Jodie Belyea (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Deputy Speaker, congratulations on your reappointment. I am pleased for the opportunity to speak on this matter of public importance put forward by those opposite, but I will have to disagree with the statement. It is ludicrous. This government has very successfully navigated the nation's challenges and priorities after nine years of inertia. As resoundingly endorsed at the most recent election, the Albanese Labor government has been a government of action and delivery. As a relatively new MP, I am proud of the delivery made by the Albanese Labor government in the 47th Parliament: free TAFE, parental leave, Medicare urgent care clinics, NDIS and aged-care reform, and a reduction in the gender pay gap. It goes without saying that the dominant issue of the last parliament was the cost of living, and, indeed, it is to this very day. This government has worked to help Australians with the financial pressures they are facing whilst also lowering inflation, keeping unemployment low and getting wages moving after a decade of stagnation.

Importantly, we are ensuring Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn with this government's tax cuts. Headline inflation in May was 2.1 per cent, its lowest level since March 2021. Real wages have grown for 18 months in a row. Just this month, the national minimum wage increased by 3.5 per cent, benefiting 2.9 million Australian workers. In our second term, we will continue to help Australians with the cost of living, finish the fight against inflation, strengthen Medicare, and build productivity and a stronger economy. I'm proud of our long list of achievements from the last term, and I'm excited by the agenda we have set out to deliver. Along with many of my colleagues, strengthening Medicare is a priority that I strongly campaigned on during the recent election. The Albanese Labor government is getting on with the job of strengthening Medicare. We opened the Medicare urgent care clinics around the nation, including one in the community of Frankston, with 50 more to come, along with Medicare mental health hubs.

We delivered cheaper medicines with the introduction of 60-day prescriptions and froze the cost of PBS medicines for pensioners and concession cardholders at $7.70 until 2030. We've also included, with great pleasure, reproductive health medications for women experiencing menopause. In this term, we will make the single largest investment in Medicare since its creation over 40 years ago, with $8.5 billion to deliver an additional 18 million bulk-billed GP visits each year, hundreds of nursing scholarships and thousands more doctors in the largest GP training program, not to mention prac placement support for midwives, social workers and nurses. Australian patients and families will save hundreds of dollars a year in out-of-pocket costs, and by 2030, nine out of 10 visits to the GP will be free.

A big challenge this nation and my community face is housing affordability. We need to help people into homes. The underlying solution to Australia's housing shortages is to build more market homes and a larger buffer of social and affordable homes for the most vulnerable Australians. That's why this government has taken strong action to get on with the task of building more homes with the $43 billion investment in the Homes for Australia Plan. This will deliver more social and affordable housing for those that need it most. We're delivering 55,000 social and affordable rental homes for Australians, with 28,000 homes in the planning and construction phase. Through the Housing Australia Future Fund—the HAFF—and other programs, we're delivering housing for vulnerable women, children, key workers and veterans while helping to reduce the social housing waiting list. There is definitely more to do, but Labor is building Australia's future with more homes for more Australians.

I would like to end this by saying the Albanese Labor government has prioritised people, ensuring people earn more and keep more of what they earn— (Time expired)

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