Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to take note in this debate—about the economy, the cost of living and the difference between a government that is doing the work and an opposition that has completely lost the plot. What we have heard today is a decision that was widely expected, but that doesn't make it any easier, and I want to put on record a comment from the Hon. Dr Jim Chalmers, the Treasurer, who is an excellent treasurer, I might say. He said:

We know that many Australians are doing it tough, which is why we continue to roll out responsible cost-of-living relief, including a further tax cut this year and another one next year …

Right now, Australians are not asking for theatrics by the opposition. They're asking for stability, they're asking for help with bills, and they're asking for a government that knows what it's doing. That is what this Labor government has delivered.

When we came to office—it's important that those opposite are reminded of this because it appears, by the contributions that have been given thus far, that they've completely gone down some sort of memory hole in terms of the past, when they were in government—we inherited a budget that was weighed down by debt and excuses after a decade of big talk, very little discipline and no plan for what came next. What did we do? We delivered budget surpluses. We turned Liberal debt into Labor surplus—not by cutting Medicare and not by telling Australians to tighten their belts. We did it through responsible economic management, careful savings and clear priorities, and that matters because good economic management is not an abstract idea. It's what allows a government to help people when cost-of-living pressures bite. Make no mistake: cost of living is our No. 1 focus.

Every policy we have delivered asks the same question: does this make life easier for Australians right now? That is why every taxpayer received tax cuts, with another, as I have said, coming in July this year. That is why minimum and award wage workers have seen pay wage rises that total more than $9,000 under Labor. That is why student debt has been cut by 20 per cent, saving the average graduate $5½ thousand. That is relief, cost-of-living relief, which was delivered by their Labor government. We have rebuilt Medicare because health care should never feel like a luxury item. Bulk-billing has been expanded, with more than 1,300 practices now fully bulk-billing again. Medicare urgent care clinics have already delivered free care to more than two million Australians.

As of today, this Labor government has saved Australians more than $14 million through cheaper medicines alone, and that saving will continue, which will deliver more than $200 million back into household budgets every single year. That's cost-of-living relief. That's the sort of relief that those opposite scoff at. That delivers savings directly back into household budgets every single year. You feel that relief when you pick up your medicine script, and you feel it when you go to the doctor and you don't have to pull out your credit card.

We've expanded paid parental leave to 24 weeks and have paid super on it. These measures are all about supporting families and they are all about supporting households. We've introduced paid prac for nursing, teaching, social work and midwifery students, and we've expanded five per cent deposits so first home buyers can get a foot in the door.

We will keep the focus where it belongs, on the people we represent. We will not focus on ourselves, like those opposite. (Time expired)