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

It was a year yesterday that we were elected to office with an agenda for a better future. And what we've been doing is implementing that agenda. As a direct result of what this government has done, one million families—1.2 million, to be precise—will pay less for child care from 1 January. As a result of what we put in the budget, tripling the bulk-billing incentive, 11 million Australians will pay less to see a doctor. As a result of what we have done already in the first four months of this year, Australians paid $76 million less for their prescriptions because of our cheaper medicines plan. Because of our budget, six million Australians will pay less for their medicines in the future. Four hundred and eighty thousand Australians will go through their TAFE courses for free as a result of our policies, and 180,000 are already doing just that. Five million Australians, as a result of the legislation that they opposed, to provide $3 billion, together with states and territories—they voted against providing relief from power prices. As a direct result of that, one million small businesses will benefit—again, a measure that those opposite voted against. 3.7 million small businesses will be able to access an expanded instant asset write-off. 3.7 million small businesses will be eligible for a tax incentive if they upgrade to more energy efficient equipment and facilities.

As a result of what we have done with our measures, the day after the Leader of the Opposition's budget reply—I was there in the electorate of Cook, there in Miranda, with Mike Baird and the Minister for Health and Aged Care, to commemorate and say thank you to the aged-care workers who have looked after our oldest Australians during the pandemic and still do today. They deserve more than just our thanks. They deserved a pay rise, and we provided $11.3 billion in our budget to make sure that 250,000 of them would get just that.

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