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

Australians do know that the cost of living has been tough. Families feel it when they pay the bills, when they buy groceries or when they line up at the pharmacy counter. But Australians also understand something else. They understand that living standards are not shaped by slogans in this chamber; they are shaped by the economic choices governments make. The reality is this: many of the pressures Australians face today were years in the making.

For a decade, those opposite were in government. For a decade, real wages went backwards. For a decade, housing supply stagnated. For a decade, bulk-billing declined. For a decade, they watched pressure building across household budgets, while racking up almost $1 trillion of debt and leaving Australians with falling real wages and living standards. Australians remember that decade, and they remember who was in charge.

The Albanese Labor government is taking a very different approach. We recognise the pressure Australians are under, and we are acting to relieve it. We are delivering cost-of-living relief, we are strengthening the economy at the same time and the results are clear. Strong economic management means we can provide cost-of-living relief without adding to inflation.

Nothing hits the household budget faster than the cost of staying healthy. No Australian should stand at a pharmacy counter wondering whether they can afford to pay for the medicine they need. That is why—

See this speech in context