Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have received a letter from the honourable Leader of the Opposition proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely:

This Government's failure to manage the nation's challenges and priorities.

I call upon those honourable members who approve of the proposed discussion to rise in their places.

More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, colleagues, it feels a little bit like back to the future coming in here, and the reason for that is that we all recall—those of us that were here when we left parliament—the jeering, the sneering, the hubris and the born-to-rule attitude from this Labor prime minister and this Labor government. Unfortunately, in their dedicated refusal to answer sensible questions today during question time, in which it is their job to come here and present themselves not just to us but to the Australian people and to answer those questions transparently and honestly, they were full of obfuscation and avoidance, and, in doing so, they let down the people they say they have come here to represent.

I want to start with something that was really important. There was a reason why my first question to the Prime Minister was about housing for young Australians. It was because we care deeply about housing for young Australians, and, when you break the compact between the generation that the Prime Minister and I are from and the generation that can't afford to get into a home today, then you break faith with the Australian people. And that's what we saw. So I made it very clear that 1.2 million homes was the promise—in fact, it was repeated many times. Those 1.2 million homes cannot be delivered. We know this not because the government's been open and transparent about it but because leaked Treasury documents have told us this. Now, if that happens, if the government accidentally leaks their own documents, they should fess up. They should acknowledge it and they should tell us what they're doing about it. More importantly, they should tell young Australians.

So what did the Prime Minister give in his answer? Quotes here, state policies there—muddles here, there and everywhere. He didn't actually answer the question. No question was answered about this. It was interesting, though, because, later on in question time, the Minister for Housing actually said building homes for Australians is in a crisis. She's open to any ideas. She effectively ran up the white flag and she didn't deny the parlous state of building homes for young people in Australia. And it's really, really important that we focus on that. It's really important. It is in a crisis, and the Minister for Housing actually did acknowledge that it was in a crisis. This is not good enough. It's not good enough for a government to not step in to a critical policy area that matters.

I've said we'll be constructive when they have a good idea that's in the national interest. We'll be critical when they have a bad idea that hurts Australians. I want to call out some of those bad ideas and those bad initiatives right now because we have been out there. We have been listening, and Australians are struggling. Members of the Liberal and National parties are out across every corner of this country. We're listening, and Australians are struggling.

I've talked about young Australians finding it impossible to find a pathway into their first home, but mums are struggling everywhere with the family budget. I've been a mum and I know what it's like when you just don't have enough money at the end of the week, when you're too scared to open the bills on your kitchen windowsill, when you don't even want to know how much your power bill's going to cost and when you've got the back-to-school costs—which of course come at this time of year—and you're feeling terrible because you know there are new shoes and new uniforms and you don't know what you're going to do about it. Young mums are struggling, and that means families are doing it tough. Just because we've had an election and we've a whole lot of new rhetoric from this government doesn't mean families are finding it any easier. They are not.

Small businesses are struggling. We're the party of small business. We know that. We love our small businesses; 97 per cent of all Australian businesses are small businesses. So many of our members here have actually worked, raised their families and lived a life in small business. I want to say to the small businesses out there that we're here for you every single day of the week because we know what it's like. We know that people aren't coming into your businesses and that they're not spending money, but we also know that you are the fabric of our towns, the fabric of our society and the fabric of so much of what goes on in volunteering, in sporting and in schools. But you're drowning, small businesses, under red tape and regulation. We care about that. We understand that.

Australians work hard, but they feel like they are running harder and harder and they're just standing still. The first question to the Prime Minister was about meaningful cost-of-living relief. Where? How? When? Who is getting this meaningful cost-of-living relief? We still remember the Prime Minister saying, 'Life will be cheaper under me.' We heard him say in the last couple of days he 'won't leave anyone behind', but none of these statements, these rhetorical flourishes, are going to actually help out there in the real world.

Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They don't pay the bills.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Paying the bills! I talked about this leaked Treasury advice. There was another nasty leak—apart from the 1.2 million homes—and that was that the budget is straining. The budget is struggling. It is in structural imbalance. What was Treasury's advice to the government? Raise taxes. And we know that when they run out of money, they come after yours, members of the Australian public. Now, if that's the case, again, this government has to be honest. They have to say: 'Yes; we have got Treasury advice that says our budget is out of balance. It's weak. It's falling over, and this is what we're going to do about it.' We haven't heard that. We've just heard failures to acknowledge this problem.

So what is the secret plan to raise taxes? You can bet your life on it—there's a secret plan coming forward. Maybe it's at the productivity roundtable which is desperately seeking an answer to the productivity question. Three years after being in government, they say: 'Quick, what do we do? We get people in a room, and we ask them. We don't seem to consult our own Treasury documents or listen to their advice!'

I talked about struggling families and mums, and I've spoken to many. Coming out of winter, you have three young children, they all have a respiratory infection, and you want to find medical treatment for them. Everyone knows this. Do you recall the Prime Minister during the campaign holding up his Medicare card, saying, 'This is all you need to get free hospital treatment when you go to the doctor.' How many times did he say that? So many times. In fact, I think a lot of Australians voted for this prime minister on the basis that they would get free treatment with that Medicare card.

