Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

Queenslanders are doing it tough right now—really tough. I know that, after a summer of being battered by a monsoon troughs, floods and extreme weather, Queenslanders are calling out for relief. Times like these bring our communities together. We see the very best of what Queenslanders and Australians are. But unfortunately when they look to this parliament over the next week, what they'll see from those opposite is nothing but division and disunity.

At the same time, they'll see that our Labor government is solely focused on delivering for them. Our No. 1 priority remains the here and now for every Australian, while working to set up a better future for all. We'll continue to roll out responsible cost-of-living relief, including delivering a tax cut for every single taxpayer, with another cut coming in July.

At the same time, we're working hard to strengthen the budget. We have found, since coming to government, $114 billion in savings including $20 billion in the most recent budget update. On top of this, we're addressing our longstanding productivity challenges. These investments that we are making are targeted and designed to take pressure off families. The question for those opposite really is: which part of this relief would you roll back?

We will see a pay rise for minimum- and award-wage workers, taking the total increase under our government to over $9,000 for the lowest-paid workers in our economy. For new parents we've expanded paid parental leave to 24 weeks, and we're making sure that super isn't sacrificed, by ensuring super is paid on all government paid parental leave.

We've delivered even more energy bill relief, with $150 off power bills for every household and one million small businesses. For apprentices building the houses that we need in this country, we're delivering a $10,000 bonus to top up their wages and incentivise their apprenticeships. And for those households who took up solar power, we've taken 30 per cent off the cost of batteries to permanently cut their power bills.

For those studying vital subjects like nursing, teaching, social work and midwifery, we're delivering paid prac so that placements can be taken without the stress of working a day job.

We've boosted Medicare with $1.8 million in extra funding, helping Australians get the quality, affordable health care that they deserve. We're delivering more choice, lower cost and higher quality care for Australian women, finally. Since 1 January, we've delivered the next stage in our plan to make the biggest cut to the cost of medicines in the history of the PBS. Thanks to the Australian Labor government, bringing the cost of medicines to $25 or less is making a real difference to family budgets. It is the cheapest that medicines have been in over two decades. Cheaper medicines alone will save Australians $200 million a year at a time when they need it the most.

The question, again, for those opposite, is: which part of this relief would they roll back? We know that Queenslanders and Australians deserve a government that works hard for them. I'm proud of that work, I'm proud of the work that we have done over the summer, and I'm proud of the work that we will do here in this parliament. I'm proud to represent regional Queensland and to come from a place like that to deliver for the communities that I call home, here in this parliament.

Meanwhile, those opposite, who say they stand up for the bush and say they stand up for regional Queenslanders, have spent their time here fighting each other. Those opposite remain a will-they won't-they opposition, more focused on fighting each other than fighting for Australians. They are tripping over their own feat to get to Sky News to make their case for their next job and to make their case against getting back together. They are meeting in secret men's clubs to plot to get rid of the Leader of the Opposition. They are splitting up and getting back together and arguing about committee positions. It is a disaster over there. They are so consumed by themselves that there is no room left to focus on the real priorities for Australians. The Liberal Party and the National Party— (Time expired)