Ellie Whiteaker (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this afternoon to oppose the urgency motion moved by Senator Paterson. Frankly, I think it's extraordinary that those opposite still can't seem to remember all the great things our government has done to help with the cost of living—although I probably shouldn't be surprised, because they've been a bit distracted recently. What's really clear to me and I think what's becoming increasingly clear to Australians is that, while the Liberal Party and the National Party are focused on fighting themselves, our government is the only party that is focused on delivering for Australians, the only party that has the capacity to be responsible economic managers and the only party that is committed to bringing down the cost of living.

Australians are seeing support from our government at the pharmacy counter, with our cheaper medicines policy bringing the cost of pharmacy scripts down to $25, the lowest it has been since 2004. Australians are seeing support when they go to the doctor, thanks to our bulk-billing incentive. They're seeing support with their childcare bills, with our three days of guaranteed child care. They're seeing support in their pay packets, with our plan for further tax cuts, with the tax cuts we've already delivered and with the higher wages that Labor has delivered. University students are seeing support from our government, because we have cut their HECS debts and reduced the amount at which they have to start repaying them.

Senator Paterson and his colleagues like to talk about housing, but they seem to forget a really crucial fact. The coalition—sorry, they're not the coalition anymore. That is my mistake. We're going to have to keep reminding ourselves of that as things change day by day. The Liberals and the Nationals have opposed every single housing initiative that we have brought before this parliament—yes, every single one. They have opposed our measures to build more homes. They have opposed our measures to get more people into their first homes. They have opposed our investment in social and affordable housing. The absolute hypocrisy from those opposite to come in here and talk to us about housing! They complain about housing affordability, yet they have not presented a plan to this place or to the Australian people as to what they would do when it comes to making housing more affordable.

I want to talk to the decision by the RBA today to lift interest rates. This, of course, is not news that we were hoping for, but it is news that we were expecting. We know that, for many Australian families, it is difficult news. We understand that this increases pressure on Australian families who are trying to pay mortgages. That's why our government is committed to continuing to roll out cost-of-living relief. We will not stop, and we will continue to do what we can to help. There are further tax cuts to come later this year, and, at the same time, we're doing what we can to strengthen the budget and address our longstanding productivity challenge. Our midyear update showed that the budget is more than $233 billion better off than when we came to government. We have found more than $114 billion in savings since coming to office, including $20 billion in last year's midyear update.

We are committed to undoing the mess that we were left by those opposite. When we came to government, inflation had a six in front of it. It's really clear to me—and I think it's clear to Australians right across this country—that those opposite should perhaps spend some time, instead of fighting each other, supporting our government's cost-of-living measures and supporting our housing affordability measures.