I know, and my terrific colleagues here know, that there are people who are going in saying: 'I can't pay. I have children who need treatment, and I can't pay.' Maybe they will get pointed to a bulk-billing clinic. Apparently, 90 per cent of all appointments are going to be bulk billed. The Prime Minister was spruiking it today, the Minister for Health and Ageing too. Health minister, I think you're a decent person. I think you care when people don't get the treatment they need in their GP, and I think you understand why—the GP is the centre of your care, so you have to get that right at the very beginning of your health treatment.

But it's not good enough that mothers are saying they're not taking children to the doctor—except they're rushing to emergency in the middle of the night because their children can't breathe properly. The respiratory tract infection has taken hold, but they didn't have the money to take them to the doctor. This is real; this is serious. This is not good enough.

We don't want to hear these statistics waved in our face because we know that when we left government, bulk billing rates were about 88 per cent. When the government won the last election, they'd slipped to 77 per cent. All of these promises are not going to hide those statistics. Bulk-billing rates are falling off a cliff, and that means parents cannot afford to go to the doctor.

Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They fell off a cliff!

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's something that we will not step away from, member for Hunter, and we absolutely will not, because we need to remember these broken promises.

We mentioned $275 a lot in the last parliament. It's still there, still a broken promise and still on the record. But, in the meantime, electricity costs have gone up about 30 per cent. I talked about those bills on the kitchen windowsill that you really don't think you can open and the panic you feel when you can't pay your bills. There was not a manufacturing factory floor that I walked on in the last three years where somebody didn't say to me: 'We can't make things in Australia. We're going offshore. We're getting rid of our apprentices. We're losing business. We're feeling pretty awful about the situation.' That's because of energy policy, and this government's energy policy is a train wreck, and we will hold the government to account. We will hold this government to account on its energy policy. Pretending that 82 per cent of the grid can be electrified with renewables by 2030 is just a pipe dream. They are sneakily introducing more gas into the system because they know that's the only thing that works. But, meanwhile, families, businesses and households are struggling.

We had about four questions today—which were all avoided—on the big, bad super tax. It's superbig, it's superbad, and already the government is just trying to duck and weave about what it really means. We are asking the question. It offends every single principle of our taxation system that you would pay tax on income that you haven't earned, and I just want to make that point: paying tax on income— (Time expired)

Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Deputy Speaker Claydon, can I start by just congratulating you on your re-election as the member for Newcastle—a very proud resources based electorate, which also has many other skills and jobs—and also on your re-election as Deputy Speaker.

It really is my great delight to speak today on the government's behalf on this matter of public importance. I want to make it very clear that all of those on this side of the House know, as the general public and, of course, the voting public of Australia know, that the Albanese Labor government's priorities are the priorities of all Australians. We are focused on delivering our election commitments that Australians overwhelmingly voted for. Australians voted for Labor's vision to build Australia's future because they trust us to meet the challenges that face the nation, and this trust is demonstrated, of course, by the 94 Labor MPs that were sworn into this chamber just yesterday.

This government is focused, as the Treasurer said in question time today, on delivering the most responsible and meaningful means of helping ease the cost of living. We know people remain under pressure with the cost of living. What we did for the last three years, in our first term of government, was to deliver cost-of-living relief. It is a priority for Australians and it is a priority for us as a government, and we delivered real, practical help over those last three years and are also doing so today.

Today, of course, we introduced legislation to cut student debt by 20 per cent so students, apprentices and young Australians can get ahead. That's three million Australians—and they are principally younger Australians—who will have, on average, $5½ thousand cut off their student debt. That's a debt that goes right across the economy. It applies to university graduates, of course, but also to tradies who have had to pay fees for TAFE.

While I'm at it, of course, in the last term we introduced fee-free TAFE. Education of tradies to deal with workforce shortages is, of course, a national priority and a challenge that we have indeed been meeting, whilst those opposite, in their terms of government, managed to slash all the funding to TAFE and tried to deride that great Australian institution.

We will introduce legislation to protect penalty rates for more than two million workers right across this country who rely on them to make ends meet. We have slashed the cost of home batteries by 30 per cent, and we have signed contracts with state and territory governments for the construction of more than 5,000 new social homes. Every household will see another $150 in rebates automatically applied to their electricity bill. We have also cut taxes for 14 million taxpayers.

This government is squarely addressing the priorities for Australians, whilst we witnessed all of those opposite who were here in the last parliament vote against tax cuts for the Australian people. Those opposite came in here and had themselves recorded in Hansard as indicating that they would be the party of higher taxes for Australians. They failed to understand in the last term—and I can see it's continuing into this term—the challenges that are facing Australians.

The Labor government, under Anthony Albanese, has ensured Australian workers will earn more and keep more of what they earn. The same job, same pay legislation has literally transformed lives. I know the member for Hunter is here and I think the member for Paterson is here—coal industry workers in their electorates can now work alongside their comrades with the same skills, doing the same job, and be paid the same. That is fair. That is what Australians know and deserve, and it is the right thing to do. We have delivered.

Of course, health is a priority for all Australians, and they only trust Labor to strengthen our health system. Under our health minister, we've seen Medicare reinvigorated. We are delivering more bulk-billing, which is at the heart of our health system.

This government is making medicines cheaper by capping PBS medicines at 25 bucks for everyone from next year. If that isn't addressing a national challenge and a national priority for the people of Australia, I don't know what is. Then, of course, there are concession cardholders. The most they will pay for a PBS medicine is $7.70. That affects everyone on those concession cards, those people who are really feeling the pressure of the cost of living.

