“We’ve made sure support has gone to the people who need it most. It’s a budget that delivers for our community” - Tony Burke.

 »Returning the budget to surplus on time and as promised

»Spreading the benefits of the mining boom

» First steps towards a National Disability Insurance Scheme

»Helping business to invest

» Investing in key health services

» Building an aged care system for the future

 » Building productivity by investing in nation building infrastructure

• Delivering a new cash payment to 11,400 local families with kids in schools. Parents will receive $410 for each child in primary school and $820 for each child in high school as part of the new Schoolkids Bonus.
  
  
• Increasing family payments by up to $600 for more than 15,000 local families. Flowing from July next year, this extra support will be made to families currently receiving Family Tax Benefit Part A payments. 
  
  
• Providing extra money to help pay the bills to 16,150 local young people, single parents and the unemployed currently receiving allowances. Singles will receive a $210 lump sum payment while couples will receive $350.
  
  
• Providing support for small business with more than 20,200 local small businesses benefiting from a major new tax break. The $6,500 instant asset write-off recognises that not every small business is in the fast lane of the mining boom.

 Frontline health services in Lakemba will be expanded, with local clinic Dr Vu Surgery to receive a funding boost from the Gillard Government under the Primary Care Infrastructure Grant.

Member for Watson, Tony Burke congratulated Dr Vinh Tran on receiving the grant and said the funding to Dr Vu Surgery in Haldon Street Lakemba will make it easier for patients to see their doctor close to home.

The grant will enable the clinic to make vital improvements, notably the renovation of the surgery to include a new consultation room, an allied health consultation room and a treatment room.

It will also facilitate the purchase of new furniture, fittings and medical equipment to enable the doctors to undertake diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of patients.

This will enable the practice to provide Psychological, Dietary and Podiatry services that meet local health needs, focussing on diabetes, asthma and immunisation clinics

“The Gillard Government is committed to providing better health services for Australian families. We want to make it easier for locals to see a doctor when they need to.” said Mr Burke.

“This grant will help Dr Tran to expand the services his surgery offers. The grant will also allow the surgery to open on the weekend, taking pressure off the queues at Canterbury Hospital.”

The renovation is likely to be completed by July 2012

More than 26,000 Pensioners in Watson to receive another boost to Pension Payments!

From Tuesday 20 March 2012, local people receiving age, disability and carer pensions, as well as veterans’ income support recipients, will receive a fortnightly boost in their pension as a result of indexation.

Single pensioners on the maximum rate will receive an extra $6.70 a fortnight, and pensioner couples on the maximum rate will receive an extra $10.00 a fortnight combined.

As part of our historic pension reforms in 2009, we delivered the biggest increase to the pension in its 100 year history, and this boost gives our local pensioners that little bit extra to help manage their budget.

Since 2009, Labor has delivered increases to the maximum pension rate of about $154 per fortnight for singles and about $156 per fortnight for couples combined.

Following the latest increase, total pension payments for people on the maximum rate, including the base rate and pension supplement, are:

• $755.50 a fortnight for singles and;
• $1,139.00 a fortnight for couples combined.