Australia is operating in a period of global uncertainty. International conflicts, supply chain disruptions and volatile energy markets continue to put pressure on prices across advanced economies while rising oil prices remain a significant driver of inflation worldwide. Australia is not immune to these pressures, and it is important to view our economic performance in its broader context. Despite these challenges, Australia's labour market remains one of the strongest in the developed world, with around 1.3 million jobs created since this government came to office and unemployment remaining comparatively low.

There is more work to do, but these are strong foundations. In my community, I regularly hear from constituents, students and business owners about cost-of-living pressures. Recently, my ACT Labor federal colleagues and I held a roundtable with local small businesses and heard firsthand about rising costs and workforce challenges, and I've also recently met with university students who spoke about the combined pressure of study expenses and everyday living costs. These conversations are a reminder that behind every economic statistic is a person just trying to make ends meet, and that is why our government is focused on delivering responsible cost-of-living relief while continuing the fight against inflation.

While inflation remains higher than we would like, it is considerably lower than the level we inherited, and underlying inflation has eased significantly. We are also seeing encouraging signs in our energy market. The latest AEMO quarterly energy dynamics report shows wholesale electricity prices are down 27 per cent compared with a year ago. For the first time, large-scale batteries supplied more power during the evening peak than expensive gas generation. Batteries are storing low-cost solar energy during the day and delivering it when Australians need it most. At the same time, large-scale solar generation increased by 30 per cent compared with the same quarter last year. More renewables, more batteries and lower wholesale prices are good outcomes for households, businesses and manufacturers alike.

Cost-of-living relief is also about health care. Next week marks one year since the Albanese Labor government's landmark investment to strengthen Medicare and make health care more affordable. Here in the ACT, that investment has helped deliver three fully bulk-billing GP clinics and a new GP led urgent care clinic, giving Canberrans greater access to free or low-cost health care closer to home. Across Australia, we have capped the cost of PBS medicines at $25 and made it cheaper and easier for women to access oral contraceptive pills, IUDs and menopause treatments. These are practical measures that ease pressure on household budgets while helping to move us in the right direction on access to affordable health care. Just this week, we announced more access through pharmacies to treatments for urinary tract infections and also for access to contraception, making it easier for women to get these treatments without needing to pay to see a GP. This is also helping with their cost of living.

Importantly, we have delivered this support while maintaining fiscal discipline. The government has identified almost $180 billion in savings since coming to office, including more than $60 billion in this year's budget alone. We are also laying the foundations for stronger productivity growth. Productivity improvements take time to flow through the economy, which is why we have already delivered reforms to reduce barriers to investment and improve economic efficiency, including environmental approval reforms and freezing changes to the National Construction Code.

Australians also deserve confidence that they are getting a fair deal at the checkout. We have strengthened and mandated the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, tackled shrinkflation, improved unit pricing transparency and strengthened the powers of the ACCC to promote competition— (Time expired)