Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

'Incompetence and mismanagement'—it's a lot to hear from those opposite, when I think back through their track record in government. I'm pretty sure it was the former government over there that forgot to order vaccines in the middle of a pandemic—incompetence and mismanagement. The people over there gave us robodebt—most certainly incompetence and mismanagement. The people over there, for a decade, denied climate change—most certainly incompetence and mismanagement. The people over there ignored Australian women and had keeping wages low as deliberate design policy. I could go on and on. But it is clear that, if we are talking about incompetence and mismanagement in this place, it is certainly not something that comes from this side of the chamber; it is absolutely something that we had from 10 years of a Liberal-National government that could not deliver and who did nothing—a decade of denial and drift.

Since we came into government, we have been working hard to turn things around. We have made cost of living our No. 1 priority. We have delivered a budget that is for every Australian: tax cuts for every taxpayer; energy bill relief for every household; stronger Medicare in every community; we've wiped $3 billion off student debt—and I've talked to so many students in my community who I know that is really important for; cheaper child care, supporting women to get back into the workforce; cheaper medicines; and fee-free TAFE—again, this has been huge in my community, where so many people are taking up the opportunity to get the skills that they need to get the jobs of the future. And, of course, we are investing in affordable homes and social housing right around the country—another area that was grossly neglected under the incompetence and mismanagement of those opposite for nearly a decade.

We have done all of this while being in the position of looking at back-to-back surpluses. That's right. We're delivering not just the coffee mug but the actual surplus—the actual economic management that this country needs. While we've been doing this work, those opposite have spent two years essentially saying no to everything. They voted against energy bill relief, they have said no to cheaper medicines and they continue to say no to secure jobs and to better pay. They said no to our tax cuts, then they said yes and then they said no again, and I think they eventually said yes, but it's a bit hard to follow.

In general, the approach of those opposite is to say no. It is not to back in Australian families. It is not to back in Australian households. It is not to back in the work that needs to happen. We had the member for Lindsay just then take us through some of the greatest hits—the few ideas that are on the table. Using super to buy your first home, what a gift for young Australians! Those opposite would say to them: 'We'll let you raid your super now, most likely driving up what we know is already the very large cost of a first home. Then, when you come to the end of your life, after you've paid this inflated price for your first house and raided your super to do it, you'll have less money to retire on.' That is not fair. That's not a plan for the future. That is those opposite suggesting that young people in this country don't deserve support to get into an affordable house.

We have this matter of public importance today thanks to the member for Hume. It does seem like the member for Hume can't quite kick the habit of self-congratulation in this place. Well done, Angus, and thank you for bringing this on. Of course, we do see, when we see the member for Hume's record—

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