Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

It's been 40 days since the last MPI in this place. The member for Hume could have used that time to reflect on how he could step up to support Australians. But we've had no such luck. We're back and we're back to those opposite complaining and saying no. They're saying no to supporting Australian workers. They're saying no to supporting Australian women, like the early childhood educators our government is supporting with a well-deserved, much-needed pay increase. We know that those opposite are against tax cuts for Australian workers. Those opposite are against wage increases for Australian workers. They're against cheaper childcare. They're against fee-free TAFE. They say no because the reality is that they're not up to saying yes and doing the hard work of supporting Australians and building our economy.

So it's been 40 days, and we come back to more of the same. It's more of the same disappointment and more of the same negativity. Australians know they can't trust the Liberals and the Nationals. They know this because, when they look at the member for Hume, they don't see someone who's ready to step up and support Australians. They see someone who cannot be taken seriously. It's almost as if the member for Hume wants higher interest rates and higher inflation so no-one notices he has no policy and no credibility. He's almost cheering on and begging for higher interest rates because that's also his record and the record of those opposite. Of course inflation was higher under those opposite. We experienced a decade of drift and neglect under the Liberals and the Nationals, and that demonstrates to all of us their inability and their failure to deliver for Australians. Those opposite left us with higher inflation and with huge deficits. And even now, as we're in the third year of a three-year term, they still have no positive plan for this country. They still have no plan to support Australian workers and to support Australian women. They still come in here saying no.

We can see how much worse Australians' lives would be if the Leader of the Opposition were in charge. We can see that because he tells us. There would be higher power prices. His nuclear frolic would cost $600 billion to produce just four per cent of Australia's energy by 2050. There would be higher taxes and, of course, lower wages, which again we remember were a deliberate design feature under those opposite when they were in government. That's the reality awaiting Australians if the Liberals and the Nationals have their way. Of course we remember that, when the Leader of the Opposition was the Minister for Health, he undermined Medicare, starting a six-year freeze to Medicare rebates and trying to abolish bulk-billing by introducing a mandatory payment on every single visit to the GP. The previous Liberal-National governments, which the Leader of the Opposition was a senior member of, repeatedly said that they would deliver a surplus, yet they went none for nine. Instead what they delivered was a trillion dollars of debt and deficits as far as the eye could see. By contrast, Labor, this side of the parliament, are investing in Australians for now and into the future. We are putting in place a responsible plan that is delivering results, and we will in fact be the first government to deliver back-to-back surpluses in almost two decades.

It is no surprise that much of the negativity we get from those opposite comes at the expense of Australian women. There is not a positive plan for Australian women that the Leader of the Opposition and those opposite haven't wanted to say no to. There's not a woman who wanted to stand for Liberal preselection that they haven't wanted to say no to either, but I'll save more on that for another day. So when our government announces a much-needed 15 per cent pay rise for early childhood educators, a female dominated workforce, all we get from those opposite is more negativity.

What better example of the state of the Liberals' and Nationals' views towards women than Senator Rennick's post on social media this week. Senator Rennick clearly has not stepped foot in a childcare centre this century. His comments that institutionalised childcare destroys the family unit and brainwashes children are incredibly out of touch and incredibly insulting to all the women who work in those centres and to all the families who rely on those centres and the excellent service and education they provide. They are downright dangerous views from senator who was personally backed by the Leader of the Opposition to have his place. That a member of the opposition reacts in this way to women being paid fairly for critical work they do, that he reacts by shouting about a so-called woke mind virus, tells Australians everything they need to know about those opposite's views towards women. I note that those views of Senator Rennick have still not been denounced by the Leader of the Opposition, and I look forward to him telling Australian women that he does not share those terrible views.

This pay raise is important. As Lisa, an early childhood educator of over 20 years, said, it is a 'monumental moment'. It is life-changing for workers and for the kids and the families who rely on early childhood education in those crucial early years. Another early childhood educator, in my home state of Victoria said, 'Instead of searching for a second job, this pay increase will now help me pay rent and put food on my table.' Karen, an early educator in Queensland, said, 'Those who work two or three jobs just to make ends meet will be able to spend more time with their families.' So, in delivering this reform, our government is keeping prices down for Australian families while delivering for Australian women and Australian workers. It is good for Australian workers, it is good for Australian families and in fact it is good for all of us, because we are also setting up the next generation with the best possible start in life.

I get the privilege of seeing this first-hand in my own life when my three-year-old comes home and shares with me the letters and numbers he's learnt at his early education centre that day, as well as the friendships he's making and the way he's learning to navigate the world. I've also had the experience of what it looks like when we don't back this vital sector. Like so many Australian parents, I've received the text message you get saying that your centre is down on staff members, that they're over ratio and you need to come and pick your kids up today. So, we do need to support this sector. We need to support the vital staff to continue to work to make sure the sector thrives into the future. I also get to see first-hand how hard the educators who support my son—the educators at centres across my electorate, from Ivanhoe to Eltham—work to support Australian children: the skills, the training and the dedication they bring to setting up our next generation for the best possible future. It's good for early education workers, good for Australian women and good for Australians.

And everyone has backed it—everyone except those opposite. We know that those opposite do not just have negative words on their agenda. They also have cuts on their agenda. What a surprise, that the Leader of the Opposition would look to borrow from the playbook of previous leaders, such as Tony Abbott, and that he would consider cuts to basic support payments for the elderly or wage cuts—as I said, keeping wages low was a design feature under the previous government—when people are already under pressure. This is not just financially irresponsible; it is callous and cruel. The Leader of the Opposition should come clean with Australians about where these cuts that they're all talking about will cut from. Will it be the indexation of the age pension that's cut? Will it be social security payments indexation? Where are the cuts going to be? Again, we remember that when the Leader of the Opposition was the health minister, in a former government, we saw savage cuts to Medicare. We saw the track record he brought to government. We saw the attitude he brought to supporting Australians. We can only worry about what that will mean if he has the chance to be in charge.

Our government is focused on supporting Australians with the cost of living. We know the pressures are very real at the moment. That is why we are delivering relief, with every Australian taxpayer, not just some, getting a tax cut, and our $300 energy bill relief flowing to every household, and 2.6 million low-paid workers getting their third consecutive pay rise, backed by this government. Inflation is still higher than we'd like, but it is less than half its peak and it is much lower than we inherited from those opposite. At the time of the last election, inflation had a '6' in front of it; now, it's got a '3' in front of it. Underlying inflation has moderated, and the momentum of inflation pressures is downwards. Our budget strategy is supporting Australians. We will continue to do the work to support Australian workers, to support Australian women, to build the future this country needs, while all those opposite can do is say no.

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