Liberals claw back cash from families

The Member for Sturt, Christopher Pyne, today told SKY News that an Abbott Government will hurt families by cutting the Schoolkids Bonus.

His comments come at the same time as more than one million Australian families are benefiting from their first instalment of the new cash payment.

This Labor Government has delivered $588 million in Schoolkids Bonus cash to about 1.2 million families this month – helping families as the kids get ready to go back to school.

The Schoolkids Bonus helps parents buy uniforms, shoes, school books and stationery, as well as cover other costs like school excursions, music lessons and sports registration fees.

Each year eligible families will receive up to $410 for each child in primary school and up to $820 a year for each high school student. The Bonus is paid in two instalments – in January and July.

A typical family with two kids will receive $15,000 in Schoolkids Bonus payments over the course of their children’s schooling.

Families need to know that the Liberals plan to leave them $15,000 short. And that’s on top of their cuts to other family payments and plans to slash Labor’s tax cuts for people on low and middle incomes.

The Liberals will not reinstate the old Education Tax Refund. Joe Hockey confirmed this on Insiders in October last year.

The truth is the Liberals will make it harder for families to make ends meet.