Sarah Witty (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

'Betrayal'—it is a dramatic word. It is meant to suggest abandonment. It's meant to suggest indifference. But I represent Melbourne. I know what indifference looks like! I saw it before I entered this parliament. As a CEO of a not-for-profit, I worked with families across Melbourne who had never asked for help before—parents in Carlton, South Yarra and Abbotsford, workers and professionals. They were people who had always paid their bills. When the power bill rose, the rent rose and the grocery bills crept higher, the numbers stopped adding up. What I learned on the front line is simple: governments' choices matter. When government steps up, families steady. When governments drift, families fail.

Energy prices have been volatile; that is true. But they did not rise in isolation. The Albanese Labor government inherited a system where 24 of 28 coal-fired power stations had announced closures without a proper replacement plan. There was a decade of stalled transmission projects, a decade of policy chaos and denial. That is the context. The Albanese Labor government acted strongly, with three rounds of energy bill relief, caps on runaway coal and gas prices, and record investment in cheaper renewable energy and storage. Wholesale electricity prices fell by around a third last quarter. That matters in Melbourne, where renters and families feel every change.

We are reforming the energy rules so that the market works better for customers, not just retailers; tightening the default market offer; cracking down on unfair fees; and ensuring hardship customers are placed on the best available plan. We are delivering more than 150,000 cheaper home batteries nationwide, helping households store cheap solar power and permanently lowering bills. This is not a short-term fix. This is a structural reform that reshapes the system.

The Albanese Labor government has never claimed energy reform alone would solve cost-of-living pressures. That is why this government's response has been broader and relentless. Tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer are already flowing, with two further rounds legislated. By 2027-28, the average annual cut will be around $2,548. We cut student debt by 20 per cent, the largest reduction in Australian history. In my electorate alone, more than 36,000 people carry student debt. That cut means thousands of dollars wiped away from each and every one of them.

The Labor government reduced the PBS co-payment to $25. In Melbourne, residents have saved more than $18.8 million on cheaper medicines. We have strengthened Medicare; opened urgent care clinics, including in Carlton; backed increases to minimum and award wages; delivered back-to-back increases in Commonwealth rent assistance; provided cheaper child care; extended TAFE; and supported apprenticeships in housing and construction. This is not a government standing back; this is the Albanese Labor government getting on with the work, rebuilding and delivering.

Let us be honest about the alternative. Under the former coalition government, real wages went backwards, bulk-billing fell, housing supply stalled and energy policy was paralysed. They had 10 years to prepare the grid, 10 years to strengthen housing supply and 10 years to protect Medicare. They did not. That speaks of betrayal. In Melbourne, betrayal would be doing nothing. Betrayal would be telling renters in Fitzroy that the market will sort it out. Betrayal would be telling young people in Collingwood to accept lifelong debt. The Albanese Labor government rejects that approach. We are cutting student debt while investing in productivity. We are making medicines cheaper while protecting Medicare. We are backing housing supply so Melbourne does not become a city only the wealthy can afford.

I represent a city that organises, mobilises and demands fairness. Melbourne does not want slogans; Melbourne wants delivery, and that is what the Albanese Labor government is providing—practical relief, long-term reform and relentless action for working people. That is not betrayal; that is a government standing shoulder to shoulder with the people of Melbourne. That is a government that stands, fights and delivers for working Australians, and that is a government I am proud to be part of.

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