We're going to open another 50 Medicare urgent care clinics, on top of the 87 that we already opened in the last term. I commend the team at the urgent care clinic at Rockingham, who I know are delivering care for people who need help with those little things that we don't really want people going to emergency wards for. All of these things were at stake in the last election, and people overwhelmingly supported Labor's vision to build Australia's future. Labor's priorities are Australia's priorities, and we're getting on with the job of implementing them. As we did in the 47th Parliament, we'll do so again in this one. Since 4 May, we've been getting on with that.

Meanwhile, the coalition have prioritised splitting up and getting back together again, completely neglecting the Australian people—does everyone remember that? It was only a few weeks ago, really, when the Nats and Libs decided to split up. The Nats had their own little path to follow, and then they backflipped and got right back on board.

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We got what we wanted.

Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Did you really, leader of the National Party? Right now, it looks like you're splitting up again, doesn't it?

We see there is a national challenge. Everyone accepts—and we can see from those sitting behind me and that were sworn in yesterday—that addressing climate change is a very serious national issue and a national challenge. What do we see from those opposite in addressing that national challenge? The Nationals, of course, have been their ever-helpful selves for the opposition. We have two former party leaders, two former deputy prime ministers, who knocked each other off, and now they're teaming up to knock old mate off.

Honourable members interjecting—

Sorry, pardon me. The current leader of the Nationals is under attack from the two former leaders of the Nationals as well. I do feel sorry for him; we were re-elected on the same day. He's a jolly good chap—but, geez, watch out, Member for Maranoa.

We've seen the basic text of the repeal net zero bill that the member for New England is proposing to introduce. I would note that two of the bills—they're actually acts—were introduced by the Howard government. There was the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000. The now member for New England was in the Senate at the time, and I presume he supported this act when he was in the combined party room. There was also the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act, which was introduced by former prime minister John Howard, one of the overlords of the Liberal Party and the coalition, a real hero to many of those opposite.

I just want to remind those opposite what John Howard thought about the acts that the member for New England and the member for Riverina are seeking to delete from Australia's legislative regimes. He said:

This challenge, I believe, is best met by a blend of prudent conservatism and economic liberalism. A prudent conservative knows we are but temporary stewards of the environment.

That was John Howard. He knew what the national challenge was. He knew that we had to address climate change to protect the environment. It was he who said that the government would also 'introduce legislation this year for a comprehensive and streamlined national emissions and energy reporting system'. Of course they did, and of course all those opposite—maybe not the ones here right now, but certainly the Leader of the Opposition was there—voted for it.

So, let's see where this ends up on the national priorities for how the coalition deals with this nation's challenges as they once again fail to listen to the Australian people. We see that their position has not changed in that regard. Put on the noise-cancelling headphones, I say to all the Nationals and Liberals, because that's what you've been doing for the past three years, and I see we're going to look forward to another three years of the same.

The Australian people won't forget what you put them through in the recent campaign—a $600 billion nuclear power scheme that would have seen devastating cuts to Medicare and devastating cuts to education, to pensions and to the Department of Veterans' Affairs, as well as the 41,000 public servants that those opposite proposed to slash from the services to Australians. Obviously they've backflipped on that a few times. They would have axed fee-free TAFE; that would have been high on their agenda. And of course we had some weird suggestions. The referendum on deporting people was just one of the many. There was also the tax on gas exports, which I'm sure you must be very proud of; we don't hear much about that anymore.

It just goes to show the failure of those opposite, the failure of the Liberal-National coalition, to have any understanding of the challenges and priorities of the Australian people and the Australian nation. They continue to fight amongst themselves, because that's what they do best. Only the Albanese Labor government will help Australians in the cost-of-living crisis and will face national challenges head on and deliver.

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Again yesterday we heard this government and the Prime Minister reiterate what he said when he was first elected: no-one held back, no-one left behind. Well, that's unless you live in regional Australia, because, since the Albanese government came into power in 2022, we have seen over $30 billion worth of infrastructure ripped out of regional Australia. That's roads, that's rail, that's dams. That's about the tools regional Australia needs in order to give this country over $350 billion worth of exports.

This government has callously just said to regional Australia that there are two classes of Australians: there's one that lives in a capital city and there are those of us who live outside a capital city, who can do without. That is not a government that is governing for all. That's a government that went to the last election and did not even promise one cent in new programs, for programs that they have cut—did not say they would reintroduce or refund any of them. They went to regional Australia at this election and said, 'You get nothing.'

That is the contempt that this government has held for regional Australians—the fact that we are contributing to this country's wealth yet having the tools taken away from us by a government that is looking for political expediency in capital cities, worried about fighting the Greens and winning seats off the Greens and not thinking about those who are generating the wealth of this country. That shows absolute contempt—and a Western Australian sits here and doesn't even have the courage to stand up for her fellow Western Australians, cannot even explain the science or economics of why they have called out and destroyed live sheep exports out of Western Australia. Where is the courage of the Western Australians? They have gone missing in their moment of truth, when they condescendingly sit here and talk about what's important in this country.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm taking a point of order.

Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member is not addressing the matter of public importance.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it's my job to make the ruling now, but I will come back to the member for Maranoa, don't worry. I am listening carefully. You are reminded: the topic, which you have chosen, is the government's failure to manage the nation's challenges and priorities, and I'm listening to that.

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's gobsmacking that a Western Australian would do a point of order—

Opposition members interjecting—

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Maranoa now has the call. We don't need all of you to chime in right now. I think we're very clear that he has the call and can move on.

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That a Western Australian would say that the phasing out of live sheep exports out of the state she represents is not a failure to manage some of the nation's challenges—with all due respect, that just shows the disrespect and the contempt they also have for Western Australians. That is the sad indictment that we see on those opposite—that they talk a big game where they're from, but when they come here they say nothing. They toe the line and they do what they're told, and that's the sad indictment.

It's not just live sheep; let me go to the human toll that is being thrust on regional Australians. In fact, it's great to see the Minister for Health and Ageing here because one of his first acts on getting into government was to remove the designated priority area being restricted to just regional areas. For doctors, the designated priority area meant foreign doctors were only allowed to operate in regional, rural and remote areas, because we didn't have doctors. But, in his wisdom, the minister has decided to change that and extend that so metropolitan and peri-urban areas can now attract those doctors. So if a foreign doctor looks on the internet at Samford, in Brisbane, and then looks at Cunnamulla, in my electorate, I think they're going to pick Samford, with all due respect to the good people of Cunnamulla.

I can give a personal experience from my own electorate: I now have communities without doctors. That is the contempt with which people in regional Australia, a challenge which the health minister articulated today in question time—that is the human toll I face. That is the human toll where I have communities that don't have a doctor or health professionals because the government have prioritised metropolitan areas over the lives and livelihoods of people in regional Australia. That's not 'no-one held back and no-one left behind'; that is regional Australians being treated like second-class citizens. How can you come to this place in good conscience and do that to your fellow Australian? How can you look the people of Mitchell, the people of Burke and the people of Cunnamulla in the eye and say, 'You don't have a doctor because I've changed the policy because it's better to fit in a capital city'? This country is better than that and this government should be better than that, and regional Australia is bearing the brunt of it.

Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

May I say, Deputy Speaker Claydon, it's a pleasure to see you back in that seat. Thank you for everything that you do for us here.

When we look through the history of our nation and things that make it great, there's a common theme: the Australian Labor Party. That's because when Labor is in government it implements nation-building policies. We passed legislation that shaped Australia into the lucky country we know today, and our agenda in this term of government continues to mould the future in ways that generations to come will look back on with gratitude. Thanks to past Labor governments we have Medicare, the NDIS, paid parental leave—and the NBN, even though those opposite tried to stuff that. Thanks to the Albanese Labor government, these have all been strengthened and we've delivered fee-free TAFE, cheaper child care and cheaper medicines.

We're also making housing more accessible, expanding programs to build social and affordable homes, and reforming Medicare to strengthen bulk-billing, especially for children, pensioners and more people in rural and regional communities. This is Labor at work, tackling everyday pressures and delivering fairness for all Aussies. Fee-free TAFE means more than 300,000 Aussies can access vocational training without financial barriers, helping fill critical shortages in areas like aged care, construction and renewable energy. It's not just a boost for our students; it's an investment for our workforce and our future.

Now, in our second term, we're getting on with the job we started. Cost of living continues to be the No. 1 focus. The first piece of legislation we introduced this term will cut student debt by 20 per cent because we believe in opportunity, because getting a qualification to follow your dreams shouldn't send you broke. This reform will cut the average student debt for more than three million Aussies by around $5,500. That's real relief for young people, working people and our future.

We're also the only party that consistently stands up for Australian working families. That's why we're moving to enshrine penalty rates in legislation to protect workers' pay and safeguard the essential Labor legacy. Cheaper child care is saving families thousands every year, making it easier for parents, especially women, to re-enter the workforce and boost the household income. We have introduced new laws to cut off funding for centres that repeatedly fail to meet the minimum standards. This reform supports states and territories and helps ensure childcare centres are putting kids' safety first.

When it comes to men's health, we're investing in better access to mental health services, target awareness campaigns and programs that encourage early detection—especially in rural and regional areas, where services can be a bit harder to reach. This is about saving lives. Men are less likely to visit a doctor. Men are more likely to die from heart disease and cancers like prostate cancer—illness that could be treated if caught early. Tragically, 75 per cent of those who die by suicide are men. We are also working to break down the stigma that stops mainly men from reaching out for the help they need. This means supporting more tailored, community based services run by people who understand the unique challenges men face, from social isolation to cultural pressures. Prevention must be proactive, not reactive.

Clearly, we face a men's health crisis in this country. That's why I'm proud to have been appointed the first-ever Special Envoy for Men's Health to tackle these issues, to start real conversations and to turn these statistics around, because this doesn't need to be the way it is. If this issue isn't a national priority, then I don't know what is. Our priorities are clear and they're with the Aussie people. Whether it's access to cheaper medicines, cheaper child care, stronger Medicare, fee-free TAFE or a lighter student debt burden, we're getting on with the job.

