Low-income earners, women, and our Medicare system are some of the biggest winners in the Albanese government's second budget.
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Here are some of the winners and losers:
WINNERS
Low-income earners
There are a number of measures in the budget targeting cost of living relief to low-income earners.
Those on income support payments - including JobSeeker and Youth Allowance - will get a $40 fornightly increase in payments from September 20.
Currently, a single person on JobSeeker is eligible to receive a maximum of $693.10 a fortnight ($49.50/ day), while a single person on Youth Allowance could receive $562 ($40.20/day).
But the $40 fortnightly rise falls well short of the increase experts have been calling for. The government's econmic inclusion advisory committee recently recommended lifting JobSeeker to 90 per cent of the age pension, or $181.25 a fortnight, noting that people on these payments "face the highest levels of financial stress in Australia".
The rate of JobSeeker will increase by $92.10 for those aged 55 and over, with Dr Chalmers noting in his speech that the majority of people in this group are women "many with little to no savings or superannuation, and who are at risk of homelessness".
Five million Australians - especially pensioners and those with fixed incomes, like welfare recipients - will also have $500 knocked off their power bills next year.
Women
The controversial ParentsNext scheme is being axed. The scheme had parents - many of them single mothers - threatened with having their welfare payments suspended if they didn't meet requirements for meetings, study or parenting-related activities. The single parenting payment will also be extended to parents with a child under 14, having previously only been available to parents with a child under eight. The move will provide 57,000 people - over 90 per cent of whom are single mothers - with an extra $176.90 per fortnight. An extra $590 million is also going towards ending violence against women and children.
Medicare
The budget has a $5.7 billion investment in Medicare.
This includes $3.5 billion to triple the bulk-billing incentive that GPs receive, providing more patients on low incomes and children with free medical consultations. There is also funding for eight new Medicare urgent care clinics to help people in regional communities and growing suburbs see a GP.
More patients will also be eligible for the Medicare low-income levy, with the threshold increasing from $23,265 to $24,276 for singles, and $39,402 to $40,939 for families.
Care workers
More than 250,000 aged care workers will see a 15 per cent rise in minimum wages.
The government is also putting $72.4 million towards the skills and training of early childhood education and care workers.
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LOSERS
Tobacco industry
The industry is being hit with a 5 per cent tax increase every year for three years.
The government is also investing $747 million in measures to tackle the harm caused by tobacco and vaping, which includes a $63 million public health information campaign to deter people from taking up smoking and vaping and $30 million for support programs designed to help users quit.
Renters
This may seem like a surprising inclusion, given the government is increasing Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 15 per cent, providing up to $31 extra a fortnight for low-income earners.
But the budget forecasts that average rental costs will keep rising over the next few years. Despite this, there are no substantive measures designed to provide immediate relief for the many people struggling to pay their rent or find an affordable place to live. While there are incentives to increase the supply of build-to-rent schemes, these won't affect the market for several years.