Andrew Leigh (Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Hansard source

Today we introduced into the House key environmental protection and biodiversity conservation reforms, five years to the day after the Samuel report was delivered to the then environment minister, the now opposition leader. We are doing so because we want business to have the certainty of quicker approvals and because we want to see the environment properly protected. Tomorrow, key bulk-billing incentives will take effect. Everyone who is bulk-billed will now see the bulk-billing incentive applied, and there will be additional practice incentives. In my own electorate of Fenner, we've already seen three practices approach the health department about becoming fully bulk-billing practices. We are working to address climate change, not only committed to net zero but committed to our target of 43 per cent emissions reduction by 2030 and a 62-to-70 per cent emissions reduction by 2035. This is good for the climate, but it's also good for jobs and prosperity. The nuclear madness that the coalition took to the last election wouldn't just have cost some $600 billion; it would also have seen Australia grow more slowly and emit more pollution.

Our productivity agenda sees us committing to get rid of non-compete clauses that are shackling millions of Australian workers from moving to a better job. Getting rid of non-compete clauses will be great for productivity, great for wage growth and great for innovation. We're dealing with supermarket price gouging by saying that supermarkets that charge excessive prices will be subject to multimillion dollar fines. We're getting national competition policy going again—policy that, in the 1990s, helped deliver a huge productivity surge, which was behind the best productivity decade in the post-war era. Our $900 million National Productivity Fund works with states and territories on things like planning and zoning reform in business, reforms that are going to see our national productivity increase.

We're cracking down on unfair trading practices to ensure Australians aren't paying inflated prices due to poor and dodgy business conduct. We're reviewing the right-to-repair scheme, which took effect under Labor. It provides more choice and lowers repair costs for Australian motorists. We are consulting on options to strengthen the Unit Pricing Code as a crackdown on shrinkflation, and we're making it easier for supermarkets to enter the market, to see more productivity in Australia. We are overseeing an economy whose unemployment rate is lower than many of our trading partners. Many other economies are seeing challenges with inflation, which is rising everywhere except the UK, where it is significantly higher than it is here. More than a million jobs have been created since we came to office—stronger jobs growth than any major advanced economy.

The coalition are a goat rodeo in suits. It's vaudeville without the talent, slapstick without the charm. But we are getting on with the job. We are delivering for the Australian people. We are focused on tackling the cost of living, boosting productivity and working collaboratively with the states and territories in order to deliver policies which are good for households, good for the environment and good for the prosperity of future generations.

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