Madonna Jarrett (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the appropriations bills for 2025-26. Just under a year ago, the Albanese government took to the voters of Australia an ambitious plan to ease cost-of-living pressures and to rebuild the economy. That plan was built around three main pillars: that the economy worked for people, not the other way around, that no-one was held back and no-one left behind and that workers would earn more and keep more of what they earn. We hear these words daily in this House. This plan was backed up by an ambitious agenda around a fairer industrial landscape, housing, health care, renewable energy, climate, education and the environment, all designed to simultaneously address the biggest challenge confronting our communities: cost of living. So these bills put money behind this plan, enabling the Albanese Labor government to deliver for Brisbane and every other electorate across this country.

Let's start with cost-of-living relief. Under Labor, 14 million Australian taxpayers will get a new tax cut this year and next. Last year, Australians received $150 in energy bill relief, and in Queensland the former state Labor government delivered consecutive energy bill rebates, which meant many residents in Brisbane didn't pay an energy bill, some for over a year, until recently. Labor has cut 20 per cent off student debt. This is going to help Patrick, Angus, Jack, Nathan, Emily and Josie in my electorate, who, amongst others, will see their student debt cut, some up to $10,000. This will help almost 34,000 students and graduates with student debt living in Brisbane. Young people voted for this, and we are delivering this much-needed cost-of-living relief. Labor is making free TAFE permanent and is providing paid prac for nurses, midwives, social workers and teachers. This not only helps with cost of living but provides an incentive for workers to join these professions.

We will continue to deliver affordable child care closer to home. There'll be more childcare centres and three days of early childhood education guaranteed, which started this year. This will save many families on average almost $1,500 a year. This sort of change and this sort of package makes it easier for mums, dads and carers when they're having those dinner table conversations and wondering whether or not both parents should be working or not. It makes it easier for them to decide yes. History shows that when the answer is, 'We can't afford it,' it's usually the woman who stays at home, and we know the negative impact this has long term. It makes women poorer in retirement, not to mention their lost contribution to our communities and our economy.

As Minister Rishworth has said, Labor backed wage increases for low-paid workers in each of the last three annual wage reviews. This has helped workers in aged care, health care and early childhood education. They got bigger paycheques, and these went to especially women, who make up the majority of workers in the care sector. Late last year, I had the privilege of meeting some early childhood education workers in my electorate with Minister Walsh. Not only did we see the wonderful care our educators deliver, but we got to hear firsthand how getting more money in the pocket makes a difference to many families. For those workers, it helps them get their food on the table and pay their bills, but, very importantly, something that's not often talked about is the fact that carers felt more valued and appreciated. We can't underestimate the impact this can have on the confidence, performance and commitment to workplaces and the children that go to these centres.

For too long, the work of these people has been undervalued, and women have been financially disadvantaged, including into retirement, with less super than their male counterparts. Just to give you a sense of the scale of the increases, for aged-care nurses alone, Labor is delivering $2.6 billion to increase their award wages from 1 March 2025. $3.6 billion will support a historic wage increase for early childhood educators and care workers. The wage increases, combined with tax cuts, mean workers across Brisbane, especially the lower paid, especially women and especially young people, will earn more and keep more of what they earn.

As has been said in this chamber before, Labor created Medicare, and Labor will always protect it. Access to affordable, quality health care is something I wanted to see improve and campaigned hard on. Coming from a family of eight siblings, my family relied on Medicare when I was growing up. During the campaign, too many people in my community found it too difficult to see a doctor when they needed it. That's why I'm proud to be part of a Labor government that is strengthening Medicare by delivering $7.9 billion for more bulk-billing so Australians can see a GP for free. We have made medicines even cheaper, and all you'll pay for PBS script, as many people in this House have heard before, is $25 or $7.70 if you're on a concession.

We're expanding our growing network of Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, making it easier for Australians to get the urgent medical care they need. The Albanese government has already opened 87 of these centres across Australia, with 50 more in the works. This includes one in the inner north of Brisbane, which I really campaigned hard for. I can say that, just a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of opening the new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Kelvin Grove. It's in the heart of the Brisbane electorate. I really would like to thank the team at the clinic and the Brisbane North PHN, who worked hard to make it a reality.

Nine-out-of-10 GP visits are expected to be bulk-billed by 2030, with a goal of around 4,800 fully bulk-billing practices across the country by 2030. We're already seeing more of this in Brisbane, and we need to see more. The Albanese Labor government is also increasing support for our quality public hospital system with an additional $1.8 billion in funding. On top of this, we're supporting hundreds more government funded GP training places, with 2,000 places per year by 2028 and 400 more postgraduate scholarships for nurses and midwives to extend their skills.

