Zhi Soon (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) 3 November 2025 marks six months since the federal election; and

(b) the Government is delivering on the commitments it made to the Australian people by:

(i) strengthening Medicare;

(ii) ensuring Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn;

(iii) easing cost of living pressures; and

(iv) building a Future Made in Australia; and

(2) acknowledges that while the Government is focused on building Australia's future, the Opposition is focused on themselves.

I am pleased to move the motion before the House today, recognising six months since the federal election and how the Albanese Labor government is delivering on its second term of government. The election in May was a historic moment in Australia's political history. The Australian people returned a significant Labor majority, recognising the importance of protecting Medicare, easy cost-of-living pressures and investing in a future made in Australia, and that is exactly what we are delivering.

On Strengthening Medicare, last Saturday our latest reforms targeting improving bulk-billing rates came into effect. For the first time the bulk-billing incentive has been expanded to all Australians, and a boost introduced to payments for practices that bulk-bill every single patient. This investment will deliver 18 million more bulk-billed GP visits each year nationwide. In my electorate of Banks alone, 14 GP practices have already indicated their intent to become Medicare bulk-billing practices, making it easier for people in my community to see a doctor without fearing the cost. This is combined with 50 more fully bulk-billed urgent care clinics across the country, medicines made even cheaper from 1 January next year, a $500 million program for women's health, and more free and accessible mental health support. Together, these initiatives are part of Labor's plans to deliver for the health of every Australian.

Easing cost-of-living pressures is at the top of the agenda for so many Australians, and rightly so. For the government, this begins with responsible management of the economy and the budget. The results already speak for themselves: getting inflation down to half of what was inherited from the previous government; seven straight quarters of real-wages growth; the lowest average unemployment of any government in the last 50 years; and more than 1.1 million jobs created in just three years. Alongside two budget surpluses and a single deficit that was significantly smaller than originally projected, the improvement of the overall budget position by $209 billion, and the lowering of the national debt by $188 billion, this is a record that the former coalition government could only dream of.

As a result of our sensible and considered approach, we have also been able to roll out cost-of-living relief for all Australians. At the centre of this are the multiple rounds of tax cuts for every taxpayer already delivered, with two more rounds to come in 2026 and 2027, and supporting raising the pay of minimum wage workers and award workers earlier this year, while protecting penalty rates as well as quarterly energy bill relief, taking money straight off of people's expense bills. Importantly, the first piece of legislation in this new parliament was a 20 per cent cut to student debt for every Australian with a HECS balance. We delivered as promised, making life easier for young Australians. Australians know that, with a Labor government, they will have the leadership that is focused on ensuring that they earn more and keep more of what they earn. Further, the Future Made in Australia will maximise the economic and industrial benefits as we move towards net zero by supporting clean energy and advanced manufacturing.

While there are some people in this place who prefer to talk down our manufacturing industry, this government is doing the opposite and working to make sure Australian people and Australian workers reap the economic rewards of Australia becoming a renewable energy superpower. Unfortunately, not everyone is as focused as we are on this side of the House. While the Australian people sent those opposite a clear message at the election, the Liberals and the Nationals simply aren't listening. In recent weeks, we've seen the Liberals and the Nationals battling with and amongst each other over which leftovers of the Dutton era they want to serve up to the Australian people once again. Whether it's abandoning net zero, reviving the doomed nuclear scheme or just wanting to fight pointless culture wars, there is a clear pattern. From the—

Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sorry. Is there a seconder for the motion?

Gabriel Ng (Menzies, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion.

Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And you reserve your right to speak?

Gabriel Ng (Menzies, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I reserve my right to speak.

Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I understand the reluctance to second this congratulatory motion! The member for Banks just accused me of not listening. I listened intently to his five-minute dissertation. What I heard, what I'm sure people in the gallery heard and what the people of Australia heard is: 'Australians have never had it better.' If you believe that, you're talking to a different subset of Australians than me. Electricity prices are through the roof. I want to talk about Medicare, because in my community it's a real issue right now. But the member opposite also talked about a future made in Australia, and those of us on this side, he suggests, want to talk down manufacturing. We want to talk it up; it's those on the other side who want to close down Australian manufacturing. If you don't believe that, go and talk to any smelter in Australia right now. Tomago might be the place where you'd start, but it's not the place where you'd finish.

