OK son, let’s say Rollback to rebate – Election 2001 – LIBERAL CAMPAIGN LAUNCH: [1 Edition]
Sarah Stock, John Stapleton. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 29 Oct 2001: 5.
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Abstract
Labor-voting Enza Sanders from Leichhardt in the safe Sydney ALP seat of Grayndler says the payment will not alter her vote.
She and her husband Darren said the rebate would go nowhere near compensating them for the cost of the GST. Darren, a swinging voter who runs his own stand-up comedy business, says they have already spent more than $2500 on cots, car seats, baths and theother necessities for a new-born. He prefers Rollback to the rebate.
Weighing the future: Darren Sanders holds son [Brian Lucas] while Enza looks on in hospital in Sydney yesterday Picture: Alan Pryke; Photo: Photo
Full Text
THE mother of three-day-old Lucas will be one of the first parents to benefit from the Coalition’s first-child tax refund.
But Labor-voting Enza Sanders from Leichhardt in the safe Sydney ALP seat of Grayndler says the payment will not alter her vote.
She and her husband Darren said the rebate would go nowhere near compensating them for the cost of the GST. Darren, a swinging voter who runs his own stand-up comedy business, says they have already spent more than $2500 on cots, car seats, baths and theother necessities for a new-born. He prefers Rollback to the rebate.
Enza intends going back to work as a nurse next July. She says the income she can earn by returning to work far outweighs any incentive to stay at home.
“This money makes no difference to me,” she said. “I can earn a good wage.”
Not everyone agrees. Expectant mother Megan McKenzie, of Manly in the Sydney Liberal electorate of Warringah, wants to stay home for the first year of her child’s life but is worried she will be forced back to work.
She says the rebate could make a difference to her choice on election day. An accountant, she earned about $45,000 last year including superannuation, which means she would be eligible for a $1976 rebate.
“It’s pretty good,” she said. “It can be pretty hard, particularly in Sydney. Our rent is $330 a week.
“My partner has other children and pays $1400 a month maintenance. The tax refund will be a real help. It’s the only thing I will be eligible for.”
The Women’s Electoral Lobby condemned the move as attempting to keep women in the home.
“WEL has serious concerns with payments that reinforce government preferences for women who stay home with their children before they start school,” said National chairwoman Sandy Killick.
But the spokesman for the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, Brian Lucas, said all measures that strengthen families would be welcome.
Illustration
Caption: Weighing the future: Darren Sanders holds son Lucas while Enza looks on in hospital in Sydney yesterday Picture: Alan Pryke; Photo: Photo