Richard Dowling (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

It's great to be back, President. My question is to the Minister for Finance, Senator Gallagher. A responsible approach to the budget has allowed the Albanese Labor government to deliver another tax cut for every taxpayer from 1 July. We've delivered wage increases for around three million workers and increased payments for 2.6 million Australians who need them most. Can the minister update the Senate on how the government's responsible approach to budget management is delivering cost-of-living relief for Australians and continuing to build the services and support Australians rely on?

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

I thank Senator Dowling for the question. Welcome back and congratulations on the new member of the family. We can't wait to meet her when you bring her to Canberra. In relation to the question, we have, in just the last week or so, seen that S&P Global have endorsed the government's responsible economic and fiscal management by reaffirming Australia's AAA credit rating. We remain one of only nine countries with a AAA sovereign credit rating from all three major rating agencies. Indeed, in that report—and I was hoping for a question about the S&P report from those opposite, but it wasn't the first question that they wanted to run with—S&P said 'Australia's fiscal performance is sound' and 'Australia has modest public debt by international standards'. It specifically called out the government's ambitious tax and saving reforms for helping improve Australia's fiscal position over the next decade.

We knew, once we inherited a budget mess from those opposite, who had doubled the debt before the pandemic hit and had also failed to address key areas of pressure on the government's budget, that we had to find savings in order to be able to meet some of those demands in the NDIS, early childhood education and care, health, aged care and defence. Almost every area of government had a level of unmet need because those opposite, when in government, failed to do the policy thinking or actual delivery in any of those areas to make sure that our national interest was being protected.

We have made the hard decisions in this budget alone, finding more savings than ever in previous updates. We've lowered the debt and we've lowered the interest on that debt to allow us to meet some of these other pressures. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Dowling, a first supplementary?

Richard Dowling (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you for that AAA rated answer, Minister. How is the Albanese Labor government continuing to look at ways to provide cost-of-living support to more Australians?

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

We've missed the jokes from Senator Dowling!

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

We haven't!

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

Come on! That was a good one! One of the new ways that the Albanese government is providing cost-of-living support is through expanding the Commonwealth Prac Payment to people training in an additional 10 key frontline health professions. This will provide cost-of-living relief for students and support our future healthcare workers. This was an important announcement that the Prime Minister made, building on the work that's already been done in this area. It shows the government's commitment to continue to look at ways to provide cost-of-living help in a way that doesn't add to inflation in our economy and also in a way that the budget can afford—responsible, funded cost-of-living support that makes a real difference to those students and should help them with some of those pressures whilst also making sure that the budget can afford it.

Sue Lines (President) | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Dowling, a second supplementary?

Richard Dowling (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Since the Albanese Labor government was elected, significant investments in Medicare have been made. How have these investments provided cost-of-living assistance through a stronger Medicare system?

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

I thank Senator Dowling for this supplementary. This is an important area where the government has consistently, over a number of budgets, invested in ensuring that Medicare is able to deliver the services it needs across the country. Again, it was one of those areas when we came to government, as I think the health minister says, where Medicare was on its knees and needed significant investments to make sure that it continued to deliver accessible health care across the country. Just in the last couple of days, we've seen some of the first outcomes from the additional investment, demonstrating that when you match that investment with a particular outcome and you drive for that outcome you see improved results. That's what we're seeing with the bulk-billing rate. For the June 2026 quarter, it rose to 84.1 per cent—that's up almost five percentage points on the same quarter last year, the largest quarterly increase in 20 years. In Senator Dowling's home state of Tasmania, the bulk-billing rate has increased to 80.8 per cent, up 5.5 percentage points, making a real difference to Tasmanian families.

Sue Lines (President) | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister. Senator Lambie. Welcome back.