But if you want to see a contrast, look no further than those opposite, the coalition. One of their first private members' bills in this term is a proposal to abolish climate action. It's deja vu. It's the same tired argument they've been pushing for 20 years, so come on. This debate is settled. It should have been settled, but you guys just keep bringing it up. Let's move forward and let's focus on real issues. It's not that Labor isn't managing this country's challenges and priorities; it's that the coalition have no idea what the real priorities are for this country. For them, they're certainly not health, education, workers' rights or cost-of-living relief. It's only one week in, and we're hearing the tired old arguments from last term's MPIs.

We're getting on with the job. Already we've put legislation in that impacts the real lives of Australians. We're shaping this country for the better, just as Labor governments always have. We're taking real action. We're delivering real results. (Time expired)

Zoe McKenzie (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like my colleagues, I congratulate you, Madam Deputy Speaker Claydon, on your election once more to this post.

Today's topic, just to remind the member for Hunter, is in fact that the Albanese government has failed to address the nation's greatest challenges and priorities. Interestingly, all we have heard from those opposite today—indeed, including from the Prime Minister himself in question time—is proud boasting and utter hubris, with the government congratulating itself for its sweep of seats at the last election—an election in which they received the lowest first-preference vote ever bar one, which of course was the 2022 election, where its first-preference vote was even lower.

I heard the Minister for Education talk about what people voted for, running through Labor's long list of policies for which someone else has had to do the hard work to be able to pay and for which only 34.6 per cent of Australians voted. Nevertheless, for the last 36 hours we've been listening to them congratulating themselves for achieving the second-lowest primary vote ever since 1910, beaten only by their record—a primary vote of 32.5 per cent last time. Based on what we have seen, we should get ready for another three years of self-congratulation.

This vote was not an endorsement of Labor's management of the critical issues confronting all Australians: cost of living; falling productivity; and abject failures when it comes to keeping Australians safe, whether that's a failure to oversee and institute rigour in our immigration system, a failure to stamp out antisemitic behaviour when it has raised its ugly head repeatedly over the last three years or, most recently, as we have seen so devastatingly, a failure to urgently work with states and territories in relation to the safety of children in our early learning and childcare settings. This last vote was not an endorsement of Labor's management of the critical issues confronting Australians, whether that be energy supply and affordability, housing affordability and availability or the ability to carefully and confidently provide for their future and, ultimately, their retirement.

The Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the Nationals and the shadow Treasurer today raised a long list of Labor's failures—a housing program, for example, which promised 1.2 million homes but has only delivered 17, and a nonsensical superannuation tax which punishes those who have worked hard to provide for their own retirement and remove the burden from the state of the cost of providing for a pension. This superannuation tax, from the people who told you they wouldn't change settings relating to superannuation, will affect almost 2,000 people in my electorate of Flinders. And today, to add insult to injury, they failed to rule out any future taxation of unrealised capital gains.

Interestingly, I read in the Age yesterday, as I'm sure many of my constituents also did, an article by Shane Wright and Millie Muroi that referred to an analysis of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia which revealed that the median income for people slugged with Labor's new superannuation tax will be $110,000.

The analysis found:

Of the 80,000 Australians with super balances eclipsing $3 million, about 55 per cent are male, one-quarter have at least one investment property and about a third are still earning wage or salary income…Of those still working, most are in managerial or professional roles.

The article goes on to explain the impact of this tax on Australian farmers—a point raised by the Leader of the Nationals today—whose superannuation often resides in the family farm and who may or may not, in any one particular year, have the finances set aside to pay such a tax. My electorate, according to the Age, will be disproportionately hard hit—due, most likely, to the fact that 90 per cent of those hit by the new tax are aged over 60, and I have the privilege to represent an older electorate made up of people who have worked hard, saved up, started businesses, created employment for others, looked after their families and provided for their own retirements. The number of people hit on the Mornington Peninsula is higher than all of metropolitan Brisbane and close to the number affected in inner Sydney. In this, as in other measures, my constituents are right to fear that this government does not have their interests at heart, which is so evident from the Labor candidate's mere $3 million in commitments to the electorate of Flinders, contrasted to the coalition's almost $1 billion of commitments across public transport infrastructure, sporting facilities, support for veterans' mental health and the building of a world-recognised walking track around the peninsula.

To add insult to injury, the government's first move in relation to my electorate in this new term is to close the post office at Rosebud Plaza—the one most accessible to people who need to walk or catch public transport to get there. So my electorate, together with the rest of Australia, has good reason to fear what this government has in mind for its future and needs to look carefully at why they got the lowest primary vote ever, bar one.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for Dunkley.

Jodie Belyea (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Deputy Speaker, congratulations on your reappointment. I am pleased for the opportunity to speak on this matter of public importance put forward by those opposite, but I will have to disagree with the statement. It is ludicrous. This government has very successfully navigated the nation's challenges and priorities after nine years of inertia. As resoundingly endorsed at the most recent election, the Albanese Labor government has been a government of action and delivery. As a relatively new MP, I am proud of the delivery made by the Albanese Labor government in the 47th Parliament: free TAFE, parental leave, Medicare urgent care clinics, NDIS and aged-care reform, and a reduction in the gender pay gap. It goes without saying that the dominant issue of the last parliament was the cost of living, and, indeed, it is to this very day. This government has worked to help Australians with the financial pressures they are facing whilst also lowering inflation, keeping unemployment low and getting wages moving after a decade of stagnation.

