Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very proud to support the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2024-2025 and the associated bills—our bills to deliver on our absolute commitment that was through this budget. The two barriers that we had were, firstly, to deliver cost-of-living relief in the short term and to assist people who are under pressure. Secondly, as well, it was to deliver on a Future Made in Australia. How does future economic growth come about?

The shadow Treasurer has just left, just in case there were some questions—like happened at the National Press Club, where he had a shocker last week. We saw there that you'd think they hadn't been in government for a decade, and again through listening to that last contribution. Of course, the budget reply was two days after the Treasurer handed down a budget that delivered a surplus—the second one in a row. It delivered tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer, not just some; it delivered energy price relief for every single household, not just some; it delivered the largest investment in housing Australians that we have seen from a government for many decades—$32 billion; and it delivered by strengthening Medicare in every single community by adding 29 urgent care clinics to the 58 that we have already delivered.

But what we had during that budget sitting week was something that I don't think has ever happened before. We had the Treasurer sitting right where he is now today and he didn't get a single question on the economy or on the budget. Not one! This showed just how pathetic the modern Liberal Party has become. There was one contribution, which we had from a backbencher—the member for Moore—and they've knocked him off! And the shadow Treasurer spent the weekend knocking off one of his senators. The fact is that if he concentrated on his job then maybe he could actually assist with debate in this country. But as it is we have an opposition that simply opposes everything, has nothing constructive to offer and has no positive policies.

In under five weeks, 13.6 million Australians will be paying less tax because of our Labor government. For a worker on the average wage of $73,000, that's a tax cut of $1,500. For a family on the average household income of $130,000, it's a tax cut of $2,600. Eighty-four per cent of taxpayers and 90 per cent of women will get a bigger tax cut because of the changes that are in the legislation in this budget, including of course 2.9 million Australians who earn less than $45,000, who would not have got a single cent under the Liberals. Just crickets! Not a single dollar. These tax cuts are better for young people, better for women, better for part-time workers, and better for business and workforce participation too.

Of course, when we announced these changes, those opposite said immediately, before they'd even seen them, that they'd oppose them. The deputy leader of the Liberal Party said they would roll them back, and then the Leader of the Opposition called for an election to be held, so strong was he on this issue—so strong. But then, of course, they voted for them. Having been so principled and so strong, they voted for them because it's the right policy, taken for the right reason, and it will make a positive difference.

Together with a tax cut for every taxpayer comes energy price relief for every household—$300 off the power bill of every home in Australia—and money for small business as well, to reduce their power bills, cutting inflation while we assist people. And we're forecasting, of course, back-to-back budget surpluses for the first time in two decades.

Of course, how much tax comes out of people's wages matters, but what also matters is what's happening with wages. We promised to get wages moving again. Those opposite were horrified by the concept of people on the minimum wage getting $1 an hour more. Well, we're getting real wages moving right across our economy. We've legislated to expand government paid parental leave to a full six months, and in this budget we've added superannuation to it for every working parent. Recently, I was with the member for Richmond in Ballina, and one of the mums there put it like this: 'Just having that super there shows that we value the role of mothers in society and acknowledge that what they do is worth paying for.' Indeed it is. Part of what characterises this government, now and into the future, is that we support gender equity. We regard equality for women as being good for our national economy as well as being good for families.

On election night I spoke about the historic mission of Labor governments: opening the doors of opportunity and widening them. Nothing does that like education. That's why we're wiping $3 billion off student debt and making the system fairer and simpler into the future for everyone. We're building new university hubs in the regions and in the suburbs, and we're investing in new fee-free, university-enabling degrees, giving more Australians a foot in the door at university—something that the University of Newcastle has done for more than 50 years. We're expanding access to university and TAFE for everyone in the suburbs and in the regions. Within a hundred days of coming to government we brought together the states and territories to agree on a plan for 180,000 fee-free TAFE places in priority areas last year. We didn't just deliver those; we delivered 350,000, providing learning for new skills and training for good jobs and boosting productivity in our workforce. We're rolling out another 300,000 places from this year plus an additional 20,000 fee-free places for more tradies to build more homes.

