Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This is a coalition that has spent years cutting from the budget. This is a coalition that has in its DNA, to its core, the want to cut, the need to cut and the track record of cutting from the support that Labor governments have provided to the Australian people.

The member for Fairfax said we need to go line item by line item through the budget. The real question, when they go line by line through the budget, is: what is on the chopping block? I understand the coalition are busy right now trying to cut down their first female leader, but we're going to have to take a guess at what they might cut. Are the coalition going to cut from health care? We've seen that movie before. We've seen them try to introduce a co-payment so that everyday Australians would lose bulk-billing and would have to stump up out of their own pockets just to go to the doctor. We've seen them cut from health care billions and billions and billions of dollars that go to make sure that our Australians are better and have the ability to get better. We've seen them when it comes to housing. Do they want to cut five per cent deposits, which allow young people and people with families to get into their first home? Do they want to cut from education? We've seen that movie before too. One of the reasons that I became involved in Labor in the first place was that John Howard was cutting tertiary education. Do they want to cut support for the manufacturing industry? Again, we've seen this before too. They sent the vehicle-building industry overseas. They sent those jobs offshore. Is that what they're going to cut this time? Do they want to remove the tax cut that this Albanese Labor government has provided to every taxpaying Australian? Is that what they want to do next?

The reality is that we don't know. What we know is that they want to change the approach that we are taking, an approach that is focused on addressing the cost-of-living concerns of every Australian. So, if they want to change that approach, it's only going to be with more cuts, and Australians had better watch out because, when they get that axe and swing it down, it will mean cuts to education, cuts to health and cuts to the other things that Australians need the most.

Let's think about the economic landscape. The economic landscape is clear. Unemployment is low. It's 4.1 per cent. Inflation has gone from having a six in front of it under the coalition down to having a three in front of it. Wages are up. We know that, when it comes to taxation, this is a coalition that wants to tax Australians more. Not only is it a coalition that wants to tax Australians more but we should be reminded that the coalition, indeed, formed the government which has been the highest-taxing in this country, the Howard government. We should remember that this is a coalition that formed the highest-spending government in this country, the Morrison government.

When I am out doorknocking in Moreton, chatting to people over the fence or talking to people at a barbie, one thing is clear. They talk about three core things over and over again: they talk about health services, making sure that they have accessible and affordable health care; they want to know what government is doing when it comes to housing, because people deserve to have homes and to be able to build their future; and they want to know what governments are doing about cost of living. The Albanese Labor government has its eye firmly fixed on all of those things. The risk to our progress on cost of living, on health care and on housing is a coalition opposition obsessed with cuts. So today I thought I'd highlight these three particular areas, areas that are critically important not only for the people on Brisbane's south side in Moreton but around the country.

At the end of last month, National Cabinet agreed on a way forward to meet the growing challenges across the health and aged-care systems. The federal government is investing an additional $25 billion in public hospitals like the QEII Jubilee Hospital in Moreton, and this means that Commonwealth funding for public hospitals will reach a record $219.6 billion between 2026-27 and 2030-31. It's triple the amount of additional funding under the previous five-year agreement. Is that what the member for Fairfax wants to cut?

That comes on top of the Albanese Labor government's rollout of 137 urgent care clinics across the country. As of October 2025, Australians had made more than two million free-of-charge visits to urgent care clinics. In my electorate, that means an urgent care clinic at the bottom of the PA and it means an urgent care clinic in Oxley, at the bottom of the Canossa Private Hospital. Having visited those two urgent care clinics recently, I can say that what is clear is that our community wants that service. Urgent care clinics—is that what the member for Fairfax and the coalition are going to cut? For me, like thousands of other parents around the country, it's an incredible relief to know that, if it's out of hours for our GP, we can take our little girl to an urgent care clinic. I know that families across the south side feel the same way.

