Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I follow on from the member for Dobell and acknowledge her work as a pharmacist prior to coming to this parliament in 2016. I acknowledge her work particularly in providing medications and the like in the mental health space. Certainly she's a good person; I acknowledge that. She would also acknowledge this government's work with the Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule. Indeed, we have listed so many medicines—in fact, 857 new medicines—on the PBS since 2019. That has come about because we actually got the economic measures in place in 2013 that allowed us to list new drugs for such things as—I can recall early in the piece—cystic fibrosis and other ailments which people, unfortunately, endure.

When we go to health we look at the 163,105 new aged-care home-care packages. That is dealing with health because these people need our attention. There are 502,413 people on the National Disability Insurance Scheme. That was one of the great hallmarks of Julia Gillard, but the right funding wasn't put in place. But we fixed it, just like with the PBS. I know that in the last days of the Labor government they were very much reconsidering putting some vital drugs on the PBS—and actually didn't—because they'd run out of money because of economic mismanagement. But, because of the measures that we put in place when we took over government in 2013, we were able to put those essential medicines and drugs on the supply list.

More than 128,000 Australians are supported by headspace each year. I appreciate that is very much a bipartisan thing, but new headspace centres are opening all of the time, particularly in regional areas, where it is a particular issue. I'm pleased to say that that is taking place. More than 1,400 nurse placements for the regions have been put in place and helped and supported by this government. Ninety per cent of families are getting access to a childcare subsidy of between 50 and 80 per cent. These are all things which this government has put in place because we are focusing on the issues that matter.

You heard from the Treasurer in question time today that when we took government the unemployment rate was 5.7 per cent and rising. We have addressed that. The figure is now very much below that. Under Labor, one in eight manufacturing jobs were lost. There were one million fewer women in work under Labor than there are now under a coalition government. There are 1.7 million more Australians in work today than when Labor was in office. We should get ticks for that. I know out there in the real world, out in voter land, they are looking at this government and they are saying we have addressed those issues. There are indeed more than 60,000 jobs available in regional Australia now. I stand in front of the member for Nicholls, and I know that in his electorate there are many jobs that are perhaps needing to be taken up by people from the cities, just like there are in my electorate of the Riverina.

What did we see from those opposite at the last election? They wanted to impose $387 billion of higher taxes on the Australian people—indeed, a retirees tax and a housing tax. Let me say: Labor are trying to fly under the radar this time as we head towards the polls. Who knows when the polls will be? The Prime Minister does, but the rest of us are just working diligently for and on behalf of everyday, ordinary Australians on those bread-and-butter issues.

But, Mr Speaker, rest assured that while the opposition leader is trying to take a low profile, perhaps hopefully to the Lodge, don't believe what Labor says it will do prior to the election. After the election, if they get Treasury benches, they will hit Australians hard. They will hit Australians very, very hard with new taxes to pay for their spending habits.

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