Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Every morning the Liberal and National parties must get together and ask one another whether they've thought of any new policies yet, and when the other says no, they agree to just keep on talking about the cost of living as if no-one in the community realises it was their poor stewardship of the economy that helped lead us into the situation we're in now. The cost of living isn't just a convenient place for the coalition to hide from real policy development. Let me start by first acknowledging just how tough it is for many people in this current climate. I'm regularly contacted by constituents in my electorate of Hasluck letting me know about the tough decisions they are having to make as they feel the pinch of the cost-of-living pressures.

Labor understands and it is core to our values that we address inequality in our systems and address the needs of our nation's most vulnerable. It is the Labor government that will work and has been working since last May to make life better for every Australian, which is why the philosophy of obstruction at all costs from those on the other side is an affront. Honestly, it's galling. Having the coalition bleat endlessly about the government's response to cost-of-living pressures baffles the mind. It is like the 'who killed Hannibal' meme: the coalition drive a B-double truck right through the guts of the economy, jump out of the driver's seat and say, 'Why would Labor do this?' Once again, while those opposite continue to try and score cheap and nasty political points, the adults in this room have been busy getting on with the job of implementing policies to ease the cost of living.

For relief in the short term the Albanese Labor government has introduced cheaper medicines. From 1 January this year prescriptions on the PBS have been capped at $30, the first reduction in prescription costs in the scheme's history. Already in my electorate of Hasluck, people have saved $278,264.49 in the very first 74 days of this policy being in place. It's extraordinary. From 1 July this year Labor's cheaper child care will assist with the cost of living for 1.2 million Australian families. That's more than 5½ thousand families in the seat of Hasluck alone. We're also supporting people to study, to get the qualifications they need to join a jobs market very keen to have new workers: 180,000 fee-free TAFE places are now available. I have been to my local North Metro TAFE campus in Midland alongside the Minister for Skills and Training, and we've seen together those fee-free TAFE places filled. Students studying early childhood education, for example, a massively important career, told us they were able to start studying for a meaningful career because there was no charge.

And look at wages. What was the very first thing this government did under the Prime Minister Albanese's leadership? We backed up our word from the hustings and wrote a letter to the Fair Work Commission supporting the case for an increase to the minimum wage and a range of modern awards. 'Absolutely' is what the soon-to-be Prime Minister said when asked if he would back a pay rise for the nation's lowest paid workers. The commission took on board the government's submission and provided some relief via increased wages. Albeit modest, this was still a significant rise relative to the wage stagnation of the previous decade.

If we need further examples of the practical help that this government is providing to ease the cost of living, we can look no further than housing. Some relief is immediate and some relief requires the vision of a government with principles and a team of high-quality ministers. Our housing policies are specifically designed to make housing more affordable, both through financial assistance and government guarantees and through the addition of more housing stock. We will facilitate the construction of thousands of new homes each year, putting downward pressure on mortgages and rents in the process.

If I'm getting correspondence from my constituents who are finding cost-of-living pressures challenging, then I know that those opposite are also getting the same types of letters, emails and phone calls. So how do members from a party that doggedly chooses to vote against cost-of-living measures introduced into this parliament look their constituents in the eye and tell them that they have their best interests at heart? Until those opposite are willing to be constructive in the project of easing the burdens of cost-of-living pressures, they could do worse than ceasing the endless stone throwing from within their glass houses.

These types of practical policy responses that we're introducing are designed and implemented by a government alert to the challenges that we are all facing. It is exactly the type of behaviour voters expect, the type of behaviour voters hoped for with a responsible government in charge.

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