I'm not here to address the member for Banks's comments, enthusiastic as he is to talk up the progress of the Albanese Labor government over the last six months. But I want to address the first point he makes—the government delivering, he says, on their election commitments. The first proof point he points to is Strengthening Medicare. I want to take him on a journey to my electorate. South-east South Australia contains the second-largest city in South Australia, my hometown of Mount Gambier. On 3 May 2025, Mount Gambier had an urgent care clinic. That urgent care clinic—that Medicare urgent care clinic—was closed in June. Closed. It never met its obligatory opening hours, those extended hours that never were, but it literally closed in June. Over the six months, if that had occurred, you'd think that it would have reopened, given the government proudly claims it has strengthened Medicare over the course of the last six months. I'm here to tell the member for Banks and all those opposite that it remains closed. Closed!

Thankfully those opposite have been able to—in the five months since it has closed and the six months that they've been in government—issue a new tender for the urgent care clinic in Mount Gambier, but I'm told on the grapevine, quietly, despite the fact that the minister issued a press release celebrating the tender, the facility won't be open until next year. We are at about 200 days right now that that facility has been closed. The weeds are up to my waist. I offered to go with my whipper snipper and tidy it up, but the offer wasn't accepted. There have been 200 days to this point, but it will be something more like seven months before that facility reopens.

That would be bad enough, but right now in South Australia's second-largest city, the state that the minister relevant to this portfolio hails from, every single GP clinic in that community has issued a public statement that they're not able to accept any new patients. I had a constituent contact me recently who is a patient of a particular clinic, but, because his doctor has retired, he's no longer able to return to the clinic. Do I blame the clinics? Absolutely not. Do I put a call out to people living in that community to show respect to frontline staff at those clinics who are often subjected to rather terse conversations when they have to inform a person living in that community: 'Sorry, you can't see a doctor. You won't be able to see a GP; you'll have to drive 100 kilometres that way or 50 kilometres that way, or, better still, travel to Adelaide.' Do I put that call out? I do.

I'll tell you who I apportion the blame to: Minister Butler.

The member for Banks scoffs, but hear me out. One of his first actions as a minister, in 2022, was to change the distribution priority areas, meaning that a doctor who was obligated to work in an area of need, like Mount Gambier in my electorate, was no longer required to practice in Mount Gambier—they could practice in Adelaide. The member opposite scoffs, but I can tell you that on that day I received two phone calls, from the two largest clinics in Mount Gambier. Do you know what those phone calls said? 'Tony, we've just had a number of doctors resign en masse and we won't be able to service the people of Mount Gambier.' He's to blame. (Time expired)

Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's always fascinating to listen to the member for Barker or, as we like to think of him, the numbers man for the member for Hume. The member for Barker is up and about. He might have a busy couple of weeks coming up as the member for Hume's numbers man. He might be rolling the sleeves up and making a few phone calls to some of his colleagues. I know the Leader of the Opposition's team must have been absolutely thrilled that the member for Barker was the member for Hume's numbers man. That would have been one of the first signs that maybe they were going to have a successful campaign.

Let's move onto more important things. I'm so proud to be part of this motion led by the member for Banks, who is an outstanding new member of this place and one who is going to make a huge contribution to this parliament and serve the people of the community I know he loves and respects. And I know and he feels grateful to be here in this place.

It has been six months since the election. When you think about the job that the Australian people asked us to do, it was all of the simple things that would make a meaningful difference to the lives of the people that we are privileged to represent—all of the simple things that would help Australians with the cost of living, with getting through the day and helping their families and communities get through and do in this amazing country of ours.

