Henry Pike (Bowman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

The motion calls on us to note the achievements of the new Labor government over the last six months. Listening to those opposite, you would think that they'd overseen a great golden age for our nation. But the sad truth is that Australia is facing soaring interest rates, higher energy prices, higher gas prices, a decline in real wages, slowing GDP growth and rising inflation. Unfortunately, the government is offering no plans to remedy those issues and certainly is offering no relief. We've seen nothing over the first six months of this government that will address the very real concerns for those back in my electorate and across this country, yet the government wants us to spend time in this final sitting week of parliament for the year to acknowledge their greatness.

Let's have a look at some of the aspects of this motion. Firstly, there's a set of categories of things listed in this motion that I refer to as copycat policies. These are things that the previous government was implementing or had proposed that were copied by the now government, and I certainly don't hold it against them for copying good ideas. I think that's something that we should do more of in this chamber, so let me run through a few of them. Firstly, we have the claim that they're delivering cheaper medicines. The general co-payment bill cuts the PBS charge by $12.50, and that's of course a policy that was introduced in response to the coalition committing to reduce it by $10. As part of our record in government, the coalition listed more than 2,800 new and amended medicines on the PBS, and that's almost 30 new medicines every month. There's certainly no sign that Labor will have such a positive impact on the sector over the long term.

The motion seeks our support for the government's 10-day paid family and domestic violence leave, which of course mimics what the coalition did back in 2018 in taking a Fair Work Commission recommendation and ensuring it applies to everyone. Once again, it's good to see the government following the coalition's lead. The motion calls for us to acknowledge the expansion of access to the Commonwealth seniors health card, and credit where credit's due. The legislation tabled regarding the Commonwealth seniors health card is actually positive legislation. However, this is no surprise for one simple reason: it was a coalition election commitment that the Labor Party subsequently decided to match. Yet again, the government's most of effective policies, the things they've had success with, have proved to be those campaigned for by the coalition.

Unfortunately, we have to go from the good to the bad and the ugly. I've heard previous speakers make mention of the repeal of the cashless debit card. Has there been anything this government has attempted that could be more disgraceful than that action? They are opening the door to greater violence and abuse in the communities where the cashless debit card has had such a successful introduction. They ran a horrendous scare campaign during the election, trying to claim that the coalition government was going to impose this on senior welfare payments. It was certainly something that was raised a lot in my electorate during the campaign, but luckily not many of the voters believed them. I'm often surprised by Labor's enthusiasm on removing the cashless debit card because we've seen it work. The feedback on the ground is that it works, and I don't understand what demographic the Labor Party think they're appealing to with this move. But it certainly isn't the demographic in these communities where the cashless debit card is having such a positive impact.

Another thing that's mentioned in this motion is the secure jobs and better pay bill. Has a new government ever faced such a united chorus of opposition to a bill in their first six months? This is a direct attack on small businesses in my electorate and across the country, and it's an absolutely blatant attempt to give the unions some increased relevance as we go deeper into the 21st century. But the problem is that they are now in government, and they'll have to come up with their own ideas. It will be things like the IR bill that we'll see more of, which is where the trouble will begin. The motion calls for us to acknowledge the government are delivering on their election commitments. In response to that all I would say is: where is their honouring of the election commitment for a $275 reduction to household energy bills? My constituents are waiting for that. My message to the government members is that, if they think it is a solid record of achievement over six months, good luck to them. They have a long way to go.

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