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Budget 2008-09 Overarching Statement
13/05/2008
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Transcript
Overarching Statement
Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Jenny Macklin, MP
13 May 2008Hello, I'm Jenny Macklin, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.
In this Budget the Rudd Government delivers on its election commitments with strong economic management to help ease the financial pressure on working families.
We are providing $2.2 billion to help make housing more affordable and to get homeless people into secure accommodation.
We are making it easier and fairer for parents caring for children with a severe disability to get financial support at a cost of more than $293 million.
And we are making bonus payments totalling over $428 million to 433,000 carers.
And we are spending $100 million on supported accommodation to look after people with a disability whose parents are ageing and who can no longer care for them at home.
Older Australians will benefit from a range of 2008-09 Budget initiatives including national transport concessions, free internet kiosks and portability of concession cards when travelling overseas.
And delivering on our commitment to seniors, we are paying a $500 bonus to 2.7 million older Australians.
Protecting children from abuse and neglect is a top priority for the Australian Government. It's our responsibility to take the lead and we are working with the states and territories to implement a new National Child Protection Framework.
And in a move that significantly expands the Volunteer Grants Program, we're committing an extra $15 million over three years to help community organisations pay their volunteers' petrol costs.
We are also better targeting family payments to benefit those who need it most because that's the responsible thing to do.
You can find more detail about the Government's Budget measures on this website or at www.budget.gov.au
Thanks very much for your interest.