When it comes to homes, there's the $32 billion that we're investing in more social housing, more public housing, more affordable housing for every Australian. But we also have the incentive in the system for build to rent. We have a billion dollars for crisis and transitional accommodation for women and children fleeing family violence. There's new funding for urgent works required for new residential construction, because we know it's often the services that need to be put in for the construction to go ahead. We know from experience that that has been a handbrake. We're working with states, territories and local councils, as well as industry, to achieve it.

In addition to that, we're building new infrastructure right around the country. We've doubled the Roads to Recovery Program in every single local council. We have the North East Link in Victoria, the Sunshine Coast rail link and Warrego Highway in Queensland, new investments in METRONET in Perth, and critical new road and rail infrastructure across Western Sydney. We're upgrading the Lyell Highway in Tassie and the Princes Highway in South Australia.

All of our action on the cost of living builds on the work we've done over the past two years—making child care cheaper for over one million families, helping with the family budget, investing in early education and economic reform, and boosting productivity and participation. In this year's budget, we've made provision for an overdue pay rise for early educators.

In all three of our budgets, we've made Medicare stronger and medicine cheaper for everyone. We are the first government to deliver a reduction in the price of medicines on the PBS since the Chifley government created it way back in 1948. This year and next year, we're freezing the cost of PBS scripts for every Australian, meaning no-one will pay more than $31.60. For pensioners and concession card holders, we're freezing the cost of their medicines for five years, so no pensioner or concession card holder will pay more than $7.70.

Our urgent care clinics have seen more than 400,000 patients. The further 29 urgent care clinics will not only make a difference to the people who see them but make a difference in emergency departments as well by taking the pressure off. Compare that with what the Leader of the Opposition did as Australia's worst-ever health minister. He tried to introduce a GP tax on every visit to the doctor, a tax any time people would turn up to a hospital, and an increase to the cost of medicines as well. He wanted to make bulk-billing history. Our government is making the biggest investment in bulk-billing in history, and we'll continue to strengthen Medicare for everyone.

The other thing that we are doing as a major initiative in this budget—and there will be separate legislation coming through as well—is a future made in Australia. We know that we need to learn the lessons of the pandemic. We need to learn the lessons of making sure that our economy is more resilient, that we're able to stand on our own two feet and that we're not vulnerable to a future pandemic or trade shock.

Nations representing 92 per cent of the global economy and 97 per cent of Australia's trading partners are all signed up to net zero. I'm not sure about those opposite. But, to get there, every one of these countries will need much more clean energy, and much more of all the resources and technology that go into it—the metals, minerals, rare earths and resources our nation has in abundance.

There's nowhere you'd rather be positioned than Australia. We have all of the resources—cobalt, nickel, vanadium, copper and lithium—that will drive the economy as we go forward. We have all of that. We also have a skilled workforce. We're also located in the fastest growing region of the world in human history. And we have space in which we can have large-scale solar and wind in order to produce green hydrogen in order to then use that green hydrogen, that clean energy, to produce advanced manufacturing—green metals and other manufacturing opportunities—because hydrogen in particular has an advantage and a need to be used much more efficiently closer to where it's produced. So we find ourselves in a position of comparative advantage with the rest of the world.

What we need to do, though, is have a government that's prepared to seize that advantage and prepared to back Australia. That's what we've done with production tax credits and with the range of measures that we have for making sure that we can make more things here in Australia. That is how we will drive future economic growth.

This budget delivers help here and now for every Australian under pressure. With our plan for a Future Made in Australia, we're investing in new jobs and opportunities for every part of our nation.

Those opposite have spent two years saying no to helping with the cost of living. They voted against cheaper medicines, they said that fee-free TAFE was a waste of money and they voted against helping families and small business with their power bills. They're saying no to helping people make ends meet, and now they're saying no to making things here in Australia. That is the dead-end road of their negativity—angry at the present and terrified of the future. The Liberals and Nationals want to drag our nation back to the failures of their wasted decade. The challenges we face are too important for that, the opportunities are too big for that and Australians have worked too hard and come too far to go back.

This is a budget of which every member of the government is proud. It's a budget that deals with the challenges of the present but sets us up for a positive future.

Debate adjourned.

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