Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I found that quite an amusing contribution to the debate. As to the reference to the plan that was held up by the previous speaker, it is a pity there is no meat on it. It is just a collection of motherhood statements that tells us nothing about how they are going to be delivered. And there was nothing in that contribution that told us how the opposition plans to address its $70 billion black hole that already exists. I must say that I have never heard so much irrelevant, obscure information presented by any speaker in this parliament.

I also need to add that, under the Howard government, families and pensioners were so disadvantaged. That government never sought to be inclusive. It never sought to address the needs that families and pensioners had, unlike the government that we have here today. It is really pleasing to see that I have the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Minister for Disability Reform, Minister Macklin, here in the House, because she has been responsible for seeing massive increases to the amount of money pensioners receive.

Back in 2007 when Labor came to power, a pensioner couple were receiving $808.40. Today, 20 March 2013, they are receiving $1,218.80. This follows the massive increase that was delivered to pensioners back in 2009. Back in 2007 a single pensioner was receiving $537—$537 a fortnight to live on! Today, it is $898 per fortnight. This followed the massive increase in the pension back in 2007.

The opposition never had an appetite to deliver fairness to pensioners when they were sitting on the government benches. How can they possibly argue that they will deliver fairness if they ever manage to get control of the government benches? I just cannot see it.

I have looked and I have seen areas that they are considering cutting, slashing and burning, if they were ever to take government. They are talking about cancelling the first stage of the NDIS and abolishing the FaHCSIA division implementing the NDIS. That is criminal. When they were in power, they absolutely ignored the needs of people with disability. They paid no attention to the fact that we had a big section of our community that was missing out. They did not get the services, they did not get the respect and they did not get jobs that they should have been getting, and it has taken a Labor government to actually deliver to people with disabilities. And, once again, it is a pleasure to have the minister in the chamber, because she has overseen that delivery of the NDIS to people with disability in Australia.

I will look at what else they would do. They would abolish Fair Work Australia and Safe Work Australia. We all know that those on the other side of this chamber are the advocates of Work Choices. Work Choices is a system that would really disadvantage workers in Australia. It is a system that sought to marginalise workers. It would have worked to the detriment of workers' families, including their children. So, I find it absolutely surprising that the Leader of the Opposition would have the hide to come into this chamber and move the MPI that he has moved today. Under the rule of the Howard government and under the stewardship of the Leader of the Opposition when he was minister for health, I can tell you that things were in a very, very sorry state.

Those opposite are talking about cutting the research budget by 40 per cent and cutting all Commonwealth housing programs. I come from an area where people are older and more disadvantaged so I find it an absolute disgrace that those opposite are prepared to totally ignore the needs of people who cannot find or cannot afford housing. Other cuts include cutting off foreign aid, excluding emergency aid; abolishing all agriculture, forestry and fisheries programs; and privatising the ABC. Well, I can tell you that the people that I represent in this House would not like to see that happen.

I think it is important to look at some of the differences between the two parties. Look at health and what has happened since Labor has been in power. We have seen $20 million put into public health, including extra services, 1,300 new sub-acute beds, 450 surgical beds and the new aged care reform package. The new aged care reform package will be delivered to the people that I represent in this parliament. What do the opposition plan to do? They plan to rip $1 billion from our hospitals, and that is the equivalent of 1,025 beds. That is not what the people that I represent want to see.

With respect to aged care, I talked about the $3.7 billion plan that has been introduced into the parliament. Those opposite had a history, when they were in government, of failing to deliver or to maintain the aged-care system. They let it be eroded. They allowed people that I represent to languish on waiting lists for beds in residential care. And the beds that they created in residential care were phantom beds; they only existed on paper. It is horrific to think of what would happen if the opposition ever managed to gain government.

We will have trained 5,500 new doctors by 2020, including doubling the number of GP training places to 1,200 a year by 2014. What did the opposition do? They capped GP training places so that an enormous shortage occurred. That is not good enough. I know that in the Shortland electorate, at the height of the Howard government, bulk billing rates were under 60 per cent. And now we have, nation wide, bulk billing rates in excess of 82 per cent. Whilst I am talking about the government's plans for health, let me say that the government has delivered; the opposition plans to rip $1.2 billion out of primary care. That will mean fewer doctors, fewer health workers, fewer nurses, fewer physiotherapists, fewer psychologists and podiatrists and speech therapists. I cringe when I think about what an Abbott government would mean to health in Australia.

Coupled with the massive increases in jobs that have occurred under Labor and the investment in schools is the schoolkids bonus that has been so popular in my electorate. That is something that those on the other side of this House intend to get rid of. Tell me how the plans of those on the other side of this House are inclusive. Tell me how that is a plan for all Australians. To me it is a plan for a very small group of people. It is a plan that is going to deliver to the people that those opposite feel are deserving of their assistance.

On this side of the House we deliver to businesses, to families and to pensioners, and we are committed, as always, to ensuring that every Australian gets the assistance from government and the kind of government that they deserve, not a government that is tinged with ideological bent, as an Abbott government would be.

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