Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I think our communities expect us to do what we can to ease cost-of-living pressures when households feel them. I really do earnestly believe that that is the expectation of the community. I wish too that those opposite demonstrated their care for people struggling with the cost of living, but we haven't seen any meaningful evidence of that. We hear these MPIs when we're here in Canberra, but what we don't see is meaningful action.

Let's not forget that those opposite have voted against all meaningful cost-of-living relief measures that our government has implemented. Not only do we know that they are a danger to our living standards if, heaven forbid, they ever sat on the Treasury benches again; we know what they did when they were last in government. We saw that their track record was appalling and had already seen the lowering of living standards in this country. We saw under those opposite living standards going backwards 1.6 per cent in the quarter of the election. Living standards were 3.7 per cent below their peak at the time of the election, and living standards fell 13 out of the 35 quarters the opposition were in office. We saw inflation increasing on their watch, and they outrageously had a deliberate strategy to suppress wages and to see wage stagnation as a key feature of their economic strategy. Let's not forget either that those opposite attempted to shame the now Prime Minister for seeking an increase in wages for Australia's lowest-paid workers. So there is not much of a good track record from those opposite when it comes to living standards. Indeed, when given the opportunity to help people who are doing it tough in our communities, those opposite have walked away from the opportunity to help.

On this side of the House, we acknowledge that people are under pressure and we do know that they would be under even more pressure if those opposite had their way. Our government are working really hard to do what we can to ease pressures on households. We've overseen the creation of more than 1.1 million new jobs, of which four out of every five have been in the private sector. We've seen nominal wages growing at almost double the average of what they did under those opposite. Headline inflation is almost a third of what we inherited, and underlying inflation is at a three-year low. Real wages are growing again, now for four quarters in a row, and we're delivering cost-of-living relief, including, of course, a tax cut for every taxpayer and energy bill relief for every household. When I've been out doorknocking in my community, I know that these measures are making a difference in people's lives. Our economic plan is squarely focused on helping Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn.

Our policies, we know, are making a difference, but we do acknowledge that people are doing it tough. We know that the good progress in the national numbers that we see doesn't always translate into how people are feeling and faring in the community. That's why the cost of living remains the government's No.1 focus, doing what we can to help households and putting all of our efforts towards helping in meaningful ways, such as providing urgent care clinics, providing free TAFE and doing what we can to reduce university debt. We're not really that interested in providing free, long lunches for bosses, unlike those opposite, because we think the priority should be helping those doing it tough in our communities.

We know that the biggest risk to the progress we've made together in this government would be a coalition government. Their track record is appalling. We heard on the weekend that there will be cuts—of that we are assured—but we don't know what those cuts will look like. It is not unreasonable to suggest that the Leader of the Opposition will once again come after Medicare. In my community, I'm really worried that that will mean the closure of an urgent care clinic—an urgent care clinic that I hear positive feedback about all the time. I'm genuinely worried that that will happen. I'm really worried that those young people putting themselves through vocational education and training will be forced to pay extra for their courses. Australia cannot risk the Leader of the Opposition becoming Prime Minister.

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