Minister for Government Services and the NDIS, the Hon Bill Shorten MP, advised that $234 million in Medicare refunds was waiting to be paid to Australians (nearly $60 million owing to Victorians) who had not updated their bank account details with Medicare.

The best way to fix this and be paid is by creating a MyGov account and updating details there. You can also call 132 011 or visit your nearest Services Australia centre.

By 16 February 2024, more than $25 million had been paid to 116,000 people who had updated their details. I urge all Higgins residents to ensure their bank account details are up to date with Medicare via MyGov so that no one misses out on what they are entitled to.

More Staff for Services Australia

The 3000 new staff we hired for Services Australia are cutting the claims back log and call wait times. We recognise that there is work to be done here and it will take time to get wait periods to acceptable levels. Recruitment started in November 2023 and these 3000 new staff members are now in place and making an impact across a range of services, including safety net payments to disaster relief.

Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) Reform and Processing of Cases

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) reviews Commonwealth government decisions in areas such as migration, social services, the NDIS and taxation. Every year thousands of people rely on the AAT to independently review government decisions that can sometimes have life-altering impacts on their lives. These tens of thousands of Australians were abandoned by the former Liberal Government.

We inherited an AAT that was fatally flawed. Stacked with Liberal cronies, people lacking the requisite expertise, bedevilled with aging electronic systems and heading to financial oblivion from a botched amalgamation by the former Liberal Government of the AAT with other tribunals including the Social Security Appeals Tribunal, the Migration Review Tribunal and the Refugee Review Tribunal. The AAT we inherited was beset by delays and a large and growing backlog of applications often affecting some of the most vulnerable members of our community.

Victims of Robodebt appealed to the AAT but found that decisions adverse to the Morrison government were not escalated either internally within the AAT or to the Federal Court. In other words, questions raised about the legality of Robodebt in the AAT were effectively buried by the former Government, noting that there are also cases where the AAT effectively rubber stamped the program’s legality. Had the AAT been a robust check and balance system, Robodebt may have been stopped in its tracks.

As the Robodebt royal commission noted:

The Attorney General has introduced legislation that would abolish the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and establish a new federal administrative review body to be named the Administrative Review Tribunal (the Tribunal). The Tribunal would be user-focused, efficient, accessible, independent and fair, with a focus on addressing backlogs and early resolution. The Albanese Government will also restore the oversight body to the AAT called the Administrative Review Council. Abolished by the Abbot Government in 2015, the Administrative Review Council will be re-established in accordance with a key recommendation by the Robodebt Royal Commission.

In the meantime, the AAT is processing cases at an improved rate. The total proportion of cases finalised in 12 months has increased from 53% to 61% from 2020/2021 to 2023/2024.

Improving Government and the services it delivers is fundamental to a just, functional and inclusive economy. Without strong internal systems, passports are delayed, veterans are kept waiting, asylum seekers remain in limbo, the person with a disability is unable to live with dignity and at its worst, population-level harm like Robodebt operates unfettered. Interactions with the bureaucracy should not be hostile, nor soul-destroying. If you do need assistance with Commonwealth agencies, please reach out, I will always help where I can.

At the Ashburton Fair with Bob Stensholt and Matt Fregon MP

Hosting a Refugee Roundtable with Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and the Higgins Grandmothers for Refugees at my office on Monday 29 January, 2024.

Important: Small Business Energy Grant

Small and medium businesses can apply now for energy efficiency grants valued between $10,000 and $25,000. Up to $41.2 million in funding will be available in Round 2 of the Energy Efficiency Grants for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises.

Applications for businesses in Victoria open at midday on Thursday 22 February and close at 5 pm on Monday 8 April, see Business Grants Hub portal. Grants will be awarded on a first come, first served basis so businesses are encouraged to apply without delay.

Sincerely,