Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Labor's latest budget has once again made clear the choice between Labor and the Liberals. Labor knows that Australians are facing cost-of-living pressures, and in budget after budget we've had measures to help. This year's budget is no different.

Labor will reduce the cost of health care, with an extra 29 fully bulk-billed Medicare urgent care clinics. Labor has taken further steps to make medicines cheaper by freezing out-of-pocket costs, Labor has increased rent assistance by a further 10 per cent and Labor has delivered an extra $6 billion for housing supply. In addition, every household will get $300 in energy relief and every single taxpayer will get a tax cut. That's a tax cut for everyone, not just some.

Let's contrast our plan with that of the Liberals and Nationals. How many measures did the Liberals announce to help families with the cost of living? None. What policies did the Liberals announce to reduce the cost of medicines? None. What is their great plan to create better jobs with higher wages? There isn't one. The only policies they announced on housing were to let young people wipe out their super and, of course, to shamefully blame migrants for every problem under the sun.

While they continue their politics of negativity and division, Labor is getting on with the job. This year, we've delivered broad cost-of-living relief and another surplus budget because we want people to earn more and keep more of what they earn.

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