Senator JACINTA COLLINS (2:19 PM) —My question is to Senator Patterson, as Minister for Family and Community Services. Can the minister explain why the government has amended the indexation formula applying to the family tax benefit—a change that was not clearly disclosed in the explanatory memorandum of the family assistance legislation amendment? Isn't the reason the government refused to spell out this change to the indexation of family payments that it is designed to claw back the real value of the additional payments made in the budget?

Senator PATTERSON (Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women) —The answer is no. I have said in a press release I put out that the government will take whatever action is necessary to deliver on its commitment that families receive $600 per child and that the real value of this payment is maintained in the future. But it gives me the opportunity to say again what we have done as a result of good economic management. It gives me the opportunity to say that families who are eligible for family tax benefit A will get a one-off payment of $600 per child into their bank accounts in the next two weeks. They will also get an increase of $600 per child in the family tax benefit A base rate.

Senator PATTERSON —Senator Collins shouts and interjects because she does not want to hear this because they have not got a policy. She does not want to hear that families will be better off on average by about $1,200 per child this financial year as a result of good economic management and as a result of giving a social dividend back to families because we have been able to run the budget in a way that is not racking up debt like the Labor Party was doing. We have said that the supplement will be indexed to CPI. We will look and we will make sure—and I have made a commitment—that families will receive $600 per child and the real value of this payment will be maintained in the future. Mr McMullan has said that he cannot guarantee that after the 2004-05 financial year that $600 will be there. Mr Latham, when he had two opportunities on the 7.30 Report to say families would not be worse off under Labor, failed to give Australian families that guarantee.

Senator Jacinta Collins —What about your opportunities last week that we're still waiting for? What about your opportunities?

The PRESIDENT —Senator Collins, you have asked your question.

Senator PATTERSON —Mr Latham failed to give Australians that guarantee. The Labor Party do not want to hear this. They do not want to know that they are giving mixed messages to the community about what their family policy is. Mr McMullan says that after the 2004-05 financial year they cannot guarantee the $600. Mr Latham said he will not guarantee that families will not be worse off. We have said that families are getting $600 per child into their bank account in the next two weeks if they are eligible for FTB A during this year and the family tax benefit rate will be increased by $600 and we will maintain the real value of that $600 increase.

Senator JACINTA COLLINS —Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. For the benefit of the Senate, can the minister confirm that her departmental head refused to provide a guarantee that the government's unexplained change to the indexation of family tax benefit would not lead to the clawback of the additional payments made in the budget? Minister, why will you not come clean about your planned post-election clawback of these additional family payments?

Senator PATTERSON (Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women) —This gives me the opportunity again to remind families that they will get $600 per child, if they have been eligible for FTB A this financial year, in their bank accounts now; that the base rate of family tax benefit will increase by $600; and that we will maintain the real value of that. We have made a commitment to that; it will not be clawed back. Senator Collins, I have said that we will maintain the real value of the $600 payment. We have given families $1,200 this financial year if they have been eligible all year for family tax benefit A—per child: $600 in the one-off payment and $600 increase in the base rate. We have done that in this financial year and we will do that in every other financial year. Mr McMullan, the finance spokesman, will not even guarantee that that will continue past the 2004-05 financial year. Mr Latham has failed to convince families that they will not be worse off under Labor.