Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm more than happy to, if I did cause any offence. I didn't think that I did, but sometimes the truth hurts, I guess.

I'd like to continue in relation to that plan that our government has. The plan is to increase productivity. It's to support workers and ensure that we have the best trained and skilled workforce.

I'd just like to remind those opposite, as to the care sector in this country and aged-care workers: this government, for 10 long years, had the opportunity to increase the wages, the remuneration, and the skill base for aged-care workers in this country, but did nothing—nothing at all. In fact, people within the disability sector earn more money than those who are caring for some of the most vulnerable people. Now, I support the disability carers. But I also support aged-care workers and childcare workers and early childhood educators.

Now, we're a new government, but we took a plan to the people at the last election. Australians agreed with the agenda that we put forward and supported us. So, when it comes to energy prices and the questions again today about whether we're going to keep our election commitment: well, yes, we are, because we know how important it is to the Australian people that a government keeps its election commitments—unlike those opposite when they were in government.

But, when it comes to energy and renewable energy, we know the track record of the previous governments under Turnbull, Abbott and Morrison. They had no policy. They don't even believe in renewable energy. I come from a state where we have led the nation with our renewable energy, with our hydro. So what we, as a government, will do is: we will invest, and, as I said at the outset, we will keep to our election commitments. We gave a guarantee that we would do everything we could to reduce power prices, because they do have a huge impact on Australian families and businesses. So you can rely on us.

So, when you want to get up—as I'm sure the next speaker will—and try and rewrite history and blame the current government for all the woes in the community, I think what you will see over the next three years is a government that keeps to its commitments and will put Australian people and business ahead of those in opposition—