Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2019-2020 and Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2019-2020. As I move around my community, it's very clear that there is probably one word that summarises the mood of the electorate, and that is 'uncertain'. There is grave uncertainty in many parts of Australia and, indeed, in many parts of my electorate of Greenway, where people are uncertain about nearly everything in their lives. They're uncertain about whether they will have any work the following week. They are uncertain about their kids' futures and what jobs they will have. They're uncertain about key infrastructure issues, particularly in the growing north-west part of my electorate, where once there were paddocks and farms. The number of houses going up in these areas is gathering pace every single week. So there is tremendous uncertainty about what that will mean for the quality of life of local residents.

It is the job of governments to ensure that that uncertainty is addressed with a plan that recognises the needs of local communities and their desire to have a quality of life that one would reasonably expect in the year 2020. It's therefore of great concern that we see what is happening under this Liberal government in the way the economy is floundering. You only have to look at a couple of the key facts in relation to economic indicators. Economic growth has slowed since the election last year, slowed since the now Prime Minister became Prime Minister and slowed since the Liberals came to office. Underemployment is high, with almost two million Australians looking for work or for more work. There is weak wages growth—and it has slowed even further. This government is presiding over the worst wages growth on record, and wages are growing at one-fifth of the pace of profits. Household living standards have declined under this government, with real household median income lower than it was in 2013.

As I move around my community, no-one is saying that they feel things are going well, no-one is saying they think that there is a plan in place, and no-one appears certain about the future. That impacts on different communities in different ways. As I'm sure with many other members of this place, I service an electorate that is very diverse. It has people who have some of the most challenging socioeconomic conditions, which only seem to be becoming exacerbated and worsening.

I have door-knocked people I represent and I have asked them how they are feeling, what they think government should be doing, and what needs they have and how I can respond to them. I continue to be overwhelmed by the number of people who call themselves part of the 'sandwich generation', which I mentioned in a speech a few months ago in this place: people who are around my age—around middle-age—who have their own children and who are looking after elderly parents, in some cases grandparents. So, in fact, they are the primary carers of essentially two different levels of their own family. Many of us are fortunate in that we have the support of families and the incomes to enable that to happen. But I don't know what happens to those individuals who don't have that support. I don't know what happens to those individuals who don't know how to reach out for help or have reached out for help and haven't been able to get it.

As I mentioned, the issue of underemployment is again one that continues to be exacerbated in our society. In another reminder of the structural issues in the labour market—as my colleague the member for Gorton pointed out—1.2 million Australians are looking for more work but are unable to find it and almost two million Australians are underutilised. They are looking for work or more work because the economy is floundering, as stated earlier. With an underemployment rate of 8.6 per cent and an underutilisation rate of 13.9 per cent, our most critical resource, the human capital of our society, is going to waste—and there is no plan to turn this around. There is no plan for those people who want to be hardworking Australians, who want to do the best for themselves and their families and get ahead—and that is a crying shame.

I also want to deal with the issue of healthcare—in this case the cost of seeing general practitioners. According to figures provided by the Department of Health, in my electorate of Greenway alone out-of-pocket costs to see a GP have increased 39 per cent since 2013. That figure alone is large, but, when you consider it in the context of all those other economic indicators that I mentioned, it is absolutely staggering. Specialist costs have risen even more, up 42 per cent in the same period. What does that mean? We're talking in monetary terms about an average cost of $94.59 to see a specialist. That's up from $66.65 since 2013. It is staggering, too, that only 29.9 per cent of people in Greenway are bulk-billed by specialists. So we're seeing thousands of local residents being slugged with higher costs each and every year.

I'm a great believer in primary health care. In one of my previous lives I had the privilege of serving on the board of the Western Sydney Area Health Service. It was there from very great minds that I learned the basics, and certainly it was a real insight into the economics of health. One thing that always stayed with me was being told about the importance of primary health care. It's something I never forgot and something I did not fully appreciate until I came to this place and saw what this government was inflicting upon Australians and the impact that it will have.

I say this from a very personal point of view. Around six years ago I went to see my GP, whom I had been seeing for a number of years. I hadn't been feeling too well for awhile, so he did a few tests and he basically said to me that I needed to do something really drastic with my health due to potential to have cancer because of family cancer history; diabetes, again, as a result of family history of diabetes; and also heart disease. So I needed to do a number of things. For me this was very radical. It was not a plan that I thought I could put in place. I was a relatively new mother still, I had a busy job and was busy with my day-to-day life and my family, but I decided to take on his advice. I was put on a care plan. I had referrals to a number of specialists. Because I'm of means, because I'm educated and because I took on board that advice, I was able to implement the plan that my GP set out for me. As a result, today I'm actually far healthier than I was six years ago.