This week we have celebrated the one-year anniversary of Labor's investment in women's health, a $792.9 million package which has led to more choice and more affordable health care for women. This investment recognised that women's equality depends on the strength of women's health, and this is why the Albanese Labor government has prioritised it. I had the great pleasure of going with the member for Cooper and talking to local people. I know how much work she has done in setting up this space, which is now under the member for Lyons and Minister Butler. We talked to locals in Fairfax about how important these changes are when it comes to contraception, when it comes to menopause, when it comes to ensuring that women have the support they need in health. The package included the first new listings of contraceptive pills on the PBS in more than 30 years, and more than 660 women have together filled more than two million cheaper scripts for these contraceptives. Is this what the member for Fairfax and the coalition are going to cut? Are they going to cut women's health?

I want to talk about bulk-billing, because no health update is complete without mentioning the largest single investment in Medicare ever. From 1 November 2025, general practices were able to bulk-bill all patients. This initiative is expected to support around 18 million additional bulk-billed visits each year. The numbers came in, the national bulk-billing stats: there are 3,400 bulk-billing clinics across the country, an 81 per cent increase in how many people are being bulk-billed. In my local area, 11 practices have moved from mixed billing to fully bulk-billing, and that is good news. It's good news because it means southsiders in Brisbane and people across this country can go into either an urgent care clinic or a fully bulk-billed practice and only present their Medicare card. Is this what the member for Fairfax and the coalition want to cut? Do they want to cut bulk-billing?

On five per cent deposits, late last year one of my staff members had a big milestone moment in his life: buying his first home. He and his partner were justly proud and excited when they received the keys. They had worked hard and saved hard, but, until the Albanese Labor government introduced the five per cent deposit scheme, buying their own home was out of reach. The Minister for Housing said:

The 5% deposit program is not just a housing policy, it's thousands of families:

Five per cent deposits—is this what the member for Fairfax and the coalition are going to cut? As at the end of January, 965 people had purchased a home in Moreton under the five per cent deposit scheme. What will the member for Fairfax do with them?

I want to talk about the Housing Australia Future Fund, one of Labor's initiatives. Round 3 is now open, and it's the largest yet. Labor will deliver more than 21,000 new social and affordable homes across the country, and this will bring the total number of new social and affordable homes to 40,000 by the end of the round. It means Labor is progressing to meet our commitment to deliver 55,000 of these homes by mid-2029. It's worth looking at the four HAFF pathways. These streams ensure that the program is supporting the people it's designed for. The partnerships at scale stream is focused on partnership with industry. The housing diversity stream is set up for the Australian Defence Force and veterans. The third stream, the state and territory stream, enables expanded co-investment opportunities to fast-track housing delivery. The First Nations stream benefits from $600 million in funding and additional concessional loans to support projects delivered by or in partnership with First Nations organisations.

We are streamlining the National Construction Code to speed up building. We are reforming environmental approvals and working with states and territories to reform planning systems through the National Planning Reform Blueprint. Is this what the member for Fairfax and the coalition are going to cut? The Albanese Labor government won't stop with our drive to build more homes, to support more Australians into homeownership and to ensure the fair treatment of renters.

Labor recognises that so many Australians are still doing it tough, and that's why continuing to deliver measured, responsible support to ease cost-of-living pressures is our No. 1 priority. There is no single solution to addressing cost-of-living pressures. Our strategy involves coordinated measures across multiple sectors. I've already outlined the initiatives in the health system—from increased bulk-billing opportunities to more affordable medicines and to expanded urgent care clinics. I have also detailed the housing reforms that are helping to make homeownership achievable for thousands. We cannot forget that Labor is also continuing to implement our tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer. From 1 July this year, all Australian taxpayers will receive two further rounds of personal income tax cuts. This follows on from the first round of tax cuts, which commenced on 1 July 2024. As well, when taxpayers go to do their tax returns, they'll be able to claim instantly from the new $1,000 instant tax deduction.

I could go on. We could talk about the three-day childcare guarantee. We could talk about the fact that, under this new guarantee, every child who needs it is eligible for three days of subsidised early learning each week, no matter what their parents do.

But I want to come back to what the member for Fairfax talked about just before. He talked extensively about the fact that he rejects the economic approach. If Labor's economic approach is—as it is—focused on cost of living, on people and on making sure that we're addressing the things that Australians need, then the only alternative option for the coalition is to cut. They need to stump up and tell us exactly what it will be.

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