David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Speaker—firstly, congratulations on your re-election as Speaker of this House. You not only did a magnificent job in this place during the 47th Parliament but also did a fine job bringing parliament to the people. Indeed, the students at Sacred Heart in my electorate still talk about your visit.

I am humbled that the people of Bean have put their faith in me again to be their representative in this House and that the people of Bean voted to support Labor and the agenda we took to the people at the recent election. The people of Bean rejected an anti-Canberra agenda, a plan which would have seen our public service workforce and the critical services they deliver devastated, with our businesses pushed to the edge. In rejecting the anti-Canberra agenda, the people of Bean also rejected the attacks on Medicare and workers' rights and endorsed our plan to tackle cost-of-living pressures.

We are focused on delivering our election commitments to build Australia future, ease cost-of-living pressure and help Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn, and that work has already begun in this place. The Universities Accord (Cutting Student Debt by 20 Per Cent) Bill 2025 was introduced on Wednesday. What this means is that every Australian with a HECS or other form of student debt such as a TAFE or VET loan will enjoy over the next six months a 20 per cent reduction in that debt. This will amount to an average saving of $5,500 for the more than three million Australians with a HECS or other student debt. In Bean, that means relief for 15,645 student debts. This bill will give so many of my constituents substantial relief, particularly those early in their work lives in careers critical to the future our nation.

This morning, the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025 was introduced. This bill will directly protect an important plank of the living standards of many Australians: penalty rates. We have seen far too much politics going to deliberations and discussions on the wages and conditions of working people. For too long, the living standards of Australian workers were batted around like a political plaything by those opposite when they were in government. In government, they deliberately had a policy that suppressed minimum pay rates and stalled genuine enterprise bargaining. We began to restore balance to workplace relations in our last term, and now, with this bill, penalty rates will be protected.

Our government will also be tackling the important issue of payday superannuation as a matter of priority in this term of parliament, with implementation commencing on 1 July 2026 subject to that legislation going through the House. Labor has always been the party of fairness and the party of superannuation, and payday superannuation will be better for both employers and workers, making super payments easier to track and compounding those payments, leaving a larger nest egg for retirement for Australia's workers. This legislation will also help with unpaid superannuation—a scourge for too long. Analysis and reporting suggest that in my seat of Bean just over 13,000 workers were missing out on $27 million in super entitlements in the 2022-23 financial year alone. This is unacceptable. Bringing in payday legislation will be good for workers in Bean and around the country. I will always stand up for workers in Bean getting their fair share. Let's get this part of the puzzle done as well.

In the 48th Parliament, we have a historic Labor majority and a historic number of women on the government benches, and we have a historic opportunity to make our nation stronger and fairer. That work has already begun, this week. We've heard the first speeches of many members of this parliament who will make a significant contribution to those ongoing efforts, and I also look forward to being part of these efforts in the 48th Parliament.

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