Kara Cook (Bonner, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This budget builds on the work of the Albanese Labor government, delivering more cost-of-living relief, stronger health care, more housing and greater opportunities for all Australians. While Australians are working hard, we know many are still doing it tough. This budget responds to that challenge. It delivers more tax cuts for every taxpayer, putting more money back into people's pockets when it matters most, benefiting millions of workers right across the country, including more than three million Queenslanders.

It keeps medicines cheaper. We know that PBS scripts are now costing just $25. That's making a difference not just for people in my community of Bonner but right across the country. People don't have to choose between whether or not they can receive lifesaving medication or can purchase their groceries that week. It makes Medicare urgent care clinics permanent. I now have not one but two Medicare urgent care clinics servicing my community of Bonner. The Carina-Carindale and Capalaba clinics have both seen over 8,000 people through their doors since they opened in December. And it builds on Labor's historic investment in women's health, making contraceptives cheaper, expanding menopause support and backing endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics. There are now 33 right across the nation. The closest in Brisbane's south side is in Oxley, and that also is servicing my community of Bonner. This budget backs skills and opportunity through fee-free TAFE, supports apprentices, strengthens child care through Labor's three-day guarantee and continues making housing fairer for first home buyers. This is a budget helping Australians with the pressures they face today while building a stronger future for tomorrow.

When you work hard, save your money and do all the right things, you should have a fair shot at owning your first home, but for too many Australians homeownership feels out of reach, and that is exactly why the Albanese Labor government is taking sensible action to make housing fairer. We are backing first home buyers through the five per cent deposit scheme, helping more Australians buy a home sooner without the need for an enormous deposit. Over 500 people in my community of Bonner have already accessed the five cent deposits and are now in their very first home. And we are helping build the homes Australia needs. Recently, the Albanese Labor government announced support for more than 50,000 new homes in Queensland, including more than 20,000 that will be exclusively for first home buyers. That is helping to unlock housing supply and get people into their own homes sooner. We are also making sensible changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax arrangements to better support new housing supply and help level the playing field for first home buyers, because aspiration should not be reserved for those who already own property; it should be available for the next generation as well.

I want to share a story today of a local mum, Zoe, who shared with me exactly why Medicare urgent care clinics matter in her experience at one of our two clinics servicing my community of Bonner. Zoe said: 'Thank you so much, Kara, for your amazing service and amazing outcomes in such a short period of time. I'm so grateful for the urgent care clinic you made happen. My youngest son was very unwell on a Sunday in early March, and we could not get a GP appointment. I remembered seeing your post about urgent care clinics, so we presented there. We were taken care of by a wonderful nurse and GP and didn't have to wait more than an hour. We were then redirected to the children's hospital because our little one ended up having scarlet fever and required a hospital stay of three nights. But the ability to access the urgent care clinic was such a great relief to me, my sanity and the wellbeing of my youngest. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your hard work, dedication and getting things done have made a real, positive impact on your constituents and wider community.' Thank you, Zoe, for providing that feedback about our urgent care clinics. It is wonderful to see that they are now a permanent feature of our Medicare system.

Across the country, of course, these clinics have already seen more than three million presentations since opening in 2023, helping Australians get free urgent care when they need it most. As I said before, our local clinics have had over 8,000 people through the doors since December. This is also building on our agenda to strengthen Medicare with more bulk-billing GPs. In Queensland, the bulk-billing rate has now increased to 79.5 per cent. In Bonner, GP clinics that are bulk-billing have doubled. I'm really proud to be part of the Albanese Labor government, delivering practical health care right across Bonner and of course across the country, because, when people need care, help of course should be there.

Good climate policy should not just be good for the planet; it should help families save money too. That's exactly what the Albanese Labor government is doing with our Cheaper Home Batteries Program. Already over 3,000 home batteries have been installed across Bonner, helping local households cut energy bills by storing cheaper, cleaner power at home. For families doing it tough, lower power bills do matter, and practical action on climate matters too. For too long these conversations have been framed as an either/or, but the truth is that good policy can be both. It can help thousands with cost-of-living pressures while supporting cleaner, more reliable energy for the future. That is why Labor is backing these practical solutions that help families save money and strengthen Australia's energy system at the same time. In my community of Bonner, local families are already seeing the benefits. Climate action should not feel out of reach; it should feel practical. It should make life easier, and it should leave the next generation with a cleaner, stronger future.

Healthy men and boys are built in communities not in isolation. They are built through connection, positive role models, belonging and support. Recently, I had the privilege of hosting Assistant Minister for Social Services and Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence Ged Kearney and Special Envoy for Men's Health Dan Repacholi, as part of the National Healthy Men Community Conversations project. We began with a local roundtable bringing together service providers, community organisations and frontline workers to hear directly about the challenges facing men and boys in our community. Later, we were joined by over 100 community members at the Wynnum Manly & Districts Men's Shed for a broader conversation about what it means to support healthy men and boys. We spoke about the kind of community we want to build for men and boys—one where help seeking is encouraged, connection matters, respectful relationships are modelled and young boys grow up with positive role models around them.