Importantly, we are ensuring Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn with this government's tax cuts. Headline inflation in May was 2.1 per cent, its lowest level since March 2021. Real wages have grown for 18 months in a row. Just this month, the national minimum wage increased by 3.5 per cent, benefiting 2.9 million Australian workers. In our second term, we will continue to help Australians with the cost of living, finish the fight against inflation, strengthen Medicare, and build productivity and a stronger economy. I'm proud of our long list of achievements from the last term, and I'm excited by the agenda we have set out to deliver. Along with many of my colleagues, strengthening Medicare is a priority that I strongly campaigned on during the recent election. The Albanese Labor government is getting on with the job of strengthening Medicare. We opened the Medicare urgent care clinics around the nation, including one in the community of Frankston, with 50 more to come, along with Medicare mental health hubs.

We delivered cheaper medicines with the introduction of 60-day prescriptions and froze the cost of PBS medicines for pensioners and concession cardholders at $7.70 until 2030. We've also included, with great pleasure, reproductive health medications for women experiencing menopause. In this term, we will make the single largest investment in Medicare since its creation over 40 years ago, with $8.5 billion to deliver an additional 18 million bulk-billed GP visits each year, hundreds of nursing scholarships and thousands more doctors in the largest GP training program, not to mention prac placement support for midwives, social workers and nurses. Australian patients and families will save hundreds of dollars a year in out-of-pocket costs, and by 2030, nine out of 10 visits to the GP will be free.

A big challenge this nation and my community face is housing affordability. We need to help people into homes. The underlying solution to Australia's housing shortages is to build more market homes and a larger buffer of social and affordable homes for the most vulnerable Australians. That's why this government has taken strong action to get on with the task of building more homes with the $43 billion investment in the Homes for Australia Plan. This will deliver more social and affordable housing for those that need it most. We're delivering 55,000 social and affordable rental homes for Australians, with 28,000 homes in the planning and construction phase. Through the Housing Australia Future Fund—the HAFF—and other programs, we're delivering housing for vulnerable women, children, key workers and veterans while helping to reduce the social housing waiting list. There is definitely more to do, but Labor is building Australia's future with more homes for more Australians.

I would like to end this by saying the Albanese Labor government has prioritised people, ensuring people earn more and keep more of what they earn— (Time expired)

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll begin my contribution to this debate today by acknowledging the elephant in the room. Yes, those opposite had an excellent election night, and I congratulate the Prime Minister and all the new Labor members in this place. Politics surely should not be about personal victories. Politics must deliver tangible results for Australians, and, unfortunately, this government has failed to deliver. The Prime Minister—well, he'll naturally be pretty pleased with himself. There he is, sitting in the Lodge. But, let me tell you, things aren't so good in the real world.

While this week marks the start of the 48th Parliament, the same issues exist today as existed on 3 May. In my electorate of Durack, which voted overwhelmingly against this Labor government, I still have dual-income families across Geraldton and many other parts of my electorate relying on Foodbank just to get by—just to put food on the table. They can't work anymore, and they're just hanging on by the skin of their teeth. So I say to those opposite, in between patting yourselves on the back—and I'm sure you will do plenty of that—please consider those Australians who are doing it tough. Please consider the 330,000 Australians now trapped in over $300 million of energy debt. Please consider the fact that the average mortgage-holder remains $1,900 a month worse off than before the election of this government back in 2022. Please remember the young Australians who feel that the Australian dream of homeownership is just out of reach. As the MPI before us says: these issues have been perpetuated by the government's failure. That's why the economy is stalling and households are in recession.

One of the greatest issues facing our country is Labor's housing crisis, and I assure you we didn't need a leaked Treasury document to tell us that the government plan is failing. Labor went to the election promising 1.2 million new homes. Members on this side of the house and industry always knew that this number was simply nonsense. Now Treasury has accidentally confirmed this. The Treasurer has said he's not concerned by the leak. Well, he may not be concerned about the leak, but I really hope that he is concerned by industry estimates that we are on track to miss the target by over 400,000 homes. The so-called Housing Australia Future Fund is a complete joke, and my colleague in the Senate, Senator Bragg, has pointed out the government's $10 billion has so far built just 17 houses in Canberra and bought 300,000 pre-existing houses.

This failure with respect to the housing crisis is having real-world consequences. Australians are entering the housing market later and putting off having a family because it's just too expensive, and now we have the lowest fertility rate in Australia's history. What bigger issue could there be than making it easier for Australians to buy their own home and start a family?

This is a big problem facing younger Australian, as is the nation's debt, which is set to hit $1 trillion this financial year and which will be hanging over their heads and those of their children and their grandchildren for years to come. Before the election, there was no talk from those opposite about higher taxes or cuts, but now we know that the advice from Treasury—that secret Treasury document that has been disclosed—is that Labor cannot fix the budget without raising taxes and cutting spending. As the Leader of the Opposition said earlier, when Labor runs out of money, well, they come after yours. We know that Labor's radical super tax on unrealised capital gains will not be the end of their crusade to come after Australians' money.

