United Workers Union has welcomed proposed Labor Government changes to Scott Morrison’s Stage 3 tax cuts, saying the flagged changes go some way to address massive inequalities in the original proposal.

“It was always offensive telling cleaners on $24.07 an hour – or $47,000 for a full-time job – that workers paid above $120,000 deserve $189 billion in tax cuts,” United Workers Union National Secretary Tim Kennedy said today.

“The Morrison tax cuts are an unwanted legacy of the Coalition’s appalling ‘lifters and leaners’ era that did not live up to the Australian ideal of giving people a fair go, and did not pass any sort of pub test.

“In a cost-of-living crisis it’s not the high-income earners on their European holidays who are suffering.

“The people who are most affected in the cost-of-living crisis are the essential workers who work in aged care, early childhood education, security, cleaning, logistics centres and dozens of other low-paid industries.

“Workers who are the backbone of our communities are finding it hard to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads as they face the devastating effects of inflation on their household bills.

“Recently, one school cleaner said:

‘It’s only $24 an hour – you can’t do anything with it. Being a single mum after car loan, house, food, bills and everything, I end up with nothing.’

“Another cleaner said:

‘I’m only just making an existence basically. After I pay my rent and all my bills there’s really nothing left.’

“And an early childhood educator said recently:

‘Educators deserve better pay and treatment, we are doing one of the most important jobs for the nation.’

“The fact the business community is out in force today vocally defending the rights of Australia’s top 14 per cent income earners to billions of dollars in tax cuts tells you a lot about their priorities – and those priorities are certainly not their workers.

“Workers have seen businesses deliberately keep their wages low as inflation rages, and now business lobby groups are singing from the Coalition songsheet to protect Australia’s highest income earners.”

Facts about the stage 3 tax cuts drawn from this report: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-28/stage-three-tax-cuts-to-scale/102268304?