I was speaking to thousands of people in the lead-up to the election, asking them simple questions like: 'What matters to you? What do you care about? What's really on your agenda?' I remember speaking to hundreds of young people at university, people with student debt, and the thing that came back was, 'Look, 20 per cent off HECS—that sounds pretty good.' It wasn't everything but it was meaningful, and it was the first piece of legislation that we brought into this place. Over the next few weeks, students are going to be receiving text messages with the amount coming off their HECS. That is a fantastic legacy and one that is going to save people thousands of dollars in student debt.

Of course, there was another big policy that kept coming back. When I spoke to so many young couples in my electorate, the thing that they said time and time again was, 'Look, we'd just love to be able to buy our own home.' In Macnamara, we have such a high percentage of people who are renters, and we know that the big barrier of getting into the housing market is saving up enough money to buy a deposit. That's why the five per cent deposits and two per cent deposits for single parents are so important. We want people to be paying off their own mortgage, not somebody else's, and I know that this policy is going to help thousands of people get into homeownership.

Then, as the year finishes, we'll also be opening up our shared-equity scheme, our Help to Buy Scheme that's going to help people get into the market with around 70 per cent of the total cost of the price of the home, which is another fantastic investment—one that happens in states across the country and one that, obviously, those opposite were very quick to criticise. They're very quick to criticise the Home Guarantee Scheme, very quick to criticise any effort to help Australians get into the housing market. If you want to see a reflection of just how out of touch those opposite are, you just have to listen to their commentary saying that the Help to Buy Scheme or the Home Guarantee Scheme is all about the sons and daughters of billionaires. It's just ridiculous. We, on this side of the House, are proud to do our bit to help ensure that people are able to get into the housing market.

Also, I spoke about it last week, but I went to Elsternwick Medical Centre, one of the big medical centres just on the border of Macnamara and Goldstein which, thanks to our investments in Medicare, has now become 100 per cent bulk-billed. We opened up a headspace in South Melbourne. The headspace in Elsternwick has also had a revamp. We are investing in free, local, high-quality healthcare services, and you only have to look all around the electorate of Macnamara to see that coming to fruition. The community is answering with their feet. Almost 80,000 consultations happened last year, and we're expecting even more, with 100 per cent of them being bulk-billed at the Elsternwick Medical Centre.

Obviously, there are a number of local commitments, as well, that we are getting busy on in Macnamara. We are redoing the South Melbourne Town Hall for the Australian National Academy of Music. We are restoring the See Yup Temple in South Melbourne. We're investing in the Jewish arts quarter. We're investing in JOY Media, an amazing community radio station for the LGBTIQ community. There is so much going on, and it's been an extremely busy six months, but the work is just getting started. When the Australian people at the election spoke, they said, 'We want a government that is focused on the things that make a difference to the lives of us in our communities,' and that's exactly the work that we are doing.

Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Banks for reminding us that today marks six months since the federal election, and it's a timeline moment to assess how this government is responding to the mandate given to it by the Australian people. Building Australia's future includes investing in infrastructure, services and economic settings that shape the quality of life across the nation, and I will continue to push this government to deliver more for rural, regional and remote Australia so that we can build the hospitals and homes we need, secure the workforce required for essential services and ensure that the energy transition delivers lasting benefits while protecting nature and ensuring comprehensive community consultation.

Building this future also means safeguarding our democracy and the pillars of accountability and transparency—pillars that foster trust in our institutions and our elected representatives. In opposition, this government promised a new era of transparency, and I applauded the government, in its early days, in delivering the National Anti-Corruption Commission, a long-overdue reform and a cornerstone, now, of our integrity framework. But this achievement alone does not absolve the government from action on other integrity measures. One year ago, I delivered a speech evaluating the government's performance on integrity and transparency. Just last week, the Centre for Public Integrity published its integrity scorecard, and, frankly, the results really do make for very sober reading. On five of six measures, this government is failing or stalling its commitment to fairer, more transparent government. I share the centre's view:

With genuine reform and leadership, the Government can still deliver the transparent and accountable democracy Australians were promised.

I urge them to do so.

