Tom French (Moore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australia doesn't replay its history in a loop, but we do see a pattern every time the political pendulum swings. When Labor are in government we build the institutions that give ordinary people security and opportunity, and, when the Liberals return, their instinct is to wind those gains back. Understanding that pattern tells us exactly what's at stake here today and exactly why this moment matters.

The real wealth of this country is not the markets or the forecasts. It is our land, our resources and our people. For most of our history, working people have had little control over that wealth. The rights we now enjoy were won by shearers, miners, maritime workers, suffragettes and migrants, people who organised because no-one else would fight for them. After the Second World War, Australians learnt something important: if we can mobilise the entire economy to win a war, we could mobilise to build a fair peace. From that came full employment, public housing, Medicare's early foundations, TAFE, universities and compulsory superannuation. These were deliberate choices that recognised what Australians want: a secure job, a decent home, health care when they need it, education that opens doors and dignity in retirement.

From the 1980s onwards a different ideology took hold. It weakened unions, privatised essential services and insisted that markets alone should rule. Its sharpest impact has been on housing. Government once built homes, and now homes are treated as speculative assets. Tax concessions reward investors. Young Australians take on life-shaping debt just to get a foothold, and, the more debt people carry, the less power they have at work. That is not an accident; it is the consequence of political choices that have treated shelter as a commodity rather than a right. When conservatives promise efficiency, discipline or reform, we must ask: better for whom? Margaret Atwood wrote:

Better never means better for everyone … It always means worse, for some.

Privatisation means higher prices. Deregulation means weaker rights, and budget repair often means cuts borne by the people who can afford them least. This is where our obligation lies.

As a Labor member I know I am part of a movement that is far bigger than myself. Everything we stand on was built by the people who came before us and who fought for rights they were never guaranteed and for institutions the conservatives have tried to dismantle ever since. Our responsibility is simple: to carry the torch forward so those who come after us inherit something stronger than what we found.

We are the custodians of a tradition defined by one idea—progress is only real when it lifts people up, not when it leaves them behind. That is why the work of the Albanese Labor government matters so deeply right now, because it speaks directly to the real, practical things Australians need in their lives. We lifted wages after a decade of wage stagnation. We made wage theft a crime. We strengthened bargaining so workers can negotiate collectively again. We're rebuilding the TAFE system and delivering fee-free TAFE places so people can get skilled without taking on crippling debt. We created the Housing Australia Future Fund, the first serious federal investment in new social and affordable homes in a generation. We expanded rent assistance. We're partnering with the states to build more homes faster, and we're shifting the national conversation away from speculation and back to housing as a basic human need.

We made medicines cheaper by cutting the PBS co-payment. We tripled the bulk-billing incentive so children, pensioners and concession card holders can see a GP without breaking the bank. We're strengthening Medicare because affordable health care should not depend on where you live or what you earn. There are energy rebates, cheaper child care and targeted tax cuts for middle- and low-income Australians—not handouts but responsible, targeted relief that actually helps households rather than inflating executives' bonuses. We put 24/7 nurses back into aged-care homes. We lifted aged-care wages. We're rebuilding a system that treats older Australians with dignity, not austerity. We're rebuilding Australian manufacturing, investing in clean energy and new industries, and backing communities in the transition, because a strong future must be made in Australia, not outsourced. This is what Australians want—practical improvements that make life easier, fairer and more secure. And that is exactly what the Albanese Labor government is delivering.

The struggle for fairness in Australia isn't a circle; it's a relay. Those before us build the foundations, we strengthen them and those after us will stand taller because of what we do now. Our duty, Labor's duty, is to run our leg with clarity and courage, and leave behind an Australia that is fairer, stronger and more secure than the one we found.

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