Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm delighted to speak today in response to the Albanese Labor government's first budget. Deputy Speaker Freelander, I was first elected along with you to this place in July 2016 and have watched six budgets delivered by those opposite. This is the first budget where I can proudly say I am part of the government and an Albanese prime ministership. I am proud to see a Labor budget that puts people back at the centre of our nation's focus. This budget respects workers and values industry and business. We are taking action to ensure our economic and environmental prosperity moving forward.

Many people are not really interested, truth be told, in the national budget as they go about their daily lives. They are unsure what it means for them. As the headlines come and go and they hear the narrative on the news and in their social media feeds, it's mostly just political traffic—in one ear and out the other. But they do desperately care how the budget impacts their lives. So I want to take this opportunity to have a conversation about the Labor budget and what it means for a typical family in my electorate of Paterson.

This budget means that a single parent or a single-income family, a couple, seeking for both parents to be active in the workforce can have the support they need from their government to be confident they can afford quality child care and increase their household income. One of the things I often hear when people in my community talk to me is: 'Meryl, the roads are shocking and child care is so expensive.' Well, we're doing something about that expense, which is one of the biggest expenses, outside of mortgage payments or rent, in household budgets.

Our national budget means that workers on the minimum wage will be better able to meet the cost of living and will have, importantly, more money in their super when they retire. I was certainly no fan of the previous government enabling the raiding of super, because, whilst it might seem really important at the time, the ramifications—the loss of all that compound interest—can have absolutely devastating effects on people when they retire.

Our government is making medicines cheaper and more affordable for Australians by reducing the cost of prescription medications.

Our government will support new and expecting parents to have more parental leave during the vital first 20 weeks of their child's life. Deputy Speaker, I know that you, as a former paediatrician, and I have had many long and meaningful conversations about the importance of the first 5,000 days of life and how we need to give those beautiful new souls every opportunity to prosper and grow. This government's budget supports new parents. As one of those who are well beyond the bleary-eyed years of 'peak parenting', as I call it, I say to new parents: 'Hang in there! It does get easier, and this government is trying to make it better for you by giving you parental leave. It's the hardest but the best job that anyone can ever do.'

This is a budget that gets on with fixing the mess that is the former government's botched NBN. Thanks to the policy passion of my colleague and friend Minister Michelle Rowland, we will see full fibre access to 1.5 million homes and businesses by 2025. I can only think how different the experience of COVID might have been for so many people who worked from home and children who were at home if we'd had a fully functioning fibre NBN. It could have been so much more interactive, so much more responsive—it could have been so different had the NBN been done well in the first place. It wasn't. Now we're going to fix that issue, and fix it we must.

Our budget will deliver on a Voice to Parliament, committing funding to promote the referendum, including for the Electoral Commission to conduct an enrolment drive among Indigenous Australians. In recent days I've spoken to a number of people who've said to me, 'But, Meryl, we don't know the detail.' I understand that that is important, but can I ask people to broaden their thinking on the Voice to Parliament. It is akin to having children. You have your first child and think, 'I could never love anything more than this being.' Then you have your second child and think: 'My heart has grown. I love this one just as much as the other one.' The member for Canberra is here in the chamber. She could attest to this—and far more recently—with her two magnificent children. You think: 'I've grown as a person. My heart is bigger. I'm better for this experience.' It's like when you get a new dog and it's a puppy, and you think, 'Oh, this dog! It's chewing up everything!' But your heart gets bigger and that becomes an old, faithful dog, and you think, 'My God, what an experience. How would I have lived my life without this?' This is, I feel, what the Voice will do for our country. It will make us better. It will grow our hearts. We are big enough and mature enough.

There is no diminution of our country from recognising our First Peoples of this land. There is no downside. There is only betterment for us all to be on this journey together. So I say to each and every Australian: look to your heart. Allow your heart to be bigger and more generous. There is no downside for any of us giving our First Nations people a voice in this parliament. Making that decision table a little bigger will only make the meal that we all share so much better for all Australians. Be part of it, don't shy away from it and please don't be scared.

