Speaking on the 2014 Budget

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been fighting hard against the cruel Abbott budget.  I have spoken in Parliament 11 times over the last 5 sitting days, 8 of those times on how unfair this budget is on our community.

I have:

• Spoken about the budget impacts and priorities of the Abbott government;
• Questioned the Prime Minister about the fairness of cutting pensions and Family Tax Benefits;
• Highlighted that Australian’s did NOT vote for this budget;
• Discussed the cuts to Child Care measures in the Family Assistance Legislation;
• Spoken about Infrastructure and the Asset Recycling Bill;
• Questioned the government regarding the impact of the budget on women;
• Explained the importance of supporting apprentices with the Trades Loan Support Bill; and
• Emphasised the importance of certainty of funding for the Werribee Mercy Hospital.

 You can see my specches or download a written version from my website.

Last night, we had a win for Lalor with all 21 amendments moved by Labor on the Infrastructure Australia Amendment Act 2013 being carried in the Senate.

This means that Infrastructure Australian remains relevant, independent and transparent.  In part,it also prevents the Minister from excluding  whole classes of infrastructure from Infrastructure Australia’s evaluation process – such as public transport.

These changes will ensure that infrastructure planning will remain steady and methodical and no longer reliant on the political cycle.  Importantly Infrastructure Australia will continue to provide it’s advisory functions.  This is in contrast to the situation where the Abbott Government threw funding at the EastWest Link without a business plan even being developed.

I will continue to represent and fight for our great community to ensure we are not left behind doing the heavy lifting.  Our community deserves to be treated with fairness.