Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

They are paying the price for a decade of denial. Those opposite had no economic plan. They had 22 energy policies and didn't land one.

The Leader of the Opposition raises a number of issues. On wages, he says they're not rising fast enough. But he was a part of a government that saw low wages as part of their economic architecture. It wasn't bad luck; it was bad policy. He had the hide, on the day they voted against the Housing Australia Future Fund, to speak about housing. We have a plan to deal with housing. We had legislation which included the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, which includes specific programs for veterans and for women and children escaping domestic violence, and those opposite voted against it. If you look at the comments of the Reserve Bank governor, he has spoken very clearly about supply chain issues and pressures being a major cause of inflation in this country. And yet those opposite have indicated they're going to vote against the National Reconstruction Fund, a program that will assist business going forward.

We, on this side, will stand up for Australian jobs and we'll stand up for Australian families. That is why we had a plan that came in on 1 January that is already making a difference for cheaper medicines, the first decrease in the price of medicines in 75 years, since, once again, a former Labor government—it's only Labor governments that do the big reforms—introduced the PBS. We have cheaper child care. It came in on 1 January. We've got fee-free TAFE, with 180,000 places in areas of skills shortages. We're taking pressure off the cost but also, at the same time, helping to address those skills shortages and supply chain issues. We have our energy price relief plan. They came in here and they voted against $1.5 billion of support.

The truth is that those opposite just say no to everything. They used to be the coalition; now they're just the 'no-alition'. They just say no to absolutely everything.

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