One of the things that I'm particularly interested in is where these cuts are going to come from. Not surprisingly, we've recently had a really good example of cuts which are related to the remotest and most vulnerable people in this land. I am talking about Labor's snap NDIS decision to remove regional loading and reduce travel support, which is a serious concern for regional therapy providers and recipients. Over the last couple of weeks, I've met with NDIS providers across the Kimberley, the Mid West and the Pilbara, and they have serious issues with the government's reforms. It's clear to me and to all of us that the NDIS has blown out of its original intent, but surely this is not where you start—with the remotest and most vulnerable people in our country, people who have real health needs. That is not where you start, and I encourage Minister Butler to go back and, have a look at this. Please consult more broadly to make sure we get this right. This government is full of hubris and confidence, and I ask that you think about the Australians and stop thinking about yourselves. (Time expired)

Anne Urquhart (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am here today to talk about the matter of public importance put forward by the opposition, and I must say that when I read it I was a bit bemused about it. We've heard a lot of contributions that say we have failed to deliver, so what I want to do is go through and talk about what we actually have delivered and what we have achieved.

In the last three years, we have made it easier and cheaper to see a doctor. We tripled the bulk-billing incentive for people who needed to see a GP most often. That was helping pensioners, people with concession cards and families with children. We restored bulk-billing for 11 million Australians, and that also created an additional six million bulk-billed visits. I am a regional MP as well. I know what it's like out in regions. I'm not from the city; I know the sorts of things that my constituents talk to me about. We also delivered cheaper medicines—the biggest ever reduction in the cost of PBS medications.

Of those 87 bulk billed Medicare urgent care clinics that we opened—I think we said we'd open 50-something; we actually opened 87—one was in my electorate, in Devonport. That has taken enormous pressure not only off families with young children, older people and other people who couldn't get into a GP at the time they needed to, maybe over a weekend when their kids fell over or whatever—they have used that urgent care clinic—but also off the Mersey Community Hospital out at Latrobe. I have got another one promised in the last election for Burnie, which will take enormous pressure off the emergency department at the North West Regional Hospital in Burnie.

So these are things that we have achieved and things that we are going to do, and we've clearly outlined that what we've said we'll do we will do. That is something that we will do. It is absolutely delivering. We have opened Australia's first endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics—there are 22 of these—and we've also invested more than $790 million in women's health initiatives, things that haven't been done before.

So I am not sure why anybody on that side can sit around and say we have failed to deliver. It is just outrageous, particularly in the area of health but also because we've delivered a tax cut for every Australian taxpayer, something that those opposite voted against. They didn't want to share that load around. They wanted the people on the higher incomes to get the tax cuts, and we said that's not fair. We want a fair Australia, and we want to give it to everyone. And that's what we did.

We also delivered energy bill relief, and we will continue to do that in the future. We will deliver that. We've delivered free TAFE and strengthened Medicare. There are the cheaper medicines that I talked about. There are opportunities for apprentices to get assistance, particularly in the building area where we will deliver $10,000 to apprentices to help them through their apprenticeship and also to encourage it, We do need to build more houses, and we will do that by supporting apprentices, by giving them $10,000 to assist them through their apprenticeship and make them want to stay. We'll make it easier for them to stay in their apprenticeship.

I am really proud of some of the announcements that we made in my electorate that back in some of these issues that we've got. As I said earlier, we announced that we will deliver a new urgent care clinic in Burnie. We provided funding towards a Burnie health hub, which is going to sit in an old university building that was unused for years. It was lived in by possums. The possums have now been taken out, and that building is going to be ready to go. Pathology is already in there; one section is operating. By 1 July next year that will be a fully functional multipurpose health hub where people from Burnie can go and get all sorts of different treatments—women's health and women's legal services—for a whole range of issues. I'm really proud of that because I think it is something that our area desperately needs. We've assisted in funding a childcare service in Devonport. We know there are childcare shortages everywhere, and we have put that on the table to assist childcare services in Devonport. At Smithton, at the far end of my electorate on the far north-west coast, we have assisted again, with funding for a Smithton health hub. I am really proud of these, so nobody should come in here and say we have failed to deliver.

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I congratulate you on your elevation to high office. It was a great privilege to work with you on the panel in the last government, and I know you to be very fair and equitable.

I want to congratulate the new Labor Party members on your elevation to this place. It's a great privilege to serve here. I remember a time, early, when I sat on the government side of the dispatches, and our numbers were very similar. But this is the first time I've sat on this side with such dwindled numbers. Congratulations on your formidable win. There is a great responsibility on each of you to make sure that you do the right thing by our country. And there's a great responsibility on our side to hold you accountable for your policies and hold a mirror up when you fail. The Australian public sent our side of government a very strong message. They want us to do better, and we will. Under our leader we will deliver clear and frank opposition, and we will come in here and prosecute the truth. But what we will not do is stand by and let those on the other side come to this Chamber and speak mistruths. Just today, in question time, we had the Prime Minister again berating that we were a coalition of no, no, no, no. And I thought: 'I was in that government, I don't remember saying no to everything.' If you listen to them, you'll hear we say no to everything.

A source that you can trust is the Parliamentary Library. I went to the Parliamentary Library and asked how many bills were presented in the Chamber last year. And they said there had been 375. I'd asked, just out of interest, because I'm informed by the Prime Minister regularly that we say no to everything.

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He wouldn't tell fibs.

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He wouldn't tell fibs. He wouldn't mislead the parliament! How many do you think we'd said no to, according to the Parliamentary Library?

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Two hundred?

