Appropriation

“This budget is about relief, recovery and resilience, and I'm proud to speak on the appropriation bills associated with it. It delivers more tax cuts and a fair go at buying your own home, and it strengthens Medicare for all. It's about getting workers, families and businesses in my community through the current global fuel crisis while building a stronger economy that works for more people. At the outset, I want to say that the budget is a budget dedicated to tax relief for 13.3 million Australian workers, helping more people realise the great Australian dream of homeownership and creating a fairer and more sustainable tax system for all Australians.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 May 2026

“I want to contrast the government's budget with the opposition's chaos and cuts. This is a responsible budget. It's focused on relief now, resilience for the country in the face of global shocks and reform to set us up for success in the future, particularly for the next generation. It's a tough environment globally and for many in Australia. The conflict in the Middle East is weighing heavily on our economy and compounding the cost-of-living pressures experienced by too many Australians. The budget is about delivering more cost-of-living help and building a more productive economy, a better tax system and a fairer housing market with a stronger and more sustainable budget.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 28 May 2026

“This is a government that has, I think, been characterised by the fact that it has made hard decisions. We make the hard decisions. We're making the hard decisions because, effectively, they're the right decisions to make. You see that in the debate around this year's budget, and in our record of delivery over a period of time, because we are focused on helping workers, we're focused on helping first home buyers and we're focused on helping small businesses, so that more Australians can earn more and keep more of what they earn and also get into the housing market and get ahead.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 27 May 2026

“I rise today to speak in support of the debate on the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2026-2027 and related bills. This Labor budget is focused on relief, resilience and reform that delivers for all Australians. That's why this budget is delivering more tax cuts, a stronger Medicare and a fair go at homeownership. It's delivering more cost-of-living relief and helping build an economy that works for more people. We know that people are doing it really tough right now. Cost-of-living pressures have been compounded by the conflict in the Middle East, while at the same time we face longstanding challenges when it comes to productivity, intergenerational equity and access to housing.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 27 May 2026

“Four years ago, we inherited a broken taxation system, and we've been focused and determined to fix it. The concessions favour those who produce in our economy, and they couldn't come at a better time, with a global oil shock and a housing crisis. We are delivering tax relief. We are building an economy that works for people. An economy begins with homeownership. A dream of homeownership is part of the Australian story. Sadly, as I said, right now it's just too hard for many Australians to get into their own home and get ahead. A decade of coalition government let these conditions take root. In recent weeks, the opposition has made much of the 'aspirational Australians' budget, but it's a very narrow and limited view of the world. Why should aspiration be limited to people who can afford to trade assets? Aspiration should extend to a childcare worker, a nurse or a teacher who's working hard and trying to get ahead. We know this. That's why these landmark reforms to capital gains tax and negative gearing are being introduced. I'm happy to be on the record, even as late as last year, saying that I had discussed with the Treasurer my support for restricting tax breaks for housing investors to brand new properties and for grandfathering the current arrangements for existing landlords. I was clear that I'd certainly support changes to capital gains tax and I would support changes to negative gearing. Now budget night has come and gone and we are getting on with the job, cleaning up the mess that was left to us by those opposite.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 27 May 2026

“This budget is a responsible and forward-looking plan that recognises the pressures people are under right now while also making our economy fairer into the future. Canberrans are feeling the pressure right now, and this budget meets those pressures head on. It delivers targeted cost-of-living relief, strengthens essential services like health and housing that people rely on, supports Australia's transition to clean energy and reinforces a more resilient economy. Importantly, it reflects Labor values of fairness, opportunity and ensuring that no-one is left behind. For the ACT, it continues a strong record of investment in our services, infrastructure and national institutions. It ensures that Canberra remains a great place to live, work and raise a family.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 27 May 2026

“This is a big, bold and fair budget. It's a Labor budget at its core, putting fairness first and supporting Australians. I'm proud to be part of the team delivering for the Illawarra and I commend the bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 27 May 2026

“These bills deliver cost-of-living relief. They strengthen Medicare, they support housing affordability and they invest in Australia's long-term resilience in an uncertain world. I know how important these investments are right now and will continue to be to my local community. I know what it means when a local family can access free, urgent health care close to home. I know what it means when a young person gets a fairer shot at buying their first home. And I know what it means when governments invest in the communities they represent. Ultimately, budgets are about people and about the types of communities we want to build and the type of country we want Australia to be.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 May 2026