I make this point because I believe we need to not only cherish our general practitioners but promote primary health care much more than we do in Australia. The unfortunate reality is that the record cost of health care means that many Australians skip seeing their GP and that we have a system that is set up for episodic or one-off care rather than long-term care. The alternative, of course, is to see a GP or a specialist only when things go wrong and to fix it there and then, not to have a long-term plan for prevention and certainly not a plan that enables you to address what it can potentially become: chronic disease, even more expensive to treat.

Western Sydney, my area, is known as the diabetes capital of Australia, most unfortunately. Coronary disease and smoking rates are still too high. I firmly believe that this requires a different model of care. It needs to be ongoing, it needs to be comprehensive and it needs to address all of those health issues in a very integrated way across health professionals.

I understand, even from speaking to my own GP and the specialists to whom he's referred me, that they want to practise in this way. They want this new model of care, but instead what we've seen is the freezing of GP payments as this government has done for four years. Unfortunately, it's that kind of backward-thinking attitude that is not going to address these crises in healthcare, particularly in Western Sydney, which has some of those chronic conditions, as I mentioned.

In summing up, there were comments made in this chamber last week by the Treasurer, one of the most senior members of the government, and I'm not going to let them go unchecked. I can appreciate why many Australians of Hindu faith have been offended by these comments by the Treasurer in question time and by the behaviour of those who sit behind him. The Treasurer referenced several themes pertinent to Hinduism that have caused offence to many believers. I know this because, as a regular feature of my role as the member for Greenway, I spend time with several hundred Australians of Hindu faith every week and, indeed, even over the weekend. I deal with them in different ways, as small-business owners and as parents in their local communities. All of them are hardworking Australians who want to do the right thing. Hinduism is one of the fastest-growing religions in Australia, and indeed some measurements say it is the fastest. There are 20 times more Hindus in Australia now than there were 30 years ago. In the 2016 census, the percentage of Hindus in Australia stood at 1.9 per cent. I'm sure that that has increased. In my electorate of Greenway it is 12.1 per cent, a significant difference demonstrating that the diversity of west and north west Sydney is only enhanced by Hindu Australians.

I'm not surprised by the statement made by the Hindu Council of Australia over the weekend, a highly respected and active organisation. Just to be clear about what they're saying—they don't mince their words here:

What is more unsettling to the Hindu Community is that the Floor of the House, the shrine of democracy, was used as the stage to disrespect the Hindu community … This behaviour shows lack of respect to the Hindu community and undermines deep faith and multiculturism that we all, as Australians, are so proud about.

The sentiments of the Hindu community are deeply hurt. They have an action point, too:

We also call upon the Liberal Party to clarify where it stands with respect to Mr Josh's remarks.

I want to make it perfectly clear in this place that I don't care what juvenile or inane comments are employed by government MPs as they go about their business in this place—in fact, I expect it. If you're looking for answers from this government, I'm not surprised that question time is considered by so many Australians to be one of the biggest wastes of time. What I do care about is the community that I represent. I care about the fact that Hindu Australians come to this place and invite us to celebrate Diwali with them. They invited us only weeks ago to celebrate Pongal, Tamil New Year, with them, just to name a few. The engagement that I have had with Hindu Australians, even before I came to this place, within Parliament House and outside it has been nothing short of welcoming and hospitable, and this is how Hindu Australians have been rewarded.

We need to do better as a country overall. This is not some flash-in-the-pan issue. Three years ago I called for greater sensitivity and respect for the Hindu community, for the way in which Lord Ganesha was featured in an advertising campaign marketing lamb. As I said at the time, I hope to see greater sensitivity and respect for the Hindu community and Lord Ganesha in advertising and marketing communications in future. That's what it's about, a bit of respect and a bit of sensitivity. I remain of the view that it is not too much to expect from our elected leaders, where multiculturalism is being challenged from many sides—including, as the boss of ASIO said only last week, by factors such as right-wing extremism. One of the most senior members of the government in this place should be well aware of the offence that is being caused to Australians of Hindu faith.

Over the weekend, I was delighted to celebrate, in just one of many celebrations that I am invited to and which I accept with such gratitude, the dedication of a new Jain temple in Western Sydney. It will be the first Jain temple in Australia. They have been working towards this since 2007. The Sydney Shakti temple is about to open after more than a decade of building. I congratulate them and thank them for their contribution to our society.

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