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, there were not 200! There were not 100. We said no to less than 15 per cent of legislation that came through here. We supported 85 per cent of the legislation that went through the last parliament. So I say to the new members that come in here: please check your speaking notes. Don't trust everything that Labor put in front of you. That goes for some of our guys as well. But you can't make up your own facts when you're in here, and we will hold you to account. That is our job. We will hold you to account when you come in here, set emission targets and miss them. Our job is to stand up and tell the Australian parliament you missed them. We will hold you to account when you promise a $275 reduction on electricity bills and electricity bills go up 32 per cent as a result of mismanagement. Here is an interesting fact when it comes to electricity bills: three-quarters of the electricity generated in Australia goes to business, so, when you work out why your grocery bill is getting expensive, it's because your input costs for farmers like mine and manufacturers in my electorate have their electricity bills going through the roof. You're paying for it.

We will hold you to account when you say nothing about new taxes and then you put a little leaked e-mail out through Treasury to say, 'We're going to have to put up taxes.' We will hold you to account. We will hold you to account when you promise to build more houses—1.2 million houses—and you don't get within a bull's roar of building those homes. That's our job. We will hold you to account. We will hold you to account on every promise you made and every dollar you spent. The Australian people deserve better, and we will make sure that this Labor government delivers it or answers for it. They will come in here and they will say, 'Earn more and you will get more,' but, when they say that slogan, be aware that, under their watch, there were 30,000 business insolvencies last year. So it's not about working harder and earning more. Under their watch, people go broke.

I will continue to come in here and remind you when I see productivity rates, under your watch, being the lowest in 60 years. I will come in here and hold a mirror up to your failed policies. The only thing they've got going on with productivity is that no-one knows what it is, but it means efficiency, and these guys are far from efficient. Our job is to come in here every day and hold this government to account, and you can trust we will do it.

Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do agree that the role of the opposition, as the member for Wright very well put, is that they are there to hold us to account and hold a mirror to what we have committed, and to that end I think this is very much a welcome opportunity to speak not only to our record but to what the Australian voters voted for. I agreed too with the Leader of the Opposition when she spoke to being back to the future. She is right on that, and that, in this sense, is about the quality of this MPI. Just as we saw in the previous term of this government, for those three years the opposition provided such weak MPIs. It was a lost opportunity to really do their job in opposition. All I can put it down to is that they are in the first stages of election grief or being in denial, because this MPI topic so close to an election begs the question: does the newly minted Leader of the Opposition actually take the Australian people for fools? Does she take my electors of Hasluck for fools? Does she say that they were wrong when they voted in droves for the 94 people on this side of this House? It's offensive because the people of Australia simply couldn't vote for the LNP agenda. There was so little of that actually presented to the public that it was difficult even to name anything other than a radioactive policy.

The voters of Australia voted for a government on its record and how we address the challenges and the priorities that they put to us. That's how the government was judged and that's how we will be judged for these next three years. At the recent election, where the Albanese Labor government gained 17 seats in this House, the Australian people prioritised cost-of-living relief. While those opposite prioritised tax-deducted business liquid lunches, the Albanese government delivered tax cuts to all Australians. We provided energy bill relief to all households. We enshrined fee-free TAFE and secured childcare subsidies. We delivered real wage increases for Australian workers. We did all of this while managing the challenge of inflation. Unemployment remained low, and wages rose while the inflation rate fell, defying all expectations, and the Australian people recognised this effort. The Australian people prioritised cost-of-living measures; the Albanese government delivered cost-of-living relief. At the recent election, where for the first time an Opposition leader lost their seat, the people of Hasluck prioritised health outcomes for their families and communities, as did Australians across the nation.

Time will not allow me to list the hundreds of great decisions that have made life easier and made it cheaper for the people in my electorate and around the country to access affordable health care. To name a few: 87 urgent care clinics are already operating, including in Midland and Morley. Fifty more will be added, including one in Ellenbrook—which I strongly advocated for. With cheaper medicines and 60-day scripts, people in Hasluck have saved with every prescription, and with the addition of yet more medications on the PBS, particularly for women's health, savings will continue. We are addressing the scope of practice for a range of healthcare practitioners to take the pressure off GPs as well as the addition of 24/7 telehealth service for GP advice that will be bulk-billed. The Australian people prioritised affordable access to health care. The Albanese government delivered by expanding access and providing for cheaper medicines.

At the recent election, when the government received a better outcome than at any election since 1943, the people of Hasluck prioritised educational opportunities. We are meeting the schooling resource standard for every public school in Hasluck and across Australia. We provide fee-free TAFE, cheaper child care, paid prac for the needed professions and support for apprenticeships, and we are cutting student debt for every Australian who has one. The Australian people prioritised education and the Albanese government delivered greater access for all and reduced debt.

I have more to say on housing and on infrastructure but I know I'm going to start to lose time, so I just want to summarise by simply saying we understand and we are listening to the concerns and the challenges that continue to be raised by our electorates. We've heard those being spoken about, in fact, in first speeches—particularly around housing and the need for investment in infrastructure. This government has absolutely delivered on vital infrastructure, free from scandal and corruption, and will continue to prioritise investments both in infrastructure and housing to ensure that people can have access to affordable housing irrespective of where they live and which postcode they live in across this nation. The Labor Party will continue to deliver.