Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fowler for drawing our attention through this MPI to the cost-of-living pressures that Australians are feeling. It's a great opportunity for me to discuss with this House and with the crossbench every single thing that the Australian government is doing right now to relieve the cost-of-living pressures. You see, we are a government that listens, and we are hearing right across the nation that far too many people are struggling with the cost of living. There are global pressures right now that are driving up inflation and there are global pressures that are interrupting supply chains, and we know that these global pressures are affecting people here in Australia and the economy. We have a Treasurer that has outlined time and time again that our No. 1 priority for all Australians is addressing the cost of living while managing inflation. Sadly, though, as the member may well be aware, those opposite are a shambolic group of people who, in the simplest terms, don't care about the financial pressure that Australians feel. They pretend they do, but we know they don't care about, for example, increasing the real wages of Australians—in fact, they deliberately tried to keep wages down—and they certainly don't care about looking after people. They have voted against every single cost-of-living measure that this government has put forward. There are many, and I will alert the member to those in just a minute. Those opposite bang on about the cost of living and do not do anything to help this government alleviate the cost-of-living pressures with any relief.

I must thank the members of the crossbench who have supported our measures and who have stood with us, saying that they care about Australians and the pressures that they are under. Let me assure you, as I said, the Labor government are listening to Australians and we are acting on what we are hearing. As I said, our No. 1 priority remains addressing inflation and the cost-of-living challenges.

Tomorrow, the member may like to know, the government will make its submission to the Fair Work Commission's annual wage review. We will recommend that the Fair Work Commission ensures the real wages of Australia's low-paid workers do not go backwards. This is what we've done across our last two submissions to the commission, because—let me be clear—we will always stand up for workers. In particular, we will always stand up for workers who are on the minimum wage and who are struggling to keep up with the cost-of-living pressures around them.

While we've seen positive progress on inflation and a return to real wages growth earlier than was forecast, we know that many Australians will still feel under pressure. We take the view, unlike those opposite, that Australians should be able to take home more money in their pockets from working, and—as you mentioned, Member for Fowler—that's why the Prime Minister has announced that, come 1 July, we will deliver a tax cut for every single working Australian. That's 13.6 million people, from teachers to nurses, from truckies to cleaners, from hospo workers to childcare educators. Under Labor's plan, more Australians will get a tax cut and more Australians will take home more money from their pay. If you're a uni or TAFE student who has a part-time job and rents, you will benefit. If you're a working parent who feels the pinch of rising costs, you will be better off. If you're nearing retirement or working part time, you will have more money in your pocket. If your name is Jenny and you work in IT, you will benefit. If you've got red hair, just bought a bunch of Easter eggs and you work three days a week as a receptionist, you will benefit. Every working Australian will be better off under Labor. That's more cost-of-living relief for lower- and middle-income Australians.

But this is not the only thing that we are doing. This builds on an additional $23 billion in targeted relief—targeted relief that, I might add, the opposition opposed every step of the way. This includes making medicines cheaper by allowing people to buy two scripts for the cost of one. The opposition voted against this cost-of-living measure; in fact, when they were in government they tried to jack up the price of medicines. We're making it easier and cheaper to see a doctor by making the biggest investment in bulk-billing in Medicare's history, and I don't need to remind everyone in this chamber that those opposite tried to destroy Medicare and push up healthcare costs. We're providing energy bill relief through rebates and price caps. We're ensuring a fast transition to renewables, which we know is the cheapest form of energy, that will go a long way to helping household budgets. We know the answer of those opposite is to go nuclear, which is the most expensive form—not to mention all the other failings with nuclear energy. We're making child care cheaper and expanding paid parental leave, which we're now going to pay superannuation on as well. Those opposite called paid parental leave 'double dipping' for public servants. We're building more social and affordable homes and making the biggest increase in rent assistance in 30 years. We've made changes to our industrial relations laws that, along with our gender equality strategy, will actually work towards closing the gender pay gap. We've done all of this, including fee-free TAFE, where we know those opposite gutted TAFE. We are doing all this while delivering the first budget surplus in 15 years.

In my own portfolio, Labor is working to shine a spotlight on women's health, tackling gender bias in the health sector that sees women endure poorer outcomes than men do. We're making sure women are listened to and cared for when it comes to health care, because too often they are not heard, they are not believed, their symptoms are dismissed and they do not get treatment. This has consequences for women. Let's take endometriosis, for example. We know that at least one in nine women have endometriosis, which is an incredibly painful condition, with people experiencing an unacceptable wait of seven years before diagnosis. Endometriosis is a difficult condition that can make it difficult to hold down a job. It has an impact on the education and financial stability of many women. They often chase care that can be very expensive.

But our government has delivered 22 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics right across Australia so women can get access to the care they need. The $58 million package also includes an endometriosis management plan for tailored treatment for women, for research, to develop living guidelines so that women can get better and updated care, and a series of measures to improve workplace supports for women with endometriosis. So women no longer need to suffer in silence. They can get affordable care under Labor. They can be heard, they will be believed and they will be treated. They can get on with their lives. They can get back to study. They can return to work and hold down a job. They can get on with enjoying their lives.

We know that households and individuals are under pressure, particularly with rents and mortgages, but it is clear that only Labor can be trusted to help more Australians into homes that they own. We've helped more than 100,000 people across the country into homeownership since the election. The Help to Buy program will bring homeownership back into reach for tens of thousands of Australians. We're doing everything we can to boost the supply of affordable homes. We know that people want to live close to the jobs and opportunities we're creating in communities right across the country. Through the National Housing Accord we have an ambitious target to partner with states and territories to build 1.2 million homes over five years. We need to work across all levels of government, across all parties, to reach across the corridors and engage with the private sector in order to fast-track development and get more Australians into homes.

Australian people voted for Labor in 2022 because they wanted a few things. They wanted trust restored in Australian politics after lies and deceit from a Prime Minister who secretly swore himself into multiple ministries. They voted for higher pay after wages stagnated for years. They voted for better working conditions after those opposite attacked our rights time and time again. They voted for the strengthening of Medicare and cheaper medicines after those opposite froze the Medicare rebate. They voted for action on climate change and cheaper energy bills after a decade of climate denial and inaction. They voted for a government that would listen to them and their communities, a government that would make the right decisions, not the easy ones.

I'd like to wrap up by returning to my first point. We are a government of listening and action, and we are hearing the difficulties that keep people up at night. We know Australians deserve a roof over their head and food on the table, and they need these to be affordable, and this is our priority.

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