There have been wins. The establishment of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission is commendable. It will ensure all of us—each and every one of us—are accountable for our conduct. But there are many areas in which this government is lagging on integrity and transparency. Just last week we saw this government's recalcitrance in its refusal to release the Briggs review, more than two years after we were told it would be made public. This government talked a big game on ending a culture of jobs for mates, but we're yet to see any meaningful action.

If we are to ensure Australians can keep more of what they earn and deliver more to ease cost-of-living pressures, effective spending of public money is more important than ever, yet pork-barrelling persists. The government recently released guidelines for a new $550 million program to deliver its election commitments. Though branded as merit based, the government's Major and Local Community Infrastructure Program is an invitation-only program retrofitted to deliver the government's hand-picked election commitments. In the last term of parliament, two programs disproportionally targeted marginal and target electorates.

But perhaps the greatest disappointment of the Albanese government's second term so far on this half-anniversary is its unjustified attack on the freedom-of-information system. The right to access government information is a key check and balance on the executive and Public Service. Admittedly, some areas of the FOI system do need reform, but the government is once again using it as a cover for more secrecy. Expanding cabinet exemptions, for example, directly contravenes the recommendations of the robodebt royal commission and will further obscure public knowledge of how important decisions are affecting our country and how they are made. This bill has no friends. In fact, it is desperate and dateless. It has no friends outside the walls of government. The government should drop it and go back to the drawing board.

I continue to implore the government to act on protecting whistleblowers. Little has changed in the past year to further the Prime Minister's commitment to expand whistleblower protections and the public interest test. On electoral reform, this government has little credibility. Under the guise of transparency, the government passed significant reforms that, frankly, entrench the major parties' financial advantage. Instead of recognising that more Australians than ever are voting outside of the major parties—or maybe because of this—the government negotiated a stitch-up with the opposition to make it harder for new players to get elected.

So there is much more work to be done if this government wants to leave a positive legacy on integrity. They've taken a few too many wrong turns, but there's still time to right the ship, so I encourage every member of the government to steer in a better direction on integrity and transparency.

Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to thank my friend the member for Banks for bringing this motion to the House. Of course, today marks six months since the re-election of the Albanese Labor government. This is a privilege that we do not take for granted, and we know how much work there is to do to deliver on the policies that the Australian people voted for on 3 May. It's really important that our job as a government remains squarely focused on the people in our communities—on Australians and their issues. We're not interested in manufacturing culture wars or talking endlessly about our internal tensions; we as a team are just focused on delivering for all Australians, supporting aspirations and providing opportunities for all.

We've been hard at work, building on the strong foundations laid during our first term to create a better, fairer and more prosperous Australia for everyone. Over the first six months of this term, we've remained focused on those commitments we have made. I promised that the first law we would pass in the new parliament would be to cut student debt by 20 per cent, and that's exactly what we did, with over three million Australians saving an average of $5½ thousand. In my own electorate of Chisholm, 26,053 people benefited from this change, and that is one of the largest numbers of recipients among Victorian electorates. That shows just how important that policy is, and I'm really proud I was able to deliver for my community.

We're delivering real help with cost of living. We're making medicines cheaper, boosting the minimum wage, protecting penalty rates and expanding paid parental leave while adding superannuation to it, which is really critical for addressing the inequality that many women experience in their retirements. Just last week we introduced legislation to deliver superannuation payments on payday. This is going to make a really big difference too. It is a significant reform that will see young people, casual workers and women workers particularly advantaged. We're strengthening Medicare. We're making sure that every Australian can access quality, affordable health care when and where they need it, with the biggest investment in bulk-billing in Australian history and 50 new urgent care clinics to add to the 87 we've already opened around the nation. This takes pressure off hospitals and it helps more people see a doctor for free. We've delivered $500 million for women's health. We're investing in 31 new and upgraded Medicare mental health centres, expanding headspace centres and training more mental health professionals. We're making it easier for Australians to buy a home, with five per cent deposits for all first home buyers, and we're building more homes right across Australia.

