Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

While members of the opposition spent the first week of the 48th Parliament attempting to reprosecute the climate wars of the last few decades, our No. 1 focus as a government continues to be delivering cost-of-living relief for Australians. Our first piece of legislation introduced in the parliament this week will slash student debt by 20 per cent, cutting the average debt of more than three million Australians.

Of course, this builds on the other work we've undertaken to help Australians with the cost of living, including the measures that rolled out on 1 July this year, like a $1.8 billion boost in funding for hospitals and like new menopause and perimenopause health assessments to be available under Medicare. We've invested in longer consultation times and higher rebates for complex gynaecological care for women. We've added two weeks of paid parental leave to the government scheme, and we're adding superannuation to it as well. We've increased the superannuation guarantee and extended the $20,000 instant asset write-off for another year. We've invested in $150 of energy bill relief for every household, and we are providing 30 per cent off home batteries for solar, because we know these measures help not only with the cost of living but with the climate challenges we face. We've supported a 3½ per cent pay rise for all minimum and award wage workers and are investing in paid pracs for nursing, teaching, social work and midwifery students. Tradies who are apprenticed in residential construction are receiving $10,000 in bonus payments.

We as a government are focused on Australian families. We're focused on building Australia's future. We're focused on helping with the cost of living. The opposition seem to have learned nothing and have returned to this place this week focused only on themselves.