Australia is not the United States - it takes care the of the most vulnerable and invests in its people - parliament has been told.
"We don't abandon them," Labor's social services spokeswoman Jenny Macklin told MPs on Monday as debate began on the government's proposed cuts to welfare and child care reforms.
Ms Macklin said the changes, including to paid parental leave and access to Newstart for young people, were unfair and "ripped up the basic social contracts in this country".
The bill is expected to make $5.5 billion worth of savings, to be split between funding for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and childcare fee assistance.
The opposition confirmed it won't support the package, repeating its claim the bill will hurt pensioners, families, new mums and young Australians while holding child care and the NDIS to ransom.
But Assistant Social Services Minister Jane Prentice told MPs the bill was fair, reasonable and responsible, and provided better target support to families.
"This bill will improve the sustainability of government payments and will trigger the right levers to get more people participating in employment or on to better pathways," she said.
