Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

What I will do is outline the solutions this government has put in place. What we heard from the member for Petrie was five minutes of absolute drivel and not one solution. They do that in question time, they do that in parliament and they do that in this chamber—not one solution. I'm not surprised, because it's no different to when they were in government. They had no solution for the cost-of-living crisis and no solution for rising inflation. They just went on their merry way and left us with a trillion dollars of debt and a cooked economy. That is in stark contrast to what the Albanese government not only took to the election but also has delivered in our short 10 months in office, because we have a strong plan to address rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis in Australia, which the former government left neglected and unaddressed for a decade.

After a wasted decade of Liberal rule, the new government has inherited an economy with the cost of living going through the roof. Under the previous government we saw wages sit still for eight years—one of the most prolonged periods of wage stagnation in Australian history. Under their watch the cost of living skyrocketed and they had no plans to address it. Under their watch the national debt doubled, and Australians across the country found it increasingly difficult to make ends meet with each passing year. All this from the so-called party of economic management.

They spent a decade sitting on their hands on our economic future, with wasted opportunities and their warped priorities. They left our country with falling real wages, cost-of-living pressures and a trillion dollars worth of Liberal debt. Well, thank goodness we now have a government with a plan to tackle the cost of living and a government that is disciplined enough to deliver budget repair, which will put downward pressure on inflation.

We understand that the rising cost of living is hitting Australians hard. We're not going to sit idly by while Australians suffer to make ends meet. This is why Bennelong elected me and why Australia elected a new government—to deal with the last decade of neglect. We have a plan to relieve cost-of-living pressures, repair supply constraints and deliver responsible budgets to put downward pressure on inflation. The government knew from the very start that we needed to take immediate action to fix the economic bin fire that the Liberal-Nationals left in their wake, and that's why the very first act of this government was to support a minimum wage increase, which was sensationally opposed by those opposite. Some 2.7 million Australians are better off because this government backed a wage rise for our lowest-paid workers.

In our first budget we reinforced our commitment to ensuring we continue with a responsible and effective cost-of-living relief plan that didn't put extra pressure on inflation. We have legislated cheaper child care. We've expanded paid parental leave. We've brought down the price of medicine. We've got wages moving again. We have a plan to deliver more affordable housing. We brought in the pensioner work bonus so that older Australians can keep more of what they earn without taking a hit to their pension. And we brought the parliament back to legislate a cap on power prices—another cost-of-living measure that those opposite opposed.

We have done all this whilst being responsible economic managers. While the Liberals would consistently blow budget revenue upgrades, this government did not. In the October budget we returned 99 per cent of revenue upgrades to the budget, compared to the previous government's average of just 40 per cent. This is responsible and doesn't add further pressure on inflation in our economy.

We've introduced legislation to drive investment in cheaper and cleaner energy, putting downward pressure on power prices. Again, this was opposed by those opposite. Under the Albanese Labor government there will be more university and fee-free TAFE places, ensuring that we get more people trained in the jobs they need to be in. All outcomes of the Jobs and Skills Summit were opposed by those opposite. We've introduced the National Reconstruction Fund, investing in Australian manufacturing industry. Again, this is opposed by those opposite. In May the Treasurer will deliver a budget that includes direct energy relief, which those opposite voted against.

With all this hard work there are encouraging signs that inflation has peaked and will start to moderate throughout the year. Australians know that this government didn't create the economic challenges we face now. The former government had 10 years and they wasted each and every year and left us with a trillion dollars worth of Liberal debt. The Australian people trust us to fix these issues and take responsibility for addressing them, and we are.

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