Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bonner for her question, and I congratulate her on her first speech and on the fantastic campaign that she ran. I was a regular visitor to the electorate of Bonner, including medical centres, announcing an urgent care clinic there so that more people can see the doctor for free.

We went to the election saying that we would build Australia's future. One of the things that you need to do that, a precondition, is building a stronger economy. Today's inflation number is certainly good news for that. Today's inflation number says that annual inflation is down to 2.1 per cent, 12 full months in the RBA band. Here's a comparison for you. When we came to office, the quarterly inflation rate for the March 2022 quarter was the same number. Under the former government, it was 2.1 per cent in a quarter. Under this government, it's 2.1 per cent in a year. That's making an enormous difference. The combination of lower inflation, higher wages and lower taxes, quarter after quarter, means that people are earning more and keeping more of what they earn, making an enormous difference.

Building Australia's future also means looking after the next generation, supporting parents to combat the harms of social media so every child can have a childhood. That's a commitment that I made again today. I've been meeting courageous parents who've lost their children and reiterating that social media has a social responsibility. We want young Australians out onto the netball courts, tennis courts, swimming pools and football ovals. We want them off their devices and engaging with each other and growing as young people. This change, which I thought had bipartisan support, is absolutely critical going forward.

Building Australia's future also means strengthening Medicare. It means building a better and fairer education system. The legislation to cut student debt by 20 per cent, make free TAFE permanent nationwide and fully fund every single school will make a difference there. We delivered on 1 July a range of cost-of-living measures. We will continue to focus every day on making a positive difference to people's lives, because that is what good government looks like.

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