Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Higgins, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We are in a fight against inflation. When we came to government, inflation was 6.1 per cent. It peaked at nearly eight per cent in December 2022 and is moderating, with just over four per cent reported in December last year. This is welcome relief for millions of Australians. Why? Because inflation is an indirect tax which erodes your purchasing power. Inflation triggers that feared blunt weapon wielded by the Reserve Bank called 'interest rates', which inflicts widespread pain. The effects of inflation are felt most amongst low- and middle-income earners but also mortgage holders, renters, pensioners and small business owners. Businesses rethink their plans for expansion when interest rates go up, and that hurts jobs. No-one is immune, which is why we are treating inflation as public enemy No. 1.

The medicine we've prescribed for the Australian economy seems to be working. Inflation is coming down; the job market is good; we have record levels of female workforce participation, at 62 per cent; the number of women in full-time work has gone up 5.3 per cent under our government; and we have the lowest gender pay gap in Commonwealth history, with work to do. We have also delivered the first budget surplus in 15 years, with another in prospect. Nevertheless, people have run down their savings in this pro-inflationary environment and are calling for further relief, which is why Labor's tax cut for every Australian is going to be essential.

One of the reasons I stand here and not on the other side of the political spectrum is Medicare. Medicare is arguably our most important safety net. It recently turned 40. Happy birthday, Medicare! It is a proud Labor legacy that was introduced in 1984 by the Hawke government, but of course was preceded by Medibank. But Medicare is an aging patient and needs a shot in the arm. That's why we have tripled the bulk-billing incentive to arrest the decline in bulk-billing. A survey by a private group called Cleanbill showed that Higgins has the lowest bulk-billing rates in Victoria, with patients paying on average at least $50 out of pocket to see a doctor. That's a real disincentive for health-seeking behaviour when household budgets are under pressure. Since we tripled the bulk-billing incentive, Higgins residents have benefited from an estimated 1,359 additional bulk-billed visits and have saved an estimated just over $65,000 in the first two months. Nationally, bulk-billing rates have increased 2.1 per cent, equivalent to a staggering 360,000 additional presentations to the doctor that are now bulk-billed. That's the shot in the arm.

The Prahran urgent care clinic, opposite the Alfred, where I previously worked, has been set up for non-life-threatening problems. The 58 urgent care clinics around the country that we are rolling out have gone gangbusters. From June last year, when they opened, to January this year, they have seen 130,000 visits. They are open seven days a week. Some, like the one in Prahran, which is open from 8 am to 10 pm seven days a week, have extended hours. They offer walk-ins, which means you don't need an appointment, and of course they are bulk-billed. When I visited, there were people sitting in the waiting room—babies, children and adults—waiting to be seen by a community GP.

The Prahran urgent care clinic has been an absolute standout, and it also benefits from being closely located to the Alfred, where diagnostic tests such as X-rays and pathology can be done with a simple walk across the road. In a further advantage, these two centres are linked with the same electronic system, which means the doctors at the urgent care clinic can simply look up your results for anything that has been performed at the Alfred. There's no barrier to access. It delivers high-quality, affordable and convenient care.

The largest group of patients at these urgent care clinics have been children, with around one-third being under 15 years. And the range of problems is diverse: from bites, lacerations, minor trauma and sporting accidents to STIs, which are sexually transmitted infections, and viral infections. There is no need to languish in an overcrowded emergency department. And the best part of all is that all you need is your Medicare card.

With eight in 10 Australians having at least one long-term health condition, a chronic disease, including just over 38,000 people in Higgins, the move to 60-day prescriptions has been enthusiastically embraced by patients. We have had over 13,000 60-day scripts dispensed to Higgins residents from September to the end of December last year—halving the cost of these meds, providing convenience to patients and potentially improving their compliance. Again, this stops people from deteriorating and then ending up in hospital, in that emergency department I'm so familiar with. By keeping people out of hospital, the medical lever has become the economic one.

For young Australians thinking of a career or those Australians considering a career change, TAFE is like choose your own adventure for skills. Following our removal of cost barriers for TAFE, Australians have taken up fee-free TAFE with gusto. Because our last allotment of 300,000 places was exhausted, we have released another 300,000 places this year. We've expanded the priority apprenticeships by adding another 19 in demand occupations like irrigation technician. You might want to work in the regions—why not? It's a great place to live and to raise a family. You might want to be a furniture maker, using your hands and engaging your creativity and imagination. You might want to be a nursing support worker—incredibly important in that care economy that's growing with time. Or you might want to be a sound technician if you like music or the creative arts.

Fee-free TAFE has been a real success story, and colleges like Holmesglen TAFE in Chadstone are wonderful places to train, with happy, engaged learners getting hands-on experience. We want to help apprentices succeed, which is why we have provided interest-free loans of nearly $25,000 to 38,000 trainees across 60 in demand courses. These loans now include, for the first time, trainees in nontrade occupations such as child care, aged care and disability. If trainees successfully complete their training, we will shave 20 per cent off the amount they have to pay us back. That is absolutely awesome, especially when young people are under financial pressure and apprenticeship completion rates are woefully inadequate.

One area we would like to see greater uptake in are our energy apprenticeships. We are throwing billions at energy, but companies are desperate for workers in wind turbine installation and maintenance; rooftop solar; battery installation transmission; and novel generation, like geothermal and green hydrogen. These projects are already on foot. They are well underway, but they really do need those skilled workers to oxygenate them. There are 10,000 places available and only 1,800 have been taken up. When it comes to the trades, we really want women to apply. I thought politics was the last bastion when it came to women, but it turns out that women in hi-vis really do break new ground.

For essential workers, like aspiring teachers, we have generous scholarships of up to $40,000 over four years for undergraduates and $20,000 over two years for postgrads. For doctors keen on the rural experience—I've had that, and it was fantastic—we are waiving HECS fees the further out you go. Regional and remote work is a gift in health care. Broaden your horizons. Those communities will welcome you with open arms and you will have far more autonomy in the regions than you would ever have in a big city hospital.

The 4,400 working families in Higgins have for too long been hit with hefty childcare fees. We pumped $5 billion into child care in our first budget, which has shaved 14 per cent per hour from child care, reducing out-of-pocket costs by 11 per cent. That is welcome for families in Higgins. This will bring some relief to parents who pay, in Higgins, the highest childcare fees in Victoria, according to the Mitchell Institute. But parents don't just want cheaper child care; they want quality, because those first five years are foundational to a productive life, which is why we are leading major reviews into the sector with input from the Productivity Commission and the competition watchdog, the ACCC.

Housing is fundamental, and, like Medicare and energy, it was neglected by those opposite. They washed their hands of housing. Supply plummeted, the population grew and household occupancy fell, intensifying rental demand. In 2021, 42 per cent of people in Higgins were renting, paying a median of $420 a week across the electorate. It would be more now. The 15 per cent increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance, the highest in 30 years, will help—like it helped Graham, who I met outside Melbourne Central. As a pensioner, he lived with his son, but he appealed to me and my office, and we were able to get him Commonwealth Rent Assistance, which he greatly appreciated.

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