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

I thank Senator Grogan for the question and for being part of a united team that's determined to deliver for the Australian people—a sharp contrast with what we see happening over the other side of the chamber. As Senator Grogan says, the OECD's latest report does provide some commentary on how successful the Albanese government has been in navigating some of the economic pressures we've been seeing around the world.

I can see Senator Hume interjecting, and I'm happy to read out the quotes—and there are a number of them—from the OECD about how Australia was able to achieve a soft landing and that we've managed to avoid a recession. Presumably you're all pretty pleased about that over there. This is a favourite for Senator Hume—that is was 'supported by prudent fiscal policy'—and we were able to provide cost-of-living supports to households, and, 'in the absence of this impetus, Australia may well have experienced a recession during 2023-24', showing that the decisions we took at those critical moments to support the economy have been so important.

The economy is growing, wages are up, pay packets are growing at their fastest pace since 2012 and we've got a very low unemployment rate, at 4.1 per cent. We've managed to create 1.2 million jobs—three out of five full-time and four out of five in the private sector—and the smallest gender pay gap on record, as well as a record number of small businesses and solid business investment. We've managed all of that and have been able to invest in those key services, like hospitals, which Senator Wong just took us through, and provided tax cuts, with more tax cuts coming for every taxpayer.