Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over the past few months I have had the distinct privilege of listening to many speeches in this chamber, particularly by members on this side of the House. On reflection, I've noticed a disappointing and recurring theme in all of them: the need for our constituents, the people we represent, to receive their fair share. We have a commuter parking crisis at Edmondson Park train station in the electorate of Werriwa. Just before Christmas, the New South Wales Liberal government admitted it would fail to deliver its election promise of a new car park at the station by mid this year, and now it will force local commuters to wait yet another 12 months for adequate parking. Call me a cynic, but this is another in a long line of unfulfilled promises and lack of action for commuters who use this station. Now they have to wait until mid-2021, when the parking spots will apparently be delivered.

Over the past few months, there have been several reports which paint a grim picture of what life is like for the people in my electorate and the outer suburbs of Sydney. They are a confirmation of this government having no plan and no strategy to deal with unemployment, the stagnation of wage growth and escalating costs of living. Research released in November from St Vincent de Paul showed that between July 2015 and July 2018 in Edmondson Park over 11 per cent of households had their electricity cut off—as well as having no parking. They are forced to choose between paying bills, putting food on the table or paying their mortgage. A report from May last year using ABS data found that a fifth of households in Edmondson Park are in mortgage stress. Hardworking family members who are working two, three and sometimes four jobs are barely able to keep a roof over their heads.

While these Australians work to provide for their families, in 2016-17 one-third of Australia's largest companies paid no tax. AGL, EnergyAustralia and Origin Energy earned a combined $36 billion, but together they paid no tax. These are the same companies that are disconnecting Australians from the grid. Many suburbs in my electorate face economic disadvantage. Based on the New South Wales Council of Social Services' household income adequacy measure, the suburbs in Green Valley are placed in the top 50 most economically disadvantaged in 15 out of the 24 demographics measured. Those living in Green Valley are the second-most disadvantaged in New South Wales, with nearly one in every three people living with some form of disadvantage. And it isn't a case of them not working hard enough. The average percentage of economically disadvantaged people that are employed full-time in New South Wales is 4.8 per cent. We now have a situation similar to that of the US, where we have working homeless and working poor. Not only are the full-time workers in my electorate facing economic disadvantage; more importantly, their children are. Statistics tell us that 17 per cent of Sydney's children are living in households experiencing poverty. But in suburbs in my electorate the percentage is 42 per cent—a staggering 25 per cent higher than the state average. How is it possible for working families who pay taxes to be experiencing such economic disadvantage while there are companies paying no tax and cutting off power to families such as these? The safety net was designed to protect Australian families, not multinational corporations.

Speaking of safety nets: the latest healthcare access data shows us just how bad the government is at managing health care right across Australia. There is no plan for health care, and this is shown nowhere more clearly than in Werriwa, where, since the Liberals came to power, GP fees have increased 44 per cent. In an area that is feeling the brunt of the lack of economic management from the Morrison government, they are faced with increasing costs of health care and essential utilities and are suffering from a stagnant economy that has stagnant wages. These are the numbers, but you never truly know the impact of these numbers until you get out in the community and speak to amazing Australians who aren't afraid to share their issues, as they have done with me. Like the pensioner couple in my electorate who are both on pain medication but can only afford for one of them to actually buy the medication they need. They can't afford to buy the medicine they both need to live a comfortable retirement.

The common theme from everyone I've spoken to is that this government has no plan for them and no plan for Australia. We must address the stagnation of wage growth and escalating costs of living so that my constituents can be confident of their future no matter their age, background, health situation or employment status.