Neos Kosmos contacted Maria Vamvakinou MP following the 2019-2020 federal budget that sees coalition focused on tax relief for low- and middle-income earners, in an effort to boost consumer spending and in turn the retail industry.
In terms of the announced tax cuts for low income earners, Ms Vamvakinou said that “Labor will deliver better tax cuts for 3.6 million working Australians earning up to $48,000.”
“Tax cuts for workers earning between $37,000 and $48,000 a year will apply from the 2018-19 financial year. The value of the offset will increase up to the maximum offset of $1,080.”
Taking into consideration that there was not much detail on what type of investment the coalition would seek to underwrite in a bid to boost energy supply, and specifically how that will affect the car industry the Labor MP said that her party is, and has always been, talking to automotive industry about their plans in the research and development of electrification of vehicles, and changes to vehicle technology.
“If we are successful and form Government, it is our intention to pursue the manufacturing of electric vehicles in Australia,” she added, explaining that Australia needs real action on climate change and this means a plan to reduce pollution in the transport sector while Australians save money on petrol bills.
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This, according to Ms Vamvakinou is why Labor has set a national electric vehicle target of 50 per cent new car sales by 2030. However, she did not provide any figured as to how much it will cost for the car industry to start electric car production in Australia.
“Australia has had a history of car manufacturing, the loss of the car making in this country saw thousands and thousands of jobs list. In my electorate the closure of Ford had deep impact,” she stressed.
“A coalition government doesn’t support making cars in Australia but Labor will fight to rebuild the car manufacturing industry.”
Moving on to health care, Ms Vamvakinou welcomed the changes in cancer policy noting how paramount extra funding is towards this sector, given that one in two Australians will be diagnosed with cancer.
Labor’s Medicare Cancer Plan includes investing $600 million towards eliminating all out-of-pocket costs for diagnostic imaging, with up to six million free cancer scans funded through Medicare. It also promises to allocate $433 million to fund three million free consultations with oncologists and surgeons for cancer patients whilst guaranteeing that every drug recommended by independent experts will be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, cutting out-of-pockets costs for cancer medications.
“Cancer is the greatest disease burden in Australia and it carried the greatest out of pocket costs in our healthcare system,” she said, sharing her personal experience and the financial -on top of the emotional- burden her then young family faced when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.
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“She should have been focusing on getting better instead of worrying about taking money away from her family to pay for treatments,” Mr Vamvakinou said, dubbing Labor’s Medicare Cancer Plan “the most important reform to Medicare since it was introduced by Bob Hawke”.