“This budget builds on the work of the Albanese Labor government, delivering more cost-of-living relief, stronger health care, more housing and greater opportunities for all Australians. While Australians are working hard, we know many are still doing it tough. This budget responds to that challenge. It delivers more tax cuts for every taxpayer, putting more money back into people's pockets when it matters most, benefiting millions of workers right across the country, including more than three million Queenslanders.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 28 May 2026

“If I may find some sort of agreement with the member for Gippsland, the previous coalition speaker, I will say this: budgets are a reflection of values and we absolutely in this budget demonstrate values—values of fairness for first home buyers who want to get a foot in the door and values of better health care for people by investing in Medicare. I think Medicare is a great reflection of Australian values—that we all chip in to make sure that, when people need help with their health, they are not dependent on their wallet. We all chip in to provide a quality universal healthcare system. If you compare us to the United States, one of the biggest causes of bankruptcy there is medical costs. We don't have that here. We're providing now, under this budget, cheaper medicines. We've made permanent Medicare urgent care clinics, like the one we opened up in Rooty Hill in 2023 that has seen nearly 23,000 people out of hours and given them urgent health care, and all people needed to bring to get that help was their Medicare card. It's a terrific development.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 27 May 2026

“Our efforts to help people with the cost of living, through this budget and previous ones, is seen starkly in health. This budget contains more work in the healthcare area—like making medicines cheaper by listing new and amended medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, including treatments for cystic fibrosis, chronic kidney disease and various cancers, with $5.9 billion provided over five years. An additional $25 billion over five years will strengthen our public hospitals. We're also securing the future of Medicare urgent care clinics, with $1.8 billion over five years, with ongoing secure funding.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 28 May 2026

“This is a responsible budget for the times. Budgets are never easy. I can never recall walking into this chamber at budget time and listening to a government saying how easy it is to balance their budget. It's never easy. But under all the circumstances that Australia faces right now, this is the right budget for the times.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 May 2026

“Nearly two weeks ago we stood in this chamber and heard the Treasurer handing down the 2026-27 budget. It's a budget that delivers what Australia needs right now. It's responsible, it implements real reform and it's about making sure the economy works better for more Australians, not just a few. It doesn't matter where you go in my local electorate on Brisbane's south side, whether it's a barbecue in Tarragindi, whether it's on the doors in Annerley, whether it's an event in Sunnybank, whether it's on a street corner in Acacia Ridge, everyone raises the same challenges that they and their families are facing again and again and again. Those challenges are housing and cost of living.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 May 2026

“We know that Australians are doing it tough at the moment. We know there are a lot of people out there who are working very hard to make ends meet, and we know that there are people out there that are doing their very best just to survive. That's why it is imperative that this budget, which was announced last week, goes through the House of Representatives and the Senate to ensure that it is focused on and targets those people that need it the most. In the budget, we heard that there's more housing—it's a fairer budget to try and bring to fruition for those who have missed out for a number of years the Australian dream of purchasing a home.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 May 2026

“These reforms ensure that we can generate additional revenue and budget savings. The revenue will increase by $44 billion to 2028-29 since MYEFO. We're also ensuring that there are savings that are outlined in our budget through reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, to the way private health insurance operates and to uncommitted funding across programs. In total, there's $63.8 billion in savings in this budget alone. That will take pressure off Australians because we will be able to return some of those savings to Australians in the form of returning bracket creep. That's in the form of the two tax cuts that are coming over the course of the next two years, the working Australians tax offset, the $1,000 deduction and being able to halve the fuel excise at the moment while Australians are facing increasing prices at the bowser. Because we're making those responsible decisions, because we're reforming our taxation system and because we've been able to find savings, we're able to return some of the bracket creep to Australians in the form of lower taxes and additional incentives in our taxation system.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 28 May 2026

“This is a responsible budget, a reforming budget, a budget designed to promote economic resilience. It's a budget for all Australians, young and old, no matter your background. And it's a budget that recognises the urgency of the moment, a moment that the Albanese Labor government is determined to meet. I commend these bills to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 May 2026

“We need to build a better Australia for young people, to give them the opportunity to own their first home, to give them a foothold. Already these policies are working. Every weekend, we're seeing news reports of first home buyers getting into their first home. They're shocked, surprised that they are no longer competing against investors for existing stock. This is a good thing. We need people to have the aspiration to own their first home, just like I was able to and just like many people in previous generations were able to. These are tough reforms, but we are doing them for the right reasons and at the right time. I commend these bills to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 26 May 2026