We're making it easier for senior Australians to return to the workforce, if they wish to, without fear of financial penalties to their retirement savings or pensions, thus returning experience and expertise to the employment pool. Again, I think this is a such a brilliant thing, and I implore every experienced Australian, as I like to call them: if you're thinking that you might like to return to the workforce, get back amongst it. Some of these young'uns will do well to take heed of your life experience. And that whole 'interweb' thing—don't be worried about that, don't be shy, don't be frightened. Just get in there and give it a go. Your experience, and the miles that you've walked in your moccasins, will bring an energy back to business and back to the workforce of Australia.

I say to businesses: take a punt on someone who's over 50 in your business. You will be rewarded by their experience. They've got more energy than you think they do. They will bring depth to your workforce and perhaps even a different kind of ingenuity. They can fix things with wire. They've got practical experience. Give them a crack at your business; you just don't know the benefits that could come your way.

We are ensuring more senior Australians can access a seniors health care card as well. We're also ensuring self-funded retirees won't be penalised, by making it easier for them to qualify for a seniors health care card by increasing the threshold, and that's important.

Despite the white noise from those opposite, this is a budget that delivers on Labor's commitment to the Australian people. We now have a Prime Minister who is working for his fellow Australians. I want to make special reference to a couple of conversations I've had again this week. The first one was with the owner of Angove wines. I was at the Australian Organic Industry Awards in the Hunter region last Friday evening, and he said to me, 'Meryl, I'm not a traditional Labor voter, but I voted for Anthony Albanese last election. Can I say to you, in my opinion, he hasn't put a foot wrong.' Thank you for that.

I had a second conversation with a friend, who said, 'Albanese, or Albo, as you like to call him, Meryl'—I call him the Prime Minister these days—'has those rare qualities of leadership and humility.' It is so rare. It is such a silken thread to be a leader and also humble. It's a delicate balance, but I think he is really doing that, and doing it very well.

One of the most personal commitments made by Labor, for me, was the commitment to ensure a better life for residents of aged care. My own mother spent her last eight months in an aged-care facility until, sadly, passing away earlier this year. It will be my family's first Christmas without both of our parents, and it will be difficult, but I know that she led a really terrific life, living to 90. Whilst in the care and support of the Royal Freemasons' Benevolent Institution masonic village at Kurri Kurri, she had really brilliant care. The village exceeded my expectations, and enough hadn't been done by previous governments to support the hardworking staff at these kinds of facilities. They do this selfless work. They are passionate about dignity and respect for all people in their most senior years, and as a government we must support them. That's why our budget has delivered on our commitment to listen and act on the needs of this workforce.

We are delivering $2.5 billion to mandate a minimum number of care minutes for nursing home residents and to employ a registered nurse on site 24/7. As someone who has slept on a foldout couch beside my mother in her final days, I can only tell you how incredibly angst filled it is for those people. There are buzzers and bells going off through the night, people having falls. These things just happen in aged-care facilities, not because people aren't being well cared for but because, as we get older, the risks are higher. We have been forcing carers in aged-care facilities to constantly make these choices—'Do I stay here and make sure this person is in their pyjamas and in the right position for bed and all settled while I've got someone else buzzing, desperately needing to be helped out of a chair, or someone who needs to be toileted or showered?' These are real and everyday pressures that aged-care workers face. Not only do we need to train them well and pay them well; we need to support them in the work that they do. I give my personal thanks to you and wish you a blessed and happy Christmas. For those that are helping our elderly over this holiday season, I thank you for that, spending time away from your own loved ones while caring for the loved ones of others.

Our policy to invest over $800 million to provide 480,000 fee-free TAFE places will be groundbreaking. It ensures trades and expertise into the future, ensuring the sustainability of professions to keep the country going, quite frankly. The skills and trade industry has been neglected for far too long. Returning opportunities into this sector is vital and well overdue.

I want to particularly turn my attention to students attending Kurri Kurri TAFE and Maitland TAFE. Whether you're studying water or energy management, or whether you're studying viticulture at Kurri Kurri TAFE and producing some of those magnificent award-winning intuition branded wines, good on you. You are learning a craft. You are gaining skills that will contribute immeasurably to our country. We need you to keep learning. TAFE is one of the best places to do it, and this Albanese Labor government is backing you. We're backing your TAFE place. We want you to live the best life you can live contributing through your trade. Thank you for getting on the tools for your country.

