Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I know it is a foreign concept to those opposite that you would actually bring people together, sit down in a room and talk about some of the challenges facing our country, in particular in relation to the economic roundtable around the productivity challenge. As we know, the worst decade of that was seen under the former government when they did nothing about these issues. They didn't do anything about climate, and they're still arguing about it. They didn't do anything about housing, and they're still arguing about it. They're trying to get rid of our build to rent this afternoon. This government takes a different approach, which is to bring people around the table and talk to them about some of those challenges.

Senator McKenzie said that the government hadn't done anything to help families with the cost of living. Well, what is arguing for a pay rise? What is making sure that the superannuation guarantee rose to 12 per cent? What's the extension of PPL? What's all of the investment in housing, the 30 per cent off home batteries, the energy bill relief that we're putting in, the tripling of bulk-billing, the $20,000 instant asset write-off, the HECS debt reduction and the new Medicare urgent care clinics? All of those are measures. But, while we are implementing all of those, guess what? We'd like to bring people together on some of the other issues facing the economy, including productivity, and see if there's an agreed way to work together to address some of them. You weren't there because you don't want to be part of the discussion. You call it a three-day talkfest. We actually got through and found areas of consensus to do further work on. (Time expired)