Our plan is all about helping Australians to earn more and keep more of what they earn, with secure jobs and responsible economic management that supports wage growth while cutting income taxes. Our government is focused on building Australia's future, easing cost-of-living pressures and building that prosperous future for all.

In my own electorate, I know how much our policies are benefiting the community. Since we've made medicines cheaper, more than $425 million has been saved in Victoria on 69 million cheaper scripts. This is saving money for our communities and protecting their health. We know that on Saturday many GP practices across the nation chose to become fully bulk-billing practices thanks to our record investment in Medicare. This is a really big deal and it is really important for our nation. I've had the Minister for Health and Ageing visit practices with me in my community, and I know what a difference this is going to make. We have our urgent care clinic in Mount Waverley, which I know is very well utilised, and we've got another to come in the Stonnington council area too. We will be getting a Medicare mental health clinic in Glen Iris to join the existing mental health infrastructure funded by our government, such as the headspace, which is just a couple of doors down from my office in Mount Waverley.

There are many other projects we're delivering too. When I'm here and when I'm in my community, I'm squarely focused on the delivery of the commitments I've made to my community. The coalition, those opposite, didn't seem to learn anything in the last six months. They're more divided and divisive than ever, but that's okay, because what I do every day is listen to my community and focus on delivering the commitments that I was really proud to campaign on earlier this year.

Leon Rebello (McPherson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's telling that it's at the top of the priority list of those opposite to move motions in this place which pat them on the back and congratulate them on their time here as the government for the last six months. As the federal member for McPherson, I'd like to start by saying that six months is quite the milestone since the last election, and I thank the people of McPherson for giving me the opportunity to represent them in this place. It's an honour that I never take for granted. But, in light of the motion that we're seeing here today, it also reminds us of the six-month record of this Albanese Labor government. It's a record that the Australian people can see is not good.

The Albanese Labor government has failed on a number of fronts, particularly on the economy, the cost of living, health and defence—just to name a few items on this terrible scorecard. In relation to the economy and government spending, we've seen spending balloon to 27 per cent of GDP, with revenue limping along at 25.5 per cent. Aside from a temporary spike during the global pandemic, that means that government expenditure is at its highest levels since the Second World War.

When I came to this place and delivered my maiden speech, I spoke about the fact that we want to make sure that government doesn't leave a burden for its future generations. We've seen the gap alone adding $40 billion a year to the national credit card. We're seeing debt over a trillion dollars; it will be $1.2 trillion at the time of the next election. What does that mean? It means that, for each of us here, every 60 seconds—it looks like the power prices have gone up too much for this place as well!

Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm sure the lights will come back on soon.

Leon Rebello (McPherson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It means that, every 60 seconds, we have $50,000 of expenditure just on the interest we need to pay. We have a culture of dependence. Half of Australian voters now rely on the government for their primary source of income. That is not sustainable. We need a government that's going to increase the economic pie and generate wealth.

As I said in my maiden speech, governments don't create wealth; businesses do. It's the private sector that needs to be supported and incentivised. Instead, what have we seen this government do? The private sector, where real wealth is created, is shrinking, with only one in five new jobs being created there while the rest are taxpayer funded. I don't think those opposite had in mind when they put forward this motion that we now need to celebrate being the country with the largest proportionate public service in the developed world. I have respect for the Public Service; my mother has served in the Australian Public Service for over 30 years. But we need to make sure that we generate wealth in this country, and the private sector is the place to do so.

On the cost-of-living front: in my electorate and across the country, food is up by 15 per cent, housing by 19 per cent, insurance by 37 per cent, gas by 38 per cent, and—as we've seen in this place today—electricity is up 39 per cent. The lights are out!

On the health front: in my electorate of McPherson, despite those opposite claiming all the credit for Medicare and all the credit for health and health management, bulk-billing in my community has dropped 12 per cent since Labor came to government. In some communities across Australia—and I feel for our regional colleagues—that amount has dropped nearly 20 per cent.