The great Australian dream was always to own your own home. In many cities this has now become, sadly, a pipedream, as wages stagnate and housing prices skyrocket. The solution of the former government was to raid your super. As I said earlier, I do not think that was the way forward for Australians. Reducing security in retirement or hitting up Mum and Dad—I think I remember a former Prime Minister saying that perhaps parents could help out to buy a home. Well, you know what? When I grew up and as those who are younger than me grow up, mum and dad mercantile isn't an option for most ordinary Australians. This is where the government comes in. Poor policy provides poor results. Our government provides, in the budget, opportunities for homeownership that are achievable. We are delivering a plan, working with all levels of government, that will deliver an estimated one million new homes over five years from 2024. We will ensure more affordable housing is delivered to support first home buyers. We will look at diversity in housing choices that open up windows across our country.

In keeping with our climate commitments, the first Labor budget has renewable energy as one of its key priorities. Like many other items in the budget, the government has followed through on its commitment to clean energy, with $800 million earmarked for a range of projects. This includes previously promised cuts to taxes on electric cars, improving electric vehicle charging network infrastructure and providing community batteries and solar banks. I note that the Minister for Climate Change and Energy is in the House today. I thank him because I was a particularly passionate advocate for making sure that we could have a fleet of electric vehicles as the fleet vehicles of the nation. To be able to get our businesses into electric cars was an important priority. I am really, really pleased to see that come through.

Our budget also includes $500,000 to be spent in the next year to develop a strategy to, in the future, enable the government to support offshore renewable projects in Australian waters. I am extremely pleased about that.

One of the pillars of our democracy is journalism, and one of the most important assets to regional Australians is the national broadcaster, the ABC, or 'Aunty', as most of us like to refer to it as. I was delighted to attend the first ABC showcase since COVID, and we were celebrating 90 years of the ABC. I actually worked at the ABC when we celebrated 70 years, so I was reminded of the amazing work and the incredible talent and commitment the ABC family brings to our lives every day. Current affairs, up-to-date breaking news and outstanding Australian drama is all just part of the package of the ABC. I stand here as a parliamentarian who is particularly proud of our national broadcaster, and I will support it until my dying breath.

Many would recall funding was cut by the coalition government in 2018. That saw the ABC cut 250 jobs, making their world-class delivery difficult and sometimes nigh on impossible. We are fulfilling our pre-election promise to restore $83.7 million over four years in funding to the ABC. This will ensure that the ABC remains a safe and secure broadcaster that can fearlessly report on current events as well as support future Australian talent and education. I just want to say that all democracy is built on that great excellence of freedom of speech and impartiality. Without the ABC in Australia, I fear the worst for not only our broadcasters but also our system of democracy. I can't tell you how much I value that.

Another pillar of the Labor budget is our commitment to women and gender equality. We have a Prime Minister and a ministerial team who are putting women's safety front and centre. That's why our budget will focus on women's safety initiatives, including $39.6 million in the next financial year to keep up with the sadly increased demand for crisis payments for people escaping violence. I just want to say, especially to people like those working at Carrie's Place in my electorate: I hear you. I understand what you go through on a daily basis supporting the women of Maitland and surrounding areas. I think it is wrong that as part of your armoury in helping women you have to have a shelf of tents and sleeping bags, such is the dire state of our short-term accommodation for people fleeing violence. It isn't right and, as a government, we are working to make this situation so much better than it is.

I am just so proud to be here as the member for Paterson, and there are so many more things that I would love to tell you about but time doesn't permit. We have delivered sporting facilities. We have delivered critical investments in the Port Stephens koala population that mean that we are going to help conserve those koalas into the future. We are helping people with cancer. We are helping veterans in my electorate. I am very pleased to see the minister for health at the table as I say that we have delivered an MRI licence for the new Maitland Hospital. Thank you, Minister, for that. We are progressing the remediation of PFAS, and I thank the Assistant Minister for Defence, Minister Thistlethwaite, for that.

Last but not least, I want to thank my wonderful constituents, my beautiful staff who manage my electorate office and my fabulous colleagues, frontbench and backbench. All of you, have a safe, joyous and Merry Christmas.

Debate adjourned.

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