We know many men are facing challenges, from loneliness and mental health struggles to social isolation and disconnection. Conversations like these encourage connection, support help seeking and, importantly, help shape future government policies and better programs to support men and boys. I'm so pleased that we were able to host the very first of these community conversations in my community in Bonner, and I know that the rest of Australia will benefit from these conversations as they travel right across the country. I also want to thank the Wynnum Manly & Districts Men's Shed for hosting us at their shed and for the delicious barbecue that included not just a sausage sizzle but also kebabs for a lovely surprise.

It is also National Reconciliation Week, and this year's theme, All In, is a reminder that reconciliation is not passive. It requires all of us to keep listening, learning and working towards meaningful change. But reconciliation is not only about reflection; it is also to be backed by action. This week, as Australians reflect on the truth of our history and on the ongoing impact on the stolen generations, the Albanese Labor government has announced an additional $2.6 million to support stolen generations survivors. This builds on the government's broader investment in the budget of $87 million to continue specialised support for stolen generations survivors and will support the important work of the Healing Foundation and Link-Up services—organisations that provide trauma informed, community led support to survivors and descendants while connecting and helping to reconnect families with culture, country and kin. As we approach the 30th anniversary of the Bringing them home report next year, this investment recognises that healing is ongoing and that there is still more work to do, because reconciliation will not happen by itself, and it cannot solely rest on the shoulders of First Nations people, who have carried this work for far too long. Reconciliation requires all of us to be all in.

Heard, seen and believed—these three words should be the experience of every victim-survivor of domestic, family and intimate partner violence, yet, for many LGBTQIA+ Australians, it is not. Today marks LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day—a day that began here in Australia and is now recognised across the world. It was created to shine a light on violence and abuse occurring within LGBTQ+ communities, an issue that is often hidden from direct view. Research does show that more than 60 per cent of LGBTQ+ people will experience domestic, family or intimate partner violence in their lifetime, yet many victims-survivors remain invisible within our systems. LGBTQ people are less likely to identify abuse, less likely to seek support and less likely to report it. Many victims-survivors fear discrimination or not being believed or worry their experiences will be misunderstood, creating real barriers to reaching out for help or accessing mainstream services.

Today I was so proud to join the LGBTQ Domestic Violence Awareness Foundation, who work towards creating change for this community through practical tools, education and free resources, including their See, Hear, Believe campaign. They are helping workplaces, frontline services and communities to better recognise abuse and support victims-survivors. These resources are available for free through the foundation's website, helping more people to access support and information when they need it. No-one should feel invisible when seeking safety. Every person, regardless of their sexuality or gender identity, deserves to live free from violence, to be seen, to be heard and, of course, to be believed.

Today is also Public Education Day, an opportunity to recognise the incredible role our public schools play in communities like mine in Bonner and, of course, right across Australia. Schools are not just places of learning; they are places where young people build confidence, discover their strengths and shape their futures. That is why this budget delivers an additional $20 billion investment into our public schools. We are fixing the funding of our schools and tying it to real, practical reforms that will help students succeed. There are things like year 1 phonics and numeracy checks to make sure children are getting the foundational skills that they need earlier; small group tutoring to help students who fall behind catch up, keep up and finish school; and practical support to help teachers focus on what they do best—teaching.

Every parent wants their child to have the best start in life, and every child deserves the opportunity to succeed—no matter where they grow up or what challenges they face. When we invest in schools, we invest in opportunity. And when we invest in young Australians, we invest in the future of our country.

I also had the honour of hosting the Minister for Education, Jason Clare, in my community of Bonner. We visited Wynnum State High School and heard firsthand from students about their aspirations and, of course, the needs of the Wynnum State High School community. I want to thank the minister for his commitment to hearing firsthand from my community and for the additional $20 billion in this budget, which is a wonderful outcome and extremely welcomed by my community back home.

May is also Queensland Small Business Month, an opportunity to recognise the contribution small businesses make in my community of Bonner and right across the country. I've had the chance to visit so many businesses since I came into this role 12 months ago. From Edith Street Espresso in Wynnum to the IJ Group in Hemmant, these businesses reflect something really important about Bonner: local people creating jobs, backing their communities and, of course, growing our local economy. I know many small businesses are doing it tough, but that's why there is practical support in this budget for small businesses, with $3.5 billion in new business tax relief measures. That includes making the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent, giving businesses more certainty to invest; around 830,000 Queensland businesses are eligible.

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