Malcolm Turnbulls Budget last week had the wrong priorities for our community in Perths south-east.

Many in our community rely on our TAFE system to get a trade and build skills to be able to get a good job. Unfortunately, last weeks Federal Budget saw the announcement of a $270 million cut from TAFEs.

I also have people contact me regularly distressed at not being able to get an in-home or residential aged care package and we know there are over 100,000 people on the waiting list nationally. Unfortunately for the many local families trying to get a package, the 14,500 additional in-home aged care packages announced in the budget wont keep up with rapidly growing demand and come at the expense of residential aged care packages. So last weeks Federal Budget means that local families waiting for residential aged care package will now be waiting even longer.

To add insult to injury for the older members of our community, the Government has announced in its Budget that it still wants to remove the energy supplement, which will cost a pensioner couple $14 per week.

It is unfair that Mr Turnbulls income tax plan will see high income earners on $200,000 a year receiving a tax cut that is more than double the size than the average earner in Armadale or Gosnells.

I and Labor recognise that ordinary working Australians are also doing it tough from low wage rises and increasing costs of living. That is why Labor proposes to almost double the proposed tax cut for almost 4 million low income earners, with bigger and fairer tax cuts to another 6 million low to middle income earners than Malcolm Turnbull is proposing.

Labor will also:

• waive fees for 100,000 TAFE students in priority areas;
• invest $100 million in modernising TAFE facilities around the country.
• ensure one in every ten jobs on Commonwealth priority projects are filled by Australians apprentices.
• provide 10,000 pre-apprentice programs for young people who want to learn a trade; and
• provide 20,000 adult apprentice programs for older workers who need to retrain.

Labor can do all of this and still have a budget surplus by 2019-20 because unlike the Government, Labor is not giving an $80 billion tax cut to big business and the banks.

Labors plan prioritises our schools, hospitals, TAFEs, pensioners and ordinary working Australians. Mr Turnbulls budget prioritises big business and the banks.