ABBOTT’S ATTACK ON AUSTRALIAN FAMILIES

Media Release

Jenny Macklin MP.

Shadow Minister for Families and Payments
 Shadow Minister for Disability Reform

Thursday, 15 May 2014

Tony Abbott has launched a full scale cost of living attack on Australian families, who will have their family benefits and parenting payments slashed at the same time as they are hit with a new GP tax and a new fuel tax.
Tony Abbott’s Budget of broken promises will put more pressure on the budgets of millions of families – and low income families will be hardest hit. Many Australian families are already struggling to make ends meet.
They are already cutting back. They can’t afford Tony Abbott’s new taxes and broken promises. This Budget will leave millions of families dramatically worse off.
Families on Family Tax Benefit Part B will now have their payment cut completely when their youngest child turns six. Currently, eligible families continue to receive the FTB Part B until their youngest child turns 16. This will leave single parent families on FTB Part B with a child over six $2,268 worse off each year.
The Budget freezes the rates and thresholds for Family Tax Benefits, including the income threshold to receive for the maximum rate of FTB A of $48,837, and confirms the abolition of the Schoolkids Bonus, with eligible families losing $410 per year for primary aged children and $820 a year per secondary aged child. Family Tax Benefit Supplements will also be dramatically reduced - costing some families more than $300 per year.
These changes, in addition to the new GP Tax and new Fuel Tax, will leave a single income family with two children aged 5 and 12 years, on an income of less than $100,000 per year, worse off by almost $5000 each year. A single parent on the Parenting Payment with children of the same age would have their budgets hit by more than $3,400 per year. And a dual income family with a combined income of $95,000 and two kids aged 5 and 13 would be more than $1,790 worse off per year as a result of Tony Abbott’s budget.

Families across Australia will start paying the price for Tony Abbott’s twisted priorities.