Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Well, this is a really disappointing decline into a pretty horrific personal attack on a member of the government who I think is doing a tremendous job. The idea that we have, in this chamber, an attack on the basis of accountability, on the basis of transparency and indeed, Senator Smith, on the basis of acting in good faith is I think pretty appalling. Our Assistant Treasurer, Stephen Jones, has been fighting day and night for the same things we are all fighting for on this side of the chamber, the same things that keep us up at night: how to deal with a cost-of-living crisis in Australia. He has been fighting to do things like deliver cheaper child care, deliver cheaper medicines, deliver real action, increase wages, including through our secure-jobs bill. That is what our government is focused on. That is the work that keeps us up at night, and I know that is the work that our Assistant Treasurer is working on day in, day out.

This attack comes from a government that had a history over nine years of dodging transparency, of dodging accountability, with a prime minister whose most famous legacy quote is, 'I don't hold a hose, mate'. That's the government Senator Smith served in. That is their record on accountability and transparency. So, it is pretty outrageous to come in here and not only smear and attack a member of the other place but do so on the basis of accountability, on the basis of transparency, on the basis of acting in good faith. I mean, I don't know how you keep a straight face through that one, honestly—and you can't. How do you keep a straight face through that one? You can't.

The government is not focused on these ridiculous smears. We're focused on getting on with the job, of action on cost of living, of cheaper child care. On 1 January we will see child care get cheaper in this country, to make sure more mums and dads can get back to work. We're focused on cheaper medicines. These are real measures that will take the cost-of-living burden off Australian families. This is what people in our communities are talking about. These are the kinds of measures that Australians want to see. Most importantly, they want to see action on their wages. The previous government designed economic architecture to have wages deliberately low, and people want to see a shift away from that. They want to see us move away from that and fair enough and that is what we are doing as a government; that is what we are getting on with. So to come in here and make some kind of artificial argument about transparency and accountability, I think, it's pretty hard to do that and keep a straight face.

We have just seen the government deliver a budget which not only fulfils our election commitments but contains key measures to address and tackle the cost of living in addition to what I've already spoken about—cheaper child care and cheaper medicines. We are progressively expanding paid parental leave to six months by 2026, another measure that will make a real difference to Australian families; building more affordable housing, including a new national housing accord to build more affordable and well-located homes for Australians; and, of course, getting wages moving again. I know Assistant Minister Jones, like every member of our government and every member of the Albanese Labor government cabinet, is working day in and day out to achieve these objectives. Because when we came to government we did so on a promise to the Australian people that we would take real action to address the cost-of-living crisis; that we would be, yes, a government which was more transparent, which was more accountable.

Let's not forget that in the other place this week we expect the former Prime Minister will be the subject of a motion regarding his decision to swear himself into multiple ministries. I note Senator Smith said that the Assistant Treasurer should be reprimanded by the Prime Minister and Treasurer—I mean, ridiculous, because if he was a member of the former government, it would be the same person. It is just outrageous that those opposite had a Prime Minister take these decisions, do these things. Those opposite all sat idly by and then they come in here months later on this accountability and transparency attack, which I just don't know how they do with a straight face. They don't believe in it. They don't believe the words they are saying.