Sam Lim (Tangney, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On Saturday, when I was out doorknocking in the Parkwood area, a suburb in my electorate of Tangney, I was proud to share with my many constituents what the Albanese Labor government has done for Western Australia. Every single one of the 1.5 million WA taxpayers, including the 87,000 in Tangney, has received a tax cut, and every single one of the 1.1 million households has received energy bill relief.

We know Australians are doing it tough. We are doing everything we can to help to take the pressure off the cost of living—cheaper child care, cheaper medicine and a stronger Medicare. In my electorate of Tangney, the bulk-billing rate has increased by 2.5 per cent thanks to this government's record investing in bulk-billing. That means Tangney residents have had an additional 20,633 bulk-billed visits. Tangney residents have also saved more than $8 million on more than 80,000 cheaper scripts.

Under the Albanese Labor government more than 1.1 million jobs have been created. Unemployment is now four per cent. There is record participation and widespread job creation. Wages are growing. And we have made substantial progress on inflation. It is the first time in 50 years that Australia has had unemployment at four per cent or better at the same time as inflation has been below three per cent.

Western Australia is a key part of the Australia's economy. The world is changing, and the pace of change is getting faster. The global transition to net zero is the biggest transformation of the global economy since the Industrial Revolution. Our $22.7 billion Future Made in Australia policy will help us grasp a new generation of opportunities and bring the jobs and prosperity of the future to every part of our country.

Western Australia is front and centre when it comes to a future made in Australia. The Future Made in Australia plans build the foundation for a better future in Australia. It is about the many industrial and economic opportunities that come with the big global shift to net zero. It is about attracting and enabling investment, making Australia a leader in the renewable energy and value-adding to our resources. It is about science and innovation, skills and training to build Australia's future workforce, and investing in our people and places. Nothing could be more important to that than refining the lithium which will be such an important part of battery power and battery storage into the future.

Western Australia has a central role to play in refining and processing critical minerals. Our production tax incentives are about more investment and more jobs in Australia's resources sector. These tax credits are about ensuring local communities benefit as the world transitions to net zero. The legislation will give investors clarity and certainty to invest in Australia's potential to add more value to its natural resources and help deliver cheaper and cleaner energy. We want to drive private sector investment in new industries through production tax incentives for green hydrogen and processed critical minerals, structured in a way that the taxpayer only pays when an industry succeeds. This will help make Australia an indispensable part of the net zero economy of the future.

We are backing Australian ideas, innovation and science. We will create a new industry that will create new, secure jobs in the resource sector, and we will train the workforce of the future. This is standing up for Western Australia.

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