“Do you know what this budget is about? It is a choice. It is a choice about a first home buyer getting into their own home or someone wanting their third investment property. It chooses people who want to live in a home over people who want to profit from homes. That is a choice that this government is proud to make. This is a government that is not afraid of reform, and this budget proves it.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 27 May 2026

“Those opposite want to keep younger Australians down and want to continue to lock them out of the housing market. They showed their true colours voting against our cost-of-living measures, including our tax cuts. They have said they will vote against tax reform—the tax reforms that are being introduced in this bill—and that, if this reform gets passed by the parliament, they will repeal them when they are next in government. What we are doing is making fundamental change to support our communities and get more people into a home of their own. We are helping with cost of living through this bill. And I want to say to the young people across Australia and in my Brisbane electorate: this government wants to support you, to give you the best opportunities in life and to give you a fair crack. That's the Australian way, and that's what we will always fight for.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 27 May 2026

“Labor's budget backs working Australians not just in principle but in practice. It supports families under pressure. It strengthens Medicare. It builds housing supply. It makes the tax system fairer and it invests in clean energy and our environment. This budget moves us in the right direction—a direction grounded in fairness, opportunity and responsibility. It recognises the pressures people are under and responds with practical measures that make a difference. It invests in the future, not just in the present. It ensures that Australia remains a hopeful nation that continues to believe in a fair go for all, where opportunity is not determined by postcode, background or circumstance but by effort, contribution and fairness.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 27 May 2026

“The measures I've spoken of today are united by a simple principle. Labor believes government should make life better for ordinary Australians—not harder, not more expensive and not more uncertain. Government should not be dragging us back to the last century. Whether it's strengthening Medicare, making medicines cheaper, expanding mental health care, supporting older Australians or investing in cleaner, cheaper energy—these are reforms designed to improve people's lives. They are reforms grounded in fairness, grounded in opportunity and grounded in the belief that no Australian should be left behind. That's what this government is delivering, and that's why these investments matter so deeply to communities like Newcastle and the Hunter.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 27 May 2026

“I rise to speak on the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2026-2027 and other appropriation bills for 2026-2027. Our Treasurer delivered the 2026 budget two weeks ago, and it is a budget for every Australian. It is a budget for workers, for first home buyers, for families struggling with cost-of-living pressures and for future generations. It is an ambitious budget in a challenging global environment. It is a budget full of tough decisions to build resilience and bolster our economy, while also finally addressing intergenerational inequality. It is a budget that delivers more cost-of-living relief, more funding for Medicare, housing, aged care and much-needed tax reform. It also delivers for my home state of Queensland. This is a budget about resilience and security, getting Australians through the global oil shock while building a fair economy that works for more people. I am incredibly proud of it.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 26 May 2026

“Having grown up in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, I've always been determined to fight to ensure that aspiration is afforded to everyone who works and contributes, not just an exclusive realm for people who already own significant wealth while leaving policy settings in place which serve to leave the many behind. This is what this budget is fundamentally about: rewarding work, aspiration and restoring fairness. This budget shows ours is a government determined to tackle the problems facing this country. It is a calm, thoughtful response to a generational problem decades in the making.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 27 May 2026

“Unbelievably, we are already seeing results. We are seeing first home buyers, over just two weekends in, who are able to compete against investors, as they aren't using the money that they were getting from taxpayers to prop up their bids. Already we're seeing results. It might have taken us 40 years to get into this mess, but we don't have 40 years to fix it. And so I commend the bill to this House, as part of the government's strategy to fix things up for— (Time expired)”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 26 May 2026

“This budget is about creating opportunities. It is pro-aspiration for people seeking to enter the housing market and invest in their future, especially for young people. It is pro-worker for those families feeling the pinch and in need of tax relief. It is pro-investment for individuals and businesses looking to build their futures with shares and portfolios. This Albanese Labor government is not shying away from the difficult reforms that are necessary to build our nation's future. We are proud of what we have delivered, but we know there is more work to do. Good governments listen to their constituents, they do not alienate parts of their communities, and they do not pit them against each other.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 May 2026

“I commend this Bill to the chamber.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 22 June 2026

“This bill, Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2026-2027, along with Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2026-2027 and Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2026-2027, are the budget appropriation bills for 2026-27.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 12 May 2026