Sharryn Jackson (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would have greater respect for the contributions from members opposite if there were some acceptance of their own role and responsibility in the issues facing struggling working families in Australia. It is ironic to me that an opposition whose leader said, but a few months ago, ‘Working families have never been better off,’ now have a new-found concern for struggling working families. It is ironic to me that the opposition, who until literally a few weeks ago, championed extreme industrial relations legislation that put the take-home pay of struggling families at risk, now claim to be concerned about those same struggling families.

They are the same party who had over 11½ long years, more than a decade, to put in place programs, policies and plans to protect struggling families in Australia and they failed. Over a decade of economic growth—with budget surpluses that the opposition, when in government, used to crow about—what did they do to protect struggling working families? What did they do, long term, to keep inflation under control and maintain downward pressure on interest rates? What did they do to deal with the infrastructure bottlenecks creating so much heat in our economy? What planning did they put in place to deal with the skills shortage, to ensure that we had appropriate skills training and development? What did they do to seriously monitor fuel prices or grocery prices? What did they do to tackle housing affordability—both homeownership and rental costs? Not much, not much at all.

The opposition were no nation builders. They had no plan for the future. And guess what: in November 2007, Australian families judged them lacking as well. The member for Lindsay called it what it is: hypocrisy. It is hypocrisy that the party who had over 11½ years in government and failed to protect struggling families now accuses the party that has been in government for 4½ months—just over a hundred days—of not doing enough to assist struggling families. The opposition are a joke. You were judged; you were found to have failed. I think it is only right and proper that you take some responsibility for that.

One of the reasons why you were judged and found lacking was that you did not have a plan for the future—no plan that was sensitive to the pressures on working families. Labor did have a plan for the future and a series of election commitments which we are diligently putting into action. To assist some of the members opposite, I can advise you that the government has now produced a booklet on the actions we have taken in the first 100 days since coming to government. In case you have not seen it, I am prepared to remind members opposite of some of those initiatives.

We have begun the inquiry into grocery prices by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. We have announced the appointment of Pat Walker as petrol commissioner, to monitor the prices that oil companies charge and ensure that prices are not higher than they should be. We have provided references to the Productivity Commission to examine and inquire into paid maternity leave. We have introduced legislation to end AWAs and restore balance and fairness to Australian workplaces, protecting the take-home pay of struggling families. We have provided greater financial support to older Australians. This week we deliver the election commitment of the increase to the utilities allowance to over three million Australians—seniors, carers and people with disabilities—increasing that utilities allowance from $107 to $500 a year for age pensioners and people receiving other concessions. That is just some of what we have done. I have not even begun to talk about the steps in the area of housing affordability and trying to assist people with the skyrocketing rent increases.

We are taking action, not the least of which is introducing legislation to reform personal income tax to provide tax cuts to low- and middle-income earners. About the only thing I can agree with the opposition on in this debate is that the impact of rising costs on struggling families is a matter of public importance. It is a pity members opposite did not use the last decade to properly assist them and address those issues by putting in place plans that would assist ordinary struggling Australian families to make ends meet. (Time expired)

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