Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to be able to speak on this private member's motion from the member for Bradfield on the topic of the cost of living and Services Australia. There's always a sense of irony when those opposite come to this place to talk about Services Australia—which they absolutely gutted over their 10 years in office—and the cost of living.

Since this government has been in office, it has supported higher wages, particularly for aged-care workers. We've promoted energy bill relief. We've brought in cheaper medicines. We've brought in cheaper child care. The member for Bradfield voted against all of that—all of those cost-of-living measures. Of course, we've just put through tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer, which those opposite, including the member for Bradfield, talk about as being Marxist and say would be on the chopping block, before, of course, voting for the measure but leaving open that window whereby, if they were to ever get back in government, those tax cuts for more working Australians would also be on the block.

I'm sure that the member for Bradfield and members of the opposition would be happy to listen to how the Albanese Labor government is simply trying to fix a service that had been left to rot and fester for 10 years under his watch and the watch of other former coalition ministers. All members of this place, hopefully, know the vital role that Services Australia plays in the everyday lives of all Australians who need it. I was pleased to hear the member for Riverina's contribution, where he paid tribute to the hardworking staff of Services Australia. I say to the member for Riverina: where were you when you were in government? How were you supporting the staff of Services Australia when they were being belittled and derided by those opposite, when jobs were being casualised and contracted out and more than 3,000 staff were being let go? Where were those opposite for Services Australia then?

Life can throw us all curve balls. That means people need to rely on Services Australia for financial help or to access government services. We know from contact with our constituents on a weekly basis that Services Australia is a real lifeline. It hosts 9.5 million customer contacts every week and is currently managing significant pressure on the service delivery network. High volumes of work on hand and longer than desired call wait times are due to several factors, including changes in eligibility leading to an increase in eligible customers, seasonal peaks, surge activities and three current emergency activations.

On this side of the House, we know how important it is for this service to work at its best. Our Services Australia workforce is our front line help for the most vulnerable people in our community. It's a challenging and highly rewarding role, but, for over 10 years of failed Liberal government, more than 3,000 Services Australia staff were lost. The former Liberal government gutted 3,800 staff from Services Australia, resulting in the agency having fewer frontline public servants, despite a population increase in Australia of 17 per cent over the same period. Just think about that—3,800 fewer staff with a 17 per cent population increase. It's no wonder it's under such stress. We acknowledge the stress, and we're doing something about it.

Of course, those opposite also presided over robodebt. Services Australia's reputation was trashed by those opposite with that illegal Liberal robodebt. As many as 11,000 people in my home state and, indeed, in your home state, Deputy Speaker Payne, and 2,500 in my electorate were illegally targeted and made to feel like criminals simply for having accessed income support at one stage in their lives. It is rank hypocrisy from the member for Bradfield and those opposite. It certainly is from the member for Bradfield, who had a fleeting tenure in 2018-19 for nine months as Minister for Family and Social Services, to come into this place now and profess some sort of care about Services Australia. The member for Bradfield oversaw the dying embers of robodebt. He ignored calls for it to be scrapped, prolonging the pain of tens of thousands of innocent Australians.

Before I finish, I want to say as the member for Lyons how proud I am that one of my election commitments in 2022 was for the delivery of a new Services Australia centre to be built in Sorell in my electorate. That plan is on track. It's before the council. I think the council has now approved it. The shovel will be going into the ground soon. That's going to create local jobs, but, more importantly, it's going to create a local service for people in the south-east of my electorate to be able to get to Services Australia.

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