Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We live in challenging times where governments throughout the world struggle to meet the demands of the people they serve. Globally, people feel less secure and less confident in the future than ever before in my own lifetime. It's understandable, because for the last quarter of a century we've gone globally from one crisis to another—beginning with the Twin Towers bombing in the USA in 2001, then the subsequent wars in the Middle East, then the global financial crisis of 2007-08 through to about 2009, then the subsequent rise of ISIS, then being struck with the COVID pandemic across the world, followed by the war in Ukraine and, right now, events in Iran and the surrounding Middle Eastern region. All these are on top of the frequent and destructive natural disasters that we seem to now have on a fairly regular basis.

The rising tide of human displacement, the rapid change in technology and the frequent change of governments across the world also add to why it is absolutely clear that stability and confidence into the future has never been worse. Right now, throughout the world, the cost of living is the dominant issue facing most people. That's understandable because at the end of the day it's all about individual survival in the here and now. Whilst that is happening—and I understand that the focus is on the cost of living—issues such as climate change and environmental degradation, corporate greed and internal human conflicts in so many other countries are largely being neglected.

It is within this context that the Albanese government's 2026-27 budget was framed—that is, within a world of instability, uncertainty and insecurity. Trying to plan for the future when the issues around you are beyond your control, as we have seen with the bombing of Iran in the Middle East, is incredibly difficult. In fact, I can recall from the first day I walked into parliament. We had policies that the newly elected Rudd government was looking forward to implementing. Things have been derailed year after year—and I say that on behalf of the other side of politics as well, when they were in government. It's never easy when you can't plan with certainty. And yet that is exactly what is happening and why this budget, in my view, given all the conditions, the surrounding conditions around it, is indeed a very responsible budget. It factors in the uncertainty that we face and, at the same time, tries to correct some of the issues that need correcting whilst ensuring that we have a budget that is manageable and delivering for the people but also a budget that is responsible in terms of its fiscal responsibility.

There are a lot of things in this budget that I could talk about, but I want to begin with one that goes back, for me, from before I even came to this place. I was in local government for many, many years. As a South Australian, this issue is incredibly important. I'm referring to South Australian road funding. South Australian road funding, for decades now, has been a matter of contention between South Australia and the federal government. In the mid-nineties, it was cut, and ever since then South Australia has never received its fair share of local road funding. As a way of topping that up and ensuring that South Australia received its fair share, there was a fund called the Supplementary Local Road Fund for South Australia. That was established, and each year South Australia would get around $18 million to $20 million of additional funding to try and compensate for the underfunding it was getting. That underfunding was based on the fact that South Australia received about 5.5 per cent of the total funding for roads but in fact had 11.8 per cent of the national road network and about seven per cent of the population. So, whether you looked at funding on the basis of population per capita or population per road length, South Australia was getting less.

In this budget, finally, the Albanese government has locked in $230 million to continue the Supplementary Local Road Funding for South Australia for the next decade. In the past, it was only a year-by-year commitment, and I believe in one or two years we might not have even got it. I stand to be corrected on that. But it was a year-by-year commitment, which never allowed the South Australian local government authorities to plan with confidence in the future, because they didn't know until the very last minute whether that funding was going to be made available. The commitment to fund it for the next 10 years and to increase it by CPI is a godsend for South Australia, and I know it has been very, very warmly welcomed by the Local Government Association of South Australia. I say thank you to the minister for pushing that through, because it really will make a difference and it will be a welcome addition to funding that goes to South Australia.

The other issue that I want to talk about a little bit more at length is the issue of fuel security. Again, this is an issue that I can recall raising myself many times, both publicly and perhaps even in this place—that Australia needed to increase its fuel storage capacity. Again, successive governments, for whatever reason, were not able to do that. We were finally forced into a situation where we did it because of the war in Iran. I was pleased to hear the stats that were provided by the minister for energy today—and, I think, the Prime Minister earlier as well—which said we now have more fuel in Australia today than we did before the Iran conflict began. I am pleased indeed to know that we have some 43 days of petrol, 38 days of diesel and 31 days of jet fuel, when I can recall that those figures were nearly half a few years ago. That is something that I know makes me feel a lot more confident, and I also know that the people out there that we serve consider this an important issue for our long-term security. I commend all of the ministers that were involved, starting with the Prime Minister and, indeed, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, the Minister for Trade and Tourism and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, for their collective work to ensure that we now have the fuel supplies that we do.

