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

I thank the member for her question. As the Treasurer has just outlined, since we have come to office inflation is half what we inherited. Interest rates have gone down three times this year. They started to rise under those opposite. We went to an election promising much lower spending than those opposite, which is why they had two higher deficits going forward. At the same time, of course, what matters to a household income is money coming in as well as money going out. What we've done is increase real wages. Quarter after quarter after quarter after quarter, we have increased real wages, opposed by those opposite. They opposed all of our industrial relations measures. They opposed commonsense measures, such as same job, same pay. I've met people in those electorates, such as workers in the aviation sector, who are literally earning five figures more than they would have, as a direct result of our same job, same pay legislation.

We've created 1.1 million jobs. Three on five of them have been full time. Under this government, the gap between women's wages and male wages is the lowest it has ever been. We have record women's workforce participation as well. We've produced tax cuts for every single taxpayer, and there are two more rounds to come. We want people to earn more and to keep more of what they earn. That's something that we've said repeatedly, which I've noticed has been repeated without the substance by some of those opposite as well.

We'll continue to roll out cost-of-living support. I'd ask the member for Lindsay to think about supporting some of it some time—supporting energy bill relief, supporting cheaper child care, supporting cheaper medicines or the 60-day dispensing, supporting the measures that have come in today, which will allow for increased GP appointments, supporting the batteries that are being rolled out in the member for Lindsay's electorate and supporting free TAFE. Do you remember free TAFE, something that those opposite said, from the top down, people don't value if they don't pay for it? Let me tell you that 685,000 Australians have benefited from free TAFE. Those opposite opposed it.

They opposed, as well, student debt relief for more than three million Australians. This government will continue to stand up for a strong economy and continue to stand up on issues like cost-of-living relief. Those opposite will continue to just oppose everything, whether it's opposing what we're doing or opposing what each other are doing. (Time expired)

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