I rise to talk about this matter of public importance because, whilst the cost-of-living pressures can be traced back, in many cases, to international affairs—I think it's important to acknowledge that upfront—and many countries around the world are struggling with crises, such as in Ukraine, that are causing pressures, there are two important things that people should consider when they look at the response of a government. Part of it goes to how governments design their economy and the long-term frameworks they put in place. But the other question that people should ask is: what are governments doing in the short term to ease pressures in terms of cost of living?

The coalition, in its time in government, took a number of actions, and people have seen those: cost-of-living support for pensioners, veterans and others; easing of things like the cost of fuel; and a number of measures around employment and training. One of the clear indicators is that people who have a job, who have the skills, find it easier to cope with cost-of-living pressures. A lot of Australians, it has to be acknowledged, are doing it incredibly tough at the moment, particularly those who are seeking to purchase a home, whom rising interest rates are impacting, but also those people who are in the rental market and struggling to afford rent and bills, whether they be food bills or other cost-of-living bills. The question we should ask is: what is the government actually doing?

The coalition government recognised that jobs are really important in helping people. That's why, despite the rhetoric we've heard in this place over the last couple of days, which is all about rewriting history and trying to claim there's been a crisis in training, apprenticeships and work, it's really important to see that, as at last year, there are more apprentices in training in Australia than there have been since 1963. I made this point yesterday in a brief contribution. The $6.4 billion that has been invested in skills and training is a record amount and has had real outcomes. There were specific measures, for example, when employers were struggling with retaining apprentices in the face of rising costs and the crisis that COVID had brought about. When other nations were laying off apprentices, Australian apprenticeships grew. Why did they grow? Because the government took positive measures to put in place support for employers to the value of 10 per cent of an apprentice's wage in the first year and five per cent in the second year. It has meant that employers have been able to take on apprentices and keep them on, and we've seen completion rates increase. Those very tangible, real measures, which are responsive in real time to the pressures people face, definitely help.

The other thing that I would like to highlight is that we took very positive measures—in particular, the Modern Manufacturing Initiative—to support industry to bring back manufacturing here in Australia. We got co-investment from industry and investment from the taxpayer in the areas of space, defence, critical minerals, medical products and advanced manufacturing so that employers had the confidence to invest in productive capacity, in intellectual property and in employing people, giving people the jobs that helped them to cope with the rising costs.

When we compare that approach to responding to a crisis to the approach of this government, the reason it's so important to look at what the government is doing or not doing is that on the jobs side they're planning a talkfest. We're not talking about supporting employers. We're not talking about supporting small businesses' need to move ahead, employ people or keep them on the books. The big-ticket item is a talkfest.

On the manufacturing front, I'm being approached by people in Adelaide from the defence and space sector who are concerned that the razor gang, the budget-cut gang, from the Albanese government has put modern manufacturing grants that were awarded by the coalition on hold, which puts in doubt these projects that have been the basis for companies to expand and look at giving people those jobs. So, as we look at the cost of living, we need this government to act now on things that will enable people to cope with the high cost of living, having a job.