Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese Labor government knows that the cost of living is front of mind for Australians. It is the No. 1 issue, and I think, when we talk about the cost of living, this is about the pressure that is on people. Two people from my electorate, Ismael and Zali, told me recently that, even with both of them working, nearly all of their income goes to child care and rent. They budget and try not to eat out much, but they still feel that it's impossible to have much left in terms of savings. They also don't see themselves becoming homeowners any time soon, because of that pressure. The overwhelming sense I get from them is: Where do we go from here? How do we overcome this challenge?

We know obviously that many people are like Ismael and Zali. We know that the basics are costing more. Australians are walking away from the supermarket with much less for their money. Rising interest rates are making it really hard to pay the mortgage, for so many people, and, for many renters, the costs are being passed on in the form of increased rent as well. Surging rents have kept many Australians trapped in the rental cycle for prolonged periods. We, in the Albanese Labor government, are acutely aware of how difficult it is right now for people to just get by. That's why we're so absolutely focused on doing what we can to relieve that pressure.

The government has done a lot so far, in less than two years of government, to relieve that pressure. Let's start with child care. As many parents know, childcare costs are a significant burden. However, 96 per cent of Australian families will be better off under Labor's childcare reforms. That's 1.26 million families, which is remarkable. Our cheaper childcare reforms will help families save up to 90 per cent on child care. Per the 2021 census, in my electorate of Wills we have roughly 23,000 families that are raising children. Many of these families have told me they directly benefit from Labor's childcare reforms, leaving them with more money to spend on groceries, save for a house and spend on activities for the kids.

We've also put forward and passed through the reforms on paid parental leave, which will now better meet the needs of modern Australian families. From 1 July this year, new parents will be able to use a total of 20-weeks leave as they choose. That's more flexibility, and parents will be able to share leave with that flexibility and access leave in multiple blocks as small as one day, with periods of work in between. Single parents will also now have access to 20 weeks of paid parental leave, which was increased from 18 weeks. For our new paid parental leave policy, the rough estimate is that it's going to benefit 180,000 Australian families. That's really significant, and that's just the start. There's a lot more to do to help those working families. By 2026, every single family with a new baby will be able to access six months of paid leave shared between parents. That is going to be a huge relief and a lifting of the burden from those parents.

We've also passed reforms to deliver cheaper medicines and access to medical care. We have made medicines cheaper for millions of Australians, and they've saved $250 million on 21 million cheaper prescriptions in 2023 alone, thanks to the government's policies. The maximum out-of-pocket cost for most medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the PBS, is now $12.50 lower. So, for families like those in my electorate of Wills who rely on two or three medications, this can put as much as $450 back into the household budget. Again, that's real relief for those families.

The government is also working to strengthen Medicare and reduce the pressure on our hospitals, which we all know is significant. We've delivered on our commitment to open and operate 58 Medicare urgent care clinics across Australia, making it easier for people to seek urgent care. I can vouch for them because my mother-in-law had to get some stitches taken out in one of the clinics in an emergency after she had a fall. Those urgent care clinics are so important because you can go there at any time of the day or night when you don't want to clog up the hospital system. So they're really significant, and I got to see firsthand how important they are.

We've increased the Medicare levy low-income threshold for 2023-24, ensuring people on lower incomes continue to pay less or are exempt from the Medicare levy. We've invested $143.9 million for after-hours primary care, through the primary health networks, the after-hours program and Healthdirect. These programs improve access to services for people affected by homelessness and to culturally and linguistically diverse Australians. We also expanded access to the seniors healthcare card for pensioners, helping more Australians access cheaper medicine and visits to the GP.

We also know the pressure on families and individuals with respect to energy bills. Obviously, we know that Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine has pushed energy prices to historic highs all over the world, and other conflicts have had similar effects. We've taken direct action to help shield Australians from the worst of those rising energy costs. We implemented additional energy rebates last year which helped eligible households by up to $500 and small businesses by up to $650. This is money back in the pockets of Australians. It included targeted relief on power bills to households receiving income support, pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders, those receiving family tax benefit A and B and small-business customers. We're also investing for the long term so that our kids can continue to enjoy our quality of life—that's really important.

I want to come to housing too, because this is where there has been a real need for relief—the pressure around housing affordability issues, rental stress and mortgage stress, which I touched on earlier. The government understands safe and affordable housing is central to the security and the dignity of Australians. It's something I understand personally, as does the Minister for Housing and the Prime Minister. The three of us are all housos: we grew up in housing commission places and we're proud of it. We understand, I think, the fact that there's a transformative power which comes with accessible housing—to have a home, with a roof over your head. Too many Australians are struggling with rising rents and mortgage repayments; many are struggling to buy a home or save for a deposit, and many are experiencing homelessness, sadly. That's why the Albanese Labor government is pursuing an ambitious housing agenda in this place. The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund is one of the most significant Australian government investments in housing in generations.

I don't have time to go through all the policies, but we have housing policies that are basically aimed at supply—supply, supply, supply—because that's where the solution is. We have committed to building tens of thousands of new social and affordable homes and we have delivered commitments around acute housing needs, including $200 million for the repair, maintenance and improvement of housing in remote and Indigenous communities. We're also helping more Australians to buy their first home with our Help to Buy scheme, and the government will support eligible homebuyers through that with an equity of up to 40 per cent for new homes and 30 per cent for existing homes.

Again, this is about people. I know a woman by the name of Sandra in my electorate. She's in her 50s and her husband, who's around 60, is working full-time. They will benefit from our Help to Buy scheme. Sandra had to stop working recently because of rheumatoid arthritis and other health conditions. Sandra and her husband have never been able to save enough for a deposit to buy a home of their own. They've always lived in rentals and are worried about how they'll live as they get older. Sandra told me that she would do anything to have a secure home to live in until they don't need it anymore. She said that they don't care if the government had equity in the home, despite the scare campaigns from the other side. With Help to Buy, she and her husband can finally buy a house. That's the transformative power for Sandra and her husband.

This government wants to ensure that no matter where you come from, whatever your background—whether you're socioeconomically disadvantaged or come from a diverse background; wherever you live; whatever your age group; and whether you're a teacher, a nurse, an early educator, an aged-care worker; an ambo; or a police officer—that you get that fair go. Also, a lot of our housing policies are about making sure that those types of essential workers, some of whom I just named, are able to live somewhere within cooee of their workplace, rather than having to commute for two hours to get to their place of work.

We're absolutely committed to providing genuine cost-of-living relief that does not drive inflation upwards but is actually targeted and delivered where it's most needed. We're delivering this ambitious agenda because we actually care about people. I think that most of us who come to this place, or who put our hand up to run for office, do so because we think we can make a difference to people's lives—whether it's Zali and Ismael, or Sandra or any of the tens of thousands of people we represent, it's about making their lives better. It's about giving them some hope and actually putting policies in place in this place to change their lives for the better. That's why we have such an ambitious agenda and that's why we're delivering such an ambitious agenda. That's what Labor governments have done in the past and it's what this Labor government is doing for the people who we represent and for all the people of Australia.

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