Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Amongst the rest of the ridiculous questions that had nothing to do with anything actually in the budget that the member for Groom raised in his contribution, he said this: 'Is job creation important to the Treasurer?' It's probably a good time to mention, then, that the job figures have come out today, and the unemployment rate has decreased to 3.6 per cent, the participation rate has increased to 66.9 per cent, full-time employment has increased by 61,700 and employment has increased by over 70,000. Jobs have increased. So I think it's palpably clear that not only is job creation important to the Treasurer and this government, but we're getting on with the job of doing it.

I also note that a number of members on the opposite side have asked where the Treasurer is. The Assistant Treasurer doesn't need me to defend him because he's a pretty robust fellow in his own right, but I just thought it might be worth pointing out, before the next person asks where the Treasurer is, that the bills that we're currently discussing were introduced by the Assistant Treasurer, and the responsibility for these bills falls with the Assistant Treasurer. The Assistant Treasurer is more than capable of answering the questions—if we are going to be so kind as to call them questions—that have been directed towards the government by members on the other side. So hopefully no-one else is going to ask where the Treasurer is today. We've got the person responsible right here.

One of the things that my constituents contact me about—and I know everyone in the parliament gets this sort of contact—is of course the rising cost of living. The budget did not shy away from the fact that there is a significant burden on Australians from the cost of living at the moment. Not only did it not shy away from it but it had a $14.6 billion cost-of-living package in it. One of the things at the heart of that package is to triple the bulk-billing incentive so that more Australians can get to see a doctor for free. Because it is bulk-billed, they do not have to worry about the cost, and just as importantly, if not more importantly, they can get their health needs dealt with when they need them dealt with instead of sitting at home working out how they can save the money just to go and see a GP. Of course, that $14.6 billion cost-of-living package had much more in it. It provided energy relief to over five million households and one million small businesses. We don't hear a great deal from the other side about that energy relief because they voted against energy relief, so they do not like to tell their constituents or anyone about that.

The cost-of-living package helps 170,000 households save on energy bills by financing energy-saving home upgrades. That makes a big difference to a lot people. As I said, we are reducing out-of-pocket health cost by tripling bulk-billing incentive and investing in more bulk-billing urgent care clinics. I am really, really pleased that one of those urgent care clinics is in Frankston, in my electorate of Dunkley. It is getting harder and harder for so many of my constituents to get in to see a doctor, and the emergency room at Frankston Hospital is always packed out, which means hours of waiting. The urgent care clinic makes a massive difference because people can go there to get their care instead of having to wait at the hospital.

Our cost-of-living relief package is cutting the cost of medicine by up to half for at least six million Australians—up to half—and 60-day dispensing will make a massive difference to a lot of people with chronic health issues. In addition, 57,000 single parents are benefiting from expanding the eligibility for the parenting payment. The base rates for JobSeeker and other payments are increasing for 1.1 million people. Commonwealth rent assistance is also increasing for 1.1 million people. Through these measures and things like tax breaks to ensure more investment in build-to-rent projects, we are looking after Australians and will continue to do so.

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