Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is interesting to hear the member for McMillan talk about his pride in the Howard government’s legacy. What we have heard from speakers on the other side, and what has been shown once again today, is their absolute lack of understanding of long-term strategies to build a nation. Let us have a look at the Howard government’s legacy. As of 23 November 2007 there had been 10 interest rate rises in a row, the highest inflation in 16 years, no housing policy and no housing minister—and there was Work Choices. You are worried about jobs, but you did not worry about jobs for 12 years. The only long-term strategy that the Howard government had from the day that John Howard got into government was to strip away workers’ rights. That is his only real legacy. Clearly what we have seen today is more evidence of not only the complete ignorance of the coalition but also their arrogance, reinforcing how out of touch they were and continue to be in opposition on issues facing Australians in relation to things such as homeownership, home rental, public housing and homelessness.

We have heard the claim from one of the speakers opposite this afternoon that seniors were forgotten in the 2020 summit. Well, I will enlighten you. I am very proud that a most respected senior, Everald Compton, was there representing the electorate of Petrie. He attended the 2020 summit not just as a senior himself but as a well-known representative of seniors in Queensland and nationally. I certainly do not disregard his contribution to that summit.

Let us have a look at families and child care. What was the Howard government’s legacy? A childcare tax rebate that parents had to wait two years for. That was a government that lacked the foresight to understand the importance of regular systematic payments instead of single annual payments. This was seen in the previous government’s approach to paying utilities allowance to seniors and not paying it at all to disability pensioners and in the Howard government’s handling of the childcare tax rebate. Compare this to the Rudd government’s commitment and, importantly, the Rudd government’s actions. We had a shadow housing minister before the election. We immediately appointed a housing minister when we came into government. We have a housing policy. Already we have outlined strategies for people to own a home and for getting more houses into the rental market. We are engaged in a genuine dialogue with the community on how to reduce the number of people, including young people, being turned away from emergency shelters, and we are gathering ideas to tackle the significant public housing issue in this country.

The Labor government has also taken the important step of increasing and extending the utilities allowance and the childcare rebate. But we also grasp that to truly assist people struggling with increased costs of living, it is not just about the amount of money that you provide for assistance but about how you provide that assistance. That is why the Rudd government is providing these payments on a quarterly basis. That is when people need the financial support and that is when we will provide it. Of course, the previous government were just about the big carrot—the one-off payments each year to win votes. They seemed to think that bills only come in once a year at the end of the financial year and that it is not an ongoing struggle for families to meet those financial commitments.

During this MPI we have seen the opposition once again showing how out of touch it is with the community. Labor has introduced real policies to address cost-of-living pressures and brought down a budget that funds these policies. If the opposition is really serious about cost-of-living pressures, it should stop trying to raid the budget surplus, stop being economically irresponsible by blowing a hole in the surplus and put the budget legislation through the Senate. Then maybe, just maybe, the community might start taking it seriously—but I very much doubt it.

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