Budget 2022 is about building on our strong economic recovery from COVID and delivering:
– Cost of living relief now.
– A long-term economic plan that creates more jobs.
– Record investments in essential services.
– Stronger defence and national security.
There were many measures announced that I know will be important to Knox locals. These include:
Cost of living relief
Events abroad are pushing up cost of living pressures. That’s why we are taking practical measures now.
First, we are cutting fuel excise in half. Locals will save 22 cents a litre every time they fill up their car for the next six months. This could mean a saving of $30 a week for a family with two cars, or $700 over the next six months.
In addition, 70,300 taxpayers in Knox will benefit from tax relief of up to $1,500 this year. This is made up of the $1,080 low and middle income tax offset and a new $420 cost of living tax offset.
We are also providing a one-off cost of living payment of $250 to over 44,000 Knox pensioners, carers, job seekers and eligible self-funded retirees.
Together, with the recent pension increases, this will see the 16,715 pensioners in Knox receive more than $500 in additional support over the next 6 months, when they need it most.
Upskilling workers and creating jobs
We are continuing tax incentives that will allow around 18,800 businesses in Knox to write-off the full value of any eligible asset. This means a tradie or a manufacturer can buy new equipment and expand their business.
In addition, to encourage small businesses to go digital, 18,700 businesses in Knox will have access to a new bonus 20% deduction on digital and technology expenses such as buying computers, online sales platforms, accounting software, cyber security and cloud computing.
Additionally, around 6,100 businesses in Knox will be able to use the extended loss carry back measure to support cash flow.
This is on top of JobKeeper payments that supported 8,200 businesses and 32,900 employees in Knox through the pandemic.
Help for first home buyers
Budget 2022 doubles the number of Australians who can access the Home Guarantee Scheme and buy a home with a deposit as little as 2%.
This will help 35,000 first-home buyers buy the home of their dreams with as little as a 5% deposit and 5,000 single parents buy with as little as a 2% deposit. This scheme has already helped 9,295 home buyers in Victoria
We are also supporting home buyers and the construction industry through our HomeBuilder program which has supported 39,731 in Victoria.
Stronger defence and national security
To protect Australia’s future security and interests we are undertaking the biggest rebuild of the Australian Defence Force since the Second World War.
This includes committing $9.9 billion over the next decade to new national cyber and intelligence capabilities and increasing our defence force to 100,000.
In addition, we are supporting our veterans by investing $22.8 million to cut the backlog of unprocessed claims, followed by a further $73.2 million for additional staff and other measures to further improve the veteran claims processing system and reduce wait times.
Guaranteed funding for healthcare
Under our Government, funding for public hospitals in Victoria continues to increase, up 118.86% since we came to Government.
We have strengthened Medicare by making telehealth consultations permanent. In Knox, there have been 838,303 telehealth consultations funded through Medicare since the start of the pandemic.
In the last year we have funded 1,923,042 free or subsidised medicines in Knox through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
Since coming to government, we have made nearly 2,900 new or amended medicine listings through the PBS.
This Budget also guarantees record funding for the NDIS, which is supporting over 500,000 participants across Australia and 3,230 in Knox.
Helping families with childcare and education
We are increasing funding for preschools in Knox, making childcare more affordable and making parental leave more flexible.
Ongoing childcare funding in this Budget will directly benefit over 5,940 families living in Knox.
In addition, both parents will be able to access and share a single fully flexible 20-week paid parental leave.
We supported 1,698 families with parental leave payments last year and these changes will make it easier for families to share work and care.
Funding for public schools in Knox continues to increase as a part of the Quality Schools Package, increasing by over 34% to 2029. Specific funding increases for local schools in Knox is available from: dese.gov.au/school-funding/estimator
Record investment in aged care
This Budget continues a further record investment in aged care to help the 23,887 senior locals living in Knox.
This investment will deliver more home care places, more funding for aged care centres and increases in the amount of time that nurses and carers spend with residents.
