Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

More in sorrow than in anger I have to report that the member for Hume apparently can't count or read, unless it is an article in one of his favourite newspapers. Perhaps he could benefit from a back-to-basics course.

Let's examine the problem. We need to look at the balance between the costs people face and their ability to pay for them. The Liberals are fond of blaming all economic problems on the Australian people, the Australian Labor Party, the unions—or all three. They see a rise in wages or salaries, unless you are a CEO, as a disgraceful thing to be opposed.

Let me explain something to you. When wage and salary earners call for a rise in their pay, it's almost invariably because they're resisting a decline in their living standards. They see the cost-of-living rises and they understandably want to ensure their standard of living doesn't fall. That's when the unions and the Australian Labor Party go into bat for them, because we get it. And that's when the Liberals and the Nationals scream no. They use the word 'inflation' like a magical word from a children's tale. Inflation is a big hairy monster created by bad or thoughtless people who have incomes under $100,000, and then they have the nerve to want higher pay! Top executives can and should have whatever pay they want, plus the bonuses on top of that, especially if they reduce the size of their workforce—that is, to sack people. When prices go up, inflation occurs. It is never, never the fault of the Liberals and their friends.

It was under the Liberals that income inequality soared in Australia. Let's look at the time the Liberals don't like to talk about—the nine years they were in power federally between 2013 and 2022. Just to be fair, let's concentrate on their last full financial year in office: 2020-21. Average incomes fell. The poorer you were the higher the percentage of the fall. The average income of the 20 per cent at the lowest income level fell by 3½ per cent. The average income of the 20 per cent at the highest income level fell by 0.1 per cent.

When we came to office in May 2022, the 20 per cent at the highest income level held 82 per cent of the value of all Australian investment property and 78 per cent of all the shares and financial investments. Their average wealth was $3,240,000. The average wealth of the 20 per cent at the lowest income level was $36,000. When costs rise for them, life is hard, and I mean frighteningly hard. That is why the Albanese Labor government is fighting inflation,. That's why we have gone into bat for ordinary Australians. That's why we are taking action on the cost of living by getting inflation down and with a rise in the minimum wage, tax cuts for all taxpayers, cheaper medicines, cheaper child care, more support for bulk-billing, Medicare urgent care clinics, free TAFE, better pay for childcare workers, better pay for aged-care workers, significant reductions in student debt, paid practicums for teaching and nursing, indexation of pensions and benefits, record increases in rent assistance, better funding for government schools and energy bill rebates.

At the time of the 2022 election, real wages had also been falling substantially for five consecutive quarters. Inflation was over six per cent. We are working to clean up a decade's worth of your mess, and it's not easy. You did quite a job of neglecting infrastructure of all sorts and ignoring anything that looked like a problem. You do, however, have answers. Here they are in a nutshell: according to the Liberals, the Australian people should work longer hours for less pay.

We take a different position. We want Australians to earn more and keep more of what they earn. We want that to happen while we're building a strong, resilient nation that will be able to provide good, secure lives in a world undergoing rapid change, and it's starting to work. That's why the Liberals are becoming more and more shrill and more and more desperate. Inflation is less than half what it was when we came to office. That's called 'bringing prices under control'. Perhaps the member for Hume hasn't noticed. In less than three years, we have $150 billion less debt and $80 billion less in interest repayments, and in today's world that is outstanding. I'm proud to stand with those who stand up for Australians and their future.

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