David Moncrieff (Hughes, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

The housing market in Australia has been broken for too long, but this Labor government is taking action. The Albanese government is delivering a fairer tax system for working Australians so that more first home buyers are able to get into a home of their own, and it builds on the work that we've already done. In my electorate of Hughes, in southern Sydney, 965 people have used a five per cent deposit to own their first home. That's almost 1,000 people building a better life for their family and taking ownership stakes in homes from Menai to Macquarie Fields.

We know that housing isn't the only cost-of-living pressure that families are facing. It's why we're taking action on energy too. Our Cheaper Home Batteries Program has helped almost 4,000 households in my community reduce their energy bills with a solar battery of their own. It's also why we've reduced barriers to seeing a GP after those opposite maintained a decade-long freeze on GP bulk-billing rates. This government is focused on serious reform to help families in my community with the cost of living while the three right-wing parties opposite focus on how to divide modern Australia. After a decade of neglect, our community now has 23 Medicare bulk-billing practices—a majority of clinics across my community—and, after they see a GP, they're saving money on scripts with $13,351,481 on PBS medications saved since 2022 in my community under this government's cheaper medicines policy. We're delivering for communities right across Australia. Their focus is on division across modern Australia.

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

I know this might be a rehearsal for question time, but I'm going to ask for all of that interjecting to please stop.