A short time ago, the Treasurer spoke in the House of Representatives to hand down the Albanese Labor Government’s fourth Budget.
I wanted you to be one of the first to know what’s in it to help ease cost-of-living pressures and build Australia’s future.
Labor is delivering a new, additional tax cut for every Australian taxpayer from 1 July 2026.
That means all Canberrans will get another tax cut in this Budget, which will see an average worker more than $50 better off each week – or around $2,900 every year when combined with our existing tax cuts that have been rolling out since 1 July 2024.
These are modest tax cuts, but they will make a real difference when it comes to cost-of-living pressures.
But the cost-of-living relief doesn’t stop there.
The Budget also includes $150 in additional energy bill relief for every Canberra household and around 14,000 small businesses, building upon the $300 already provided by the Albanese Labor Government to help make energy bills a bit more affordable.
We’re also making medicines even cheaper – capping the cost of scripts at $25 and putting $8.5 billion into Medicare to deliver 18 million more bulk billed GP appointments every year across Australia.
This is what we mean when we say that only Labor can be trusted to protect and strengthen Medicare.
This Budget also delivers for Canberra by:
- Funding a sixth Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, to be located in Woden
- Delivering over $50 million for roads in the ACT – $30 million for the Monaro Highway Upgrade in the ACT and an additional $20 million for Monaro Highway Upgrade Stage 2 planning works
- Providing $331 million over 10 years for ACT schools as part of a national investment in fairer schools funding
- Delivering an additional $50 million for ACT hospitals on top of rising National Health Reform funding
- Continuing our investment in secure, well-paid APS jobs
These important investments build on those in our previous budgets including extending the Canberra Light Rail to Commonwealth Park, providing crucial funding to protect our cherished national institutions, investing $250 million to breathe new life into the AIS in Bruce and providing a $20 million lifeline to the Upper Murrumbidgee River.
Many people ask me what I’m most proud of in this Budget. For me, it has to be the massive women’s health package that will change lives for women of all ages.
The Budget includes $793 million to make modern contraceptives, menopause, IVF and endometriosis treatments cheaper as well as delivering new pelvic pain and endo clinics.
For too long, women have borne the cost of expensive treatments.
And we don’t think that’s fair.
By listing these medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), we will cut the out-of-pocket costs for essential care.
Budgets are a statement of a government’s priorities. I believe this one strikes the right balance between responsible economic management and tangible support for Australians who are under pressure.
And with an election just around the corner, Canberrans face a clear choice.
A choice between an Albanese Labor Government that is delivering key infrastructure for our city, strengthening Medicare, and investing in the APS.
Or a Dutton Opposition pushing more than $350 billion in secret cuts that would hit Medicare, schools and services, a $600 billion nuclear plan, and the same old neglect of Canberra.
I won’t stand by and let Peter Dutton get elected and once again trash our city because it helps his political cause in other parts of the country.
I’m proud of our city and what we’ve delivered in our first term.
I hope I have your support to keep being a strong voice for Canberra in a second-term Albanese Government because when we work together with the right values and priorities, we can deliver great outcomes for the place we all love to call home.
There’s plenty more in the Budget I couldn’t cover in this message tonight, but if you’re interested, you can read all the details here.