For too long, women's health has been overlooked, underfunded and misunderstood. Now, under this Labor government, women's health has been put front and centre. We've invested $800 million to deliver more choice, lower cost and better health care for women. We've heard some of these examples before, but they are absolutely worth repeating. The first new oral contraceptive pills were listed on the PBS in over 30 years, Yaz and Yasmin. We had the first PBS listing for new menopausal hormonal therapies in over 20 years. Women with specific low levels of reproductive hormones will have earlier access to the combination therapies through PBS, and there will be more endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics treating more conditions, including menopause.

Let's move on to housing. Housing is a human right and an important foundation in anyone's life. As a child with foster siblings, I saw firsthand how a safe home can be life changing. The challenges we have in housing are complex, and they are the result of decades of inadequate attention under the former LNP government. This Labor government has made the single biggest investment in housing since World War II. Our $43 billion plan sees investment across homelessness, social housing, homeownership, support for low- and middle-income earners and additional rent assistance. Labor is working to deliver over 55,000 social and affordable homes and support for more than 100,000 homebuyers to own their own home.

In Brisbane alone, we see we are seeing progress, and we'd like to see more. There are approximately 2,100 Brisbane residents using the five per cent deposit scheme. There are over 9,000 recipients of the Commonwealth Rent Assistance program, 80 social and affordable homes in Lutwyche and Windsor under the Housing Australia financing programs, 12 dwellings for women experiencing family and domestic violence—we need a big uplift there—and almost 2,900 dwellings as part of the build-to-rent program. More than 485 construction trade apprentices have benefited from our $5,000 incentive payments, but we do need to do more.

Across the country, Labor is delivering more homes. This includes unlocking more homes through the $4.5 billion for states, territories and local governments to address local infrastructure backlogs and meet housing targets; providing $120 million from the National Productivity Fund for states and territories to remove barriers to modular and prefabricated construction; $50 million to scale up Australia's capacity in modern construction methods to build more homes more quickly; and up to $10,000 for eligible apprentices in housing-construction occupations. We've also banned foreign buyers from purchasing existing dwellings for two years from 1 April 2025. In addition, the government is delivering a 45 per cent increase in the maximum rates of Commonwealth rent assistance, along with stronger renters' rights through a better deal for renters.

Moving on to education, having access to affordable education is an important foundation in anyone's life. It provides an opportunity to live the life we want. Education has the power to change lives. My mum's childhood meant she missed out on a full education and unfortunately didn't reach her dream of becoming a teacher. No-one deserves this. That's why I'm proud to be part of a government who is delivering a better and fairer education system for all. This includes $3.6 billion to fund wage increases for those in early childhood education; almost $450 million for the three-day guarantee; $1 billion to establish the early childhood education fund, to increase supply of early childhood educators; putting public schools on the path to full funding; making free TAFE permanent; cutting student debt by 20 per cent for three million Australians and making their loan repayments fairer; and an additional $2.5 billion to reform our universities, including to support more students from underrepresented backgrounds.

While there is a big program to improve living standards and the lives of people across Australia, we recognise there also has to be responsible financial management. These bills, through important amendments, can help pay for more government services by making $800 million in savings in the first year. In doing so, this Labor government is delivering on its commitment to rebuild and strengthen our Public Service. Agencies are already achieving savings through reduced spending on contractors, consultants and labour hire and in other areas. Already the Labor government, in its first term, has found $5.3 billion in savings while not affecting the quality of services or reducing the number of staff employed.

Labor will continue to do the work we need to do to rebuild the Public Service after inheriting one that was hollowed out after a decade of the LNP outsourcing, uninvesting in and undervaluing the work that public servants do and the services they deliver. Let's not forget it was those opposite whose plan at the last election was to cut 41,000 Public Service jobs and the services Australians rely on. I have to put on record that I value the work of the tens of thousands of public-sector workers who live in my electorate in Brisbane. We thank you for your service to the people of Brisbane.

These bills will deliver on the government's economic plan, which is focused on rolling out responsible cost-of-living relief and building a stronger economy. On this side of the House, we stand for lower taxes, we stand for workers earning more and keeping more of what they earn, and we believe that no-one should be held back and no-one should be left behind. I commend the bills to the House.

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