Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

One dollar an hour—and he said he absolutely supported that. Oh, was he mocked by those who are now, quite rightly, sitting in opposition! That they were absent when it came to backing workers is something that we on this side of the House will never forget; in fact, we'll remind people at every opportunity, because it's important that Australians know who actually has their back, especially at a time when so many households are doing it tough.

We've legislated for cheaper medicines. We will see cheaper child care come into effect from 1 July. In my own electorate, Chisholm, that is going to make a really profound contribution to relieving the cost-of-living pressures that families are experiencing. Over 7,200 families are set to benefit from those changes. In fact, Mr Deputy Speaker, that is one of the largest numbers of families in Victoria to benefit. I know my colleague here, the member for Lalor, also has a large number of families in her electorate who will benefit from this very significant policy.

We know that the cost of medicines and the cost of health care increased under the watch of those opposite. In my own electorate, the out-of-pocket costs just to see a GP have increased by 38 per cent over the last decade, which is absolutely shameful. Since we introduced cheaper medicines we've changed lives and improved household budgets. In my electorate in the first two months of this year alone 22,700 scripts were filled, which means our changes have saved people in my electorate over $256,000. That is significant. Instead of walking into this chamber and being disingenuous about what we believe, we are making sure that our actions speak louder than words ever could by implementing these important policies.

We're investing in more skills, with fee-free TAFE places and more university places. We're doing the things that need to be done to make sure our economy is strong again after the wreckage that we witnessed from those opposite for nine years.

It is not too late for this parliament to come together to stimulate the economy and improve our nation's wealth by supporting the National Reconstruction Fund. It is not too late for this parliament to do the right thing together, in a bipartisan fashion, and vote on more housing stock being built. I urge those opposite, if they really do believe the words that they say every time they walk into this chamber and debate the economy, to vote for these really sensible measures. That is how we can assess whether or not what they claim to be deeply felt concerns are just more lies that they're spinning to trick the Australian people.

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