Delivering responsible cost-of-living relief to get local families and small businesses in our community through tough times is our government’s number one priority.
We know that people are under the pump, which is why our budget and our economic plan are carefully calibrated to help people in our area through tough times at the same time as we invest in the growth of our community and our economy for the future.
Starting this month, people in our community are beginning to receive more support to make ends meet as many of the Albanese Labor Government’s most meaningful cost-of-living policies come into effect.
Our $1.5 billion in energy bill relief will deliver rebates of up to $500 for eligible households and $650 for eligible small businesses.
Our $4.6 billion investment in cheaper child care will ease cost-of-living pressures for local families and will enable parents to work more hours when they want.
Our 15 per cent wage increase for the aged care sector will deliver a well-deserved pay rise for many local aged care workers.
Our Small Business Energy Incentive will help small and medium sized businesses save energy and save on their bills – with support from the government to upgrade and electrify.
And we’re delivering enhanced paid parental leave which will benefit families across the country and across our community.
This targeted and responsible support is what people need, when they need it most.
Key policies like energy price relief will directly reduce inflation, while others like cheaper childcare and enhanced paid parental leave will boost the capacity of our economy – helping people in our community spend more time with the kids and work more if they want to.
But these are just the programs that are kicking in this month.
The Albanese Labor Government’s 2023 Budget has plenty more policies that will deliver significant benefits for people in our area.
More than 100,000 people in our community will benefit from our decision to triple bulk-billing incentives and make it cheaper and easier to see the GP.
Nearly 40,000 people will benefit from our cheaper medicines policy – allowing people to buy two months’ worth of medicine for the price of a single prescription, saving some people up to $180 a year on medicine.
Almost 5000 people in our area will be $40 better off per fortnight due to our decision to raise the base rate of income payments like JobSeeker, Austudy and Youth Allowance.
We’ll expand eligibility for the Single Parenting Payment for children up to 14 years, from eight years currently, providing an extra $176.90 per fortnight to eligible parents in our community.
And nearly 5000 local households will get a boost in support to pay the rent.
These policies – whether it’s cheaper childcare, a well-earned pay rise or a bit of help to pay the next power bill – will make a real difference for the people of our community.
With high interest rates and inflation and slowing global growth, it’s clear our country and our community is not immune from economic challenges coming at us from around the world.
Our aim is to take the sting out of cost-of-living pressures to help more people in more parts of our area to get ahead.
The policies that begin to roll out this month were designed with Logan City in mind and they’ll deliver for local people.
Our economic plan begins to build a better future for our country and that starts in our community.
