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

I do agree that the role of the opposition, as the member for Wright very well put, is that they are there to hold us to account and hold a mirror to what we have committed, and to that end I think this is very much a welcome opportunity to speak not only to our record but to what the Australian voters voted for. I agreed too with the Leader of the Opposition when she spoke to being back to the future. She is right on that, and that, in this sense, is about the quality of this MPI. Just as we saw in the previous term of this government, for those three years the opposition provided such weak MPIs. It was a lost opportunity to really do their job in opposition. All I can put it down to is that they are in the first stages of election grief or being in denial, because this MPI topic so close to an election begs the question: does the newly minted Leader of the Opposition actually take the Australian people for fools? Does she take my electors of Hasluck for fools? Does she say that they were wrong when they voted in droves for the 94 people on this side of this House? It's offensive because the people of Australia simply couldn't vote for the LNP agenda. There was so little of that actually presented to the public that it was difficult even to name anything other than a radioactive policy.

The voters of Australia voted for a government on its record and how we address the challenges and the priorities that they put to us. That's how the government was judged and that's how we will be judged for these next three years. At the recent election, where the Albanese Labor government gained 17 seats in this House, the Australian people prioritised cost-of-living relief. While those opposite prioritised tax-deducted business liquid lunches, the Albanese government delivered tax cuts to all Australians. We provided energy bill relief to all households. We enshrined fee-free TAFE and secured childcare subsidies. We delivered real wage increases for Australian workers. We did all of this while managing the challenge of inflation. Unemployment remained low, and wages rose while the inflation rate fell, defying all expectations, and the Australian people recognised this effort. The Australian people prioritised cost-of-living measures; the Albanese government delivered cost-of-living relief. At the recent election, where for the first time an Opposition leader lost their seat, the people of Hasluck prioritised health outcomes for their families and communities, as did Australians across the nation.

Time will not allow me to list the hundreds of great decisions that have made life easier and made it cheaper for the people in my electorate and around the country to access affordable health care. To name a few: 87 urgent care clinics are already operating, including in Midland and Morley. Fifty more will be added, including one in Ellenbrook—which I strongly advocated for. With cheaper medicines and 60-day scripts, people in Hasluck have saved with every prescription, and with the addition of yet more medications on the PBS, particularly for women's health, savings will continue. We are addressing the scope of practice for a range of healthcare practitioners to take the pressure off GPs as well as the addition of 24/7 telehealth service for GP advice that will be bulk-billed. The Australian people prioritised affordable access to health care. The Albanese government delivered by expanding access and providing for cheaper medicines.

At the recent election, when the government received a better outcome than at any election since 1943, the people of Hasluck prioritised educational opportunities. We are meeting the schooling resource standard for every public school in Hasluck and across Australia. We provide fee-free TAFE, cheaper child care, paid prac for the needed professions and support for apprenticeships, and we are cutting student debt for every Australian who has one. The Australian people prioritised education and the Albanese government delivered greater access for all and reduced debt.

I have more to say on housing and on infrastructure but I know I'm going to start to lose time, so I just want to summarise by simply saying we understand and we are listening to the concerns and the challenges that continue to be raised by our electorates. We've heard those being spoken about, in fact, in first speeches—particularly around housing and the need for investment in infrastructure. This government has absolutely delivered on vital infrastructure, free from scandal and corruption, and will continue to prioritise investments both in infrastructure and housing to ensure that people can have access to affordable housing irrespective of where they live and which postcode they live in across this nation. The Labor Party will continue to deliver.

See this speech in context