On defence: the men and women of the Australian Defence Force represent the height of our national character, but they need to be supported. We have countries and allies around the world looking at us, asking us to join their path of leadership and commit a certain amount of money to ensure that our Defence Force is well-equipped, and we're not doing that. Australia barely spends two per cent.

This motion moved by the Labor Party does nothing but congratulate themselves on this horrific record. The Prime Minister appears to be living in some sort of dangerous fantasy, oblivious to soaring debt, rising taxes, bloated government, collapsing productivity and energy delusions. For the sake of the Australian people, I hope the government's next six months are better than the last.

Gabriel Ng (Menzies, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank my friend the member for Banks for moving this motion to mark six months since the re-election of the Albanese Labor government. While those opposite cherrypick facts and only look at the negatives, we haven't wasted a day delivering what we promised at the election.

As members opposite would know, on the Saturday just passed, 1 November, we delivered on our commitment, with the largest investment in Medicare in its history, to triple the bulk-billing incentive to address exactly the kinds of declines in bulk-billing rates the member opposite raised. We do things about the issues facing Australia; those opposite just complain about them. We know our reforms will mean that there's more bulk-billing and that, by 2030, nine out of 10 GP visits will be bulk-billed. This includes 17 clinics in my electorate who have expressed interest in going fully bulk-billed—more free GP visits for people across my electorate in Box Hill, Blackburn and Doncaster.

We're continuing to roll out our other reforms. We delivered 87 Medicare urgent care clinics in our last term of government, and we're slated to open 50 more across the country in this term. We're delivering cheaper medicines as well so that Australians will save on out-of-pocket costs, with PBS listed medications costing only $25 per script to fill.

Not only are we delivering, but we've moved forward some of our commitments so that from 1 October we're helping Australians buy their first home with only a five per cent deposit. This will cut waiting times in saving for a deposit and, importantly, save on expensive mortgage lenders insurance. It will get first home buyers into their first home sooner and give them a leg-up over investors. Nationally, over 190,000 first home buyers have taken advantage of this scheme, including 300 in my electorate of Menzies. I'm so glad that there are more people buying their first home thanks to our support.

We've also rolled out the solar home battery program. It has been a huge success. Over 100,000 people around the country have taken up our 30 per cent rebate, that price point providing a real incentive for them to get a solar home battery. It's good for the environment. It's good for the hip pocket. When I've been out doorknocking in my electorate, in Warrandyte, so many people expressed interest in getting in on it. This included Glen in Templestowe Lower, who was really proud to show us his solar home battery system and talk about how it's going to save him hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars per year on his power bills. In Menzies, 536 people have got themselves a solar home battery—again, thanks to our reforms.

Last Friday, we introduced the environmental protection biodiversity and conservation bill into this parliament, delivering on our election promise that we were going to prioritise the environment and that we were going to make sure that we're protecting Australia's beautiful natural environment and unique biodiversity. This will, importantly, create an independent environmental protection agency. Again, it's because we listen to our voters and we listen to the Australian people. I was out doorknocking in Surrey Hills on Saturday, a part of my electorate that cares deeply about climate change and cares deeply about the environment. Again and again, I heard from people who said: 'Yes, we need an independent environmental protection agency. We don't want the Liberals and the Greens to team up to block this important legislation again.' The message was really clear—we need to get this done.

We're also getting on with delivering election commitments in Menzies. In the election campaign, we committed $1.1 billion to mental health support. It's a really important area of health care. This includes new and expanded Medicare mental health centres, which will include one in Box Hill in my electorate of Menzies and a further 31 around the country. We're also supporting organisations to get their paperwork in to deliver on our election commitments. That includes for Box Hill United soccer club to resurface Sparks Reserve for a synthetic pitch so that they can play more of the year and practise more of the year. Soccer is absolutely huge in Melbourne's east, so we want to make sure that more people can get out and play. We've committed $3.5 million for Bulleen Templestowe Basketball Club for female-friendly change rooms and $187,500 for Warrandyte Arts to upgrade their pottery centres, and there are many more election commitments that we're delivering for the people of Menzies and for Australia.

Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for a later hour.