More importantly, in this budget, we've committed over $10 billion to ensure long-term fuel security by increasing our fuel reserves in this country. Again, it is something that I believe needed to be done. It was done because of the situation we find ourselves in right now and the public demand to do so. But, to the Prime Minister's credit, $10 billion committed in this budget, I believe, is something that he should be recognised for. And, again, I think this will put Australia on a much more secure footing for well into the future.

Mr Deputy Speaker, the other matter I want to briefly speak about is something that I know is dear to your heart, and that is health. Apart from the cost-of-living, when I'm out there in the community, the issue that matters most to the people that I speak to is the health system of Australia. I recall going back to the Rudd days where transforming our health system was one of Kevin Rudd's main objectives. Again, it never happened. But that was 18 years ago where we recognised that the system was under stress and we recognised that something needed to be done. Each year, it's been a bit of a patch-up job. The Albanese government, with Minister Mark Butler as the Minister for Health and Ageing, has begun the road to transforming the health system in this country, and it is making a difference.

Beginning with increasing the bulk-billing payments for doctors, we are seeing a huge increase in the number of surgeries right across the country that are now bulk-billing. That not only saves people money but also ensures that people who cannot afford to go to a doctor will now do so rather than allowing themselves to become even more ill because they avoid going to a doctor because they couldn't afford it. Therefore, it's actually, in the long-term, a cost saving. When they become really ill, then they have to end up in a hospital, perhaps get surgery or whatever the case is. If you can treat the issue before you get to that stage, then it's better for the person and also better for the country as a whole.

In addition to that, we've seen the Medicare urgent care clinics across Australia. I believe we've now opened 136 with one more to go. That's 137 that will be out there, serving just about every part of Australia. Those urgent care clinics are taking pressure off the casualty departments of our hospitals. People are going to them, and I know that for a fact because I know people who have actually had the choice between going to the local hospital and to an urgent care clinic and chose the urgent care clinic for their medical needs. It is making a difference at a time when our hospitals also need a bit of relief and support in taking the pressure off them. Again, we're seeing that we are getting less people forced to go to hospital, more services out there and less cost to patients, and that's a good thing.

On top of that, we know that the Medicare urgent care clinics are going to be secure with $1.8 billion of funding that secures them well into the future. There will be an additional $25 billion of Commonwealth funding for our public hospitals. Again, this is all about making the health system much better into the future. I believe that we are seeing the changes right now, but we will be able to see an even better system as we move forward.

There are, of course, a number of other matters that, with the time I've got left, I will briefly touch on. The issue of taxation is one that has been debated both here within this place and throughout the community. Again, I say this: I accept that families are, indeed, struggling with cost-of-living pressures. But no government has done more to increase wages for the working people of this country than the Albanese government. We've committed to three tax cuts, we've committed to making the instant asset write-off permanent for small businesses, we've committed to the instant tax deduction of $1,000 for workers, and we've also now included the $250 working Australians tax offset. All of those measures together matter, and I understand that the total package and savings to workers at the end of the three tax cuts that we're providing could be as high as $2,800 for a worker.

Of course, people might still be struggling, but it's making a difference. This government recognises that people are, indeed, struggling with the cost of living and are taking whatever actions are necessary to try and assist, whether it's through the health system savings or whether it's through the taxation systems that we have in place. Yes, there has been some criticism of some of the tax changes that we are making, but, again, it's all about trying to make our system much fairer and much more equitable.

The last issue I will touch on in the two minutes I have left is the issue of housing. Again, for the last three or four years since the Albanese government was first elected in 2022, there's been this constant and ongoing debate about housing. The Albanese government has committed some $47 billion towards housing and building houses in this country. There's a whole range of different methods, whether it's shared equity, whether it's lower deposits, whether it's investing in new infrastructure, whether it's getting the councils and the states to work together to ensure that approvals are fast-tracked and signed. Every different strategy that will assist in building and increasing supply is on the table under this package, and it is working.

Of course, we cannot build houses overnight, but I can see the changes happening in my own state. I can see new developments rising everywhere. With the help of the state government and the federal government working together, I am seeing the changes, and we're now starting to see it in the market itself. This is a government that does care about young people being able to own their first home, and it is taking the necessary steps to assist them in order that they can do so. The various different strategies and funding streams that the government has provided into the housing market, I believe, will make a long-term difference for this country and certainly will make a difference to the lives of those young people that are looking to get into their own house.

This is a responsible budget for the times. Budgets are never easy. I can never recall walking into this chamber at budget time and listening to a government saying how easy it is to balance their budget. It's never easy. But under all the circumstances that Australia faces right now, this is the right budget for the times.

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