It is. We heard yesterday the opposition pretend that there isn't a war going on in the Middle East. They pretend that nearly 20 per cent of the world's oil supply is not choked in the Strait of Hormuz because of the conflict between Iran, the US and Israel and growing throughout the region. The truth is that, last week, the Saudi Arabian east-west oil pipeline was bombed. The world doesn't know the extent of the damage. But you saw the oil price spike.

The thing with oil is that it doesn't just put upward pressure on fuel and petrol, which is what it will do in the coming weeks globally, because it's happening in every country; it flows through to the rest of the economy, whether it's PVC piping, housing, diesel or transport and logistics. The grocery companies have to pay more to transport the food, which pushes up prices. It is a diabolically difficult thing, and the world hasn't experienced an oil shock like this since the 1970s.

The government's responsible economic management means, frankly, that Australia is well placed and well prepared to confront the global turbulence now and in the months to come. We have substantial advantages naturally because we've actually done the hard work to put us in a better position despite these serious challenges. When you turn on the TV and look around the world, there's nowhere else you'd rather be than here in Australia.

The truth is that, in the four years we've been in government, we've made a lot of progress together. But there is more work to do. Of course, Australians are under pressure. But we should acknowledge the progress that Australians have made. We have the lowest average unemployment rate for any government in half a century. Average unemployment in the previous decade was 5.6 per cent. It has been four per cent under this government, the lowest in 50 years. Over 1.3 million jobs have been created, most of them full time—stronger jobs growth than that of every major advanced economy in the world. When we look around the world, we should never take for granted the fact that, overwhelmingly, Australians can go and get a job.

Annual growth has been faster than that of every major advanced economy except the US. Annual wages have now grown above three per cent for 16 consecutive quarters. They had 35 consecutive quarters in government, and in not one quarter did wages grow at that rate, because, as the former finance minister said, they had a deliberate policy—it was 'a deliberate design feature' of their economic management—to keep wages low. The cost of living is two things: it's the price of things and the money you're earning. It's money in and money out. Their economic management was to push workers' wages down.

Well, we have a different view, and it's working. Business investment is booming. Business investment is now 12.7 per cent of GDP, the highest in nearly a decade. That's important because it's a lead indicator of where things will go in the coming years. Average monthly company registrations are the highest for any government on record, and the budget is $44.9 billion stronger right now than the mid-year update and $264 billion better than we inherited. There's been a bit of talk about debt. Debt was down almost $200 billion last year compared to what we inherited. That means that the country has avoided more than $70 billion in interest payments in the coming decade, and gross debt is less than half the average of the G7.

These are facts, these are strong fundamentals, and they're strong achievements, but they're not enough when Australians don't feel like they can get ahead, which is why the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 government priorities are to do everything we humanly can in a responsible way to help Australians, families and households who are struggling with cost-of-living pressures. That includes tax cuts for every taxpayer, cutting tax in five different ways—the new working Australians tax offset, an entire new part of the tax system to target tax cuts to those PAYG earners who go to work and earn a living. It doesn't go to people who are living off their wealth and investments; it goes to workers—a new way of cutting tax. The opposition, of course, in their genius moment, went to the last election actually promising to raise your income taxes and raise the deficit. Genius!

It includes cheaper medicines. It's $25 for a PBS script. In my electorate alone, people have saved more than $1 million a year in their pocket since 1 January. That's $130 million saved nationwide. That's real help, putting downward pressure on inflation and helping families. Medicare urgent care clinics are permanent. GP bulk-billing rates in this country have jumped five per cent in the last quarter to 84.1 per cent. The investments in GP bulk-billing and fixing Medicare are working. That means more than eight in 10 visits to the doctor now in Australia are free, with no out-of-pocket costs. Record public hospital funding is now flowing.

There's six months of paid parental leave. One Nation want to cut it. The opposition call them 'double dippers'. It's what they said to parents. There's boosting affordable housing. We're actually having a crack finally, after decades of decline at helping first home buyers into the housing market. The only people in this parliament who seem to think that the housing market's not cooked sit over there. We're having a crack: five per cent deposits, 270,000 Australians helped. There's relief for students. The credit card surcharges are being banned from 1 October. The $20,000 instant asset write-off for small business is permanent. There is more to do. There are challenges ahead, but the foundations are strong.