Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have to say that I fundamentally disagree with the member for Groom. What we are looking at right now is a federal Labor government that is in touch with people and is looking at targeted cost-of-living relief. I recognise that households are doing it tough right now. This is something that we on this side fundamentally understand. We are a party that is in touch with people. We speak to our constituents. We go doorknocking. We understand this.

The other thing I describe is the concept that I call business as usual. Business as usual is the trajectory of an organisation or a government. If we look at the last nine years of mismanagement under the coalition government, their business as usual was, frankly, not good enough. It was a wasted decade. They were asleep at the wheel. They weren't looking at what households actually need. The truth is that billions of dollars were wasted on rorts and there was nothing to show for it except for a bank balance that was heaving with $1 trillion of debt. It wasn't just incompetence; it was a train wreck. In March 2022 we saw the greatest jump in inflation in a century, and that was under the coalition government. It came after that wasted decade.

Here we are again wasting time instead of looking at practical ways that we can help households. The truth is that Labor has been looking at practical measures—fee-free TAFE, cheaper child care, paid parental leave, cheaper medicines and real wage growth. What has the coalition actually been prepared to support? I feel like it's all mug and no coffee; all noes and no real, tangible ideas that will help households on the ground. We know that this coalition is used to basically not putting practical ideas on the table. They didn't have a plan for the future. The truth is the Albanese Labor government has.

We know that previously they were intentionally favouring a policy of low wage growth, so basically screwing over workers' wages was an intentional design principle of their economic policies. How is that fair? That is fundamentally not fair. Additionally they were focused on targeting their energies on the most vulnerable. That was through robodebt. They scapegoated people through their miserable and cruel robodebt scheme. It will never happen again. Never will people be treated by a government as second-class citizens. Labor is committed to putting people back at the centre of what we do as a government—a government that fundamentally improves the lives of working people and doesn't punish them.

Since coming into office the Albanese Labor government has been working hard to fix what went wrong under the coalition government. Instead of going backwards we are moving forward. Labor have promised and we have delivered. I'm an engineer and I love numbers. The facts and the figures do not lie. It is evidence of what we have been working on. We have implemented a raft of measures, such as fee-free TAFE places. We promised 18,000 fee-free TAFE places in WA and we delivered. In fact, there was so much demand that there were almost 36,000 places. This is a success story and it will make a difference. Access to good quality education without needing to pay fees is making sure we are addressing our skills shortage now and in the future and also providing education opportunities for Australian people. It's one of the many success stories of the Albanese Labor government.

We have 111,000 WA families that have benefited from cheaper child care. I am a mother. I have one child who is currently in child care. I know that this is something that parents have been waiting for and have welcomed.

Western Australians have already saved $18 million on 1.6 million cheaper scripts at pharmacies since 1 July. It was the first decrease we have had in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. It was at $42.50 and now it's down to $30. This has made a tangible difference. (Time expired)

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