Labor is for Families
Labor has always worked hard to protect jobs and support families, from introducing pensions for war widows and the first family payments, to ensuring Australian workers kept their jobs during the recent global financial crisis.
Despite a resilient economy that is the envy of the world, Labor understands it hasn't been easy for many modern families. That's why Labor has a plan to support families and make sure no one gets left behind.
Taxes will continue to be lower under Labor than they were under the Coalition, with a typical Australian family paying more than $3500 less a year in personal tax than when we came to office in 2007.
Labor has increased Family Tax Benefit Part A & B payments as part of the Household Assistance Package. And each year, a typical family will receive more than $280 to help with the bills - money that the Coalition has promised to take away.
Under Labor, the average Australian family paying off a mortgage is now paying around $5000 a year less than they were when the Coalition left office in 2007.
Labor knows it can be tough to manage the family budget when you have kids in school. New uniforms, text books and school excursions aren’t cheap, and the costs can pile up pretty quickly. That's why Labor is delivering more support for local families with kids in school to help them make ends meet.
The Schoolkids Bonus gives families more help with the costs of having kids in school, with eligible families automatically receiving $410 a year for each child in primary school and $820 a year for each child in secondary school.
The early years of education is vital for a child's personal development, and Labor - together with the state and territory governments - is on track to provide access to quality early childhood education to every child by the end of this year. That means 15 hours a week, 40 weeks a year delivered by a university-trained early childhood teacher.
Access to affordable child care places is important for modern families, and Labor has helped by increasing child care places. Despite this, we know there are many parents who can’t find child care places. This means many parents who find themselves on child care waiting lists can’t return to work and can’t access Labor's child care assistance.
That's why Labor places no cap on the number of approved child care services that can be established – we’ll offer financial assistance for all places which become available where a business decides to set up a centre.
Labor has increased the Child Care Rebate from 30 per cent to 50 per cent of out-of-pocket costs to help reduce the cost of child care for families.
Being able to access child care when you need it is important to modern families, which is why Labor is trialling new flexible models of child care to help make the work and child care juggle a little bit easier.
New mums can get up to 18 weeks' pay at the national minimum wage while getting to know their baby under Labor's Paid Parental Leave Scheme. Under Labor’s Dad and Partner Pay, eligible dads and same-sex partners can receive an additional two weeks' of government paid leave at the minimum wage to spend time more time at home with their partner and baby.
It was Labor that first put in place the pension system in 1909 and it was Labor that delivered the biggest increase to the pension in 100 years in 2009. Labor also put pensioners first when with the Household Assistance Package to help with their household bills. Pensioners often have limited room to move in their budgets, which is why Labor is helping them make ends meet.
Only Labor will continue to protect the pension for those who need it most – people who worked hard throughout their lives and who have given so much to our community. Tony Abbott and the Coalition plan to claw back $1 billion of this extra support for pensioners, leaving them hundreds of dollars out of pocket.