Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to talk about our government's record on the cost of living. I'm always going to remind the Australian people that those opposite opposed every single measure that our government has delivered when it comes to the cost of living. Of course, the Australian people also know that when we came to government, inflation had a six in front of it and now it has a two in front of it. Wages are up and unemployment is down, and our government has created more jobs than any other government in a single term.

We know that people are doing it tough. We know that the cost of living is a priority. That is why we are working incredibly hard to deliver these measures. All of these measures, the opposition opposed. They don't have any of their own policies, but they've opposed every single one of ours. The senator from New South Wales says that these measures didn't work. Well, tell that to taxpayers who received a tax cut. That was opposed by those opposite. They wanted to call an election to stop it. But our government delivered a tax cut to every single taxpayer.

Cheaper medicines are delivering cost-of-living relief. The senator from New South Wales said that this is a waste of money and something that doesn't help anyone. Well, in the electorate of Leichhardt alone, people have saved $6 million from cheaper medicines and cheaper scripts. It's over $1 billion nationally. The urgent care clinics are something else that we've delivered to deal with the cost of living. There have been 17,000 presentations alone at the Cairns South urgent care clinic. But the senators opposite say these measures didn't work and that's why they opposed them. We have cheaper child care and fee-free TAFE. We've had 100,000 enrolments in fee-free TAFE. I've personally met nurses who are now graduating and taking up jobs as nurses in regional Queensland because of fee-free TAFE. They say that they wouldn't have taken up that role if it weren't for fee-free TAFE. We've delivered energy bill relief, something that those opposite opposed.

Not only did they oppose these policies, they've said that they're a waste and they will cut them. That is the choice at this election: more cost-of-living relief under our government or a government led by Peter Dutton, who will make savage cuts to things like Medicare, cheaper child care, fee-free TAFE and energy bill relief if he ever gets the chance. He will make energy costs more expensive if he has the chance to do that. If they care about cheaper energy, why are they pursuing a policy of the most expensive energy available?

We know that energy costs are a real concern for people in this country. That's why we are delivering more renewable energy than ever before. It is the cheapest form of energy. When those opposite ask questions and talk about cheaper energy, why are they then pursuing a policy of the most expensive form of energy available? Their $600 billion risky nuclear plan is so expensive they are unable to explain to the Australian people how they will pay for it. The only way they can possibly pay for a $600 billion nuclear plan is to make cuts to the things we love, like Medicare.

It will also increase costs. We know this. It's the most expensive form of energy. While those opposite are debating about energy bill relief and opposing the measures that we've put in place, we know that nuclear energy will make energy costs more expensive. It will add $1,200 to every single power bill every single year because it is so expensive to deliver this type of energy. Why would they support something like that? Why would they put cuts to Medicare on the line to fund something like that? As Senator Canavan revealed, it is because it's a political fix.

But this is more important than politics and political fixes. We need to deliver cost-of-living measures. That's why our government has been delivering them. It's why we've got the cheapest form of energy, which we are delivering right now. It's why we've invested in cheaper medicine, cheaper child care, fee-free TAFE, energy bill relief, urgent care clinics and tax cuts for every single taxpayer, and it's why we are keeping pressure on inflation and keeping inflation down. It now has a two in front of it. When those opposite were in government, it had a six in front of it.

I said they had no policies, but, with the last 10 seconds I have left, I need to mention that the only cost-of-living measure that they have announced is for taxpayers to pay for bosses to have long lunches. That is the only thing they say they will deliver to Australians to relieve the cost of living—for taxpayers to pay for bosses to have a long lunch and congratulate themselves on a good day's work.