Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

No worries. Sorry, Deputy Speaker. If self-congratulation was an Olympic sport, he would take home the gold every time. If only he put as much effort into passing cost-of-living relief for this parliament as he does patting himself on the back.

While the opposition reply to their own social media posts and plays silly games, we've been getting on delivering real cost-of-living relief. Let's talk about what we've done for the Hunter. More bulk-billing and better health care has made it easier to see a doctor without breaking the bank. We have delivered Medicare urgent care clinics so people in the Hunter can now get urgent medical attention at no cost, and two Medicare mental health clinics so people can get the mental health support that they need. There's been energy bill relief for thousands of households and small businesses across the Hunter. Hunter residents have already saved $7.7 million thanks to our reduced cost of medicine. Over 6,700 families in the Hunter are benefiting from cheaper child care, making it easier for parents to work and support their families. Just this week, we announced the $573 million investment into women's health, making contraceptives and menopause treatments more affordable.

These aren't just numbers on a page. This is real relief. These are real savings that are making a difference in real people's lives. And what does the opposition have to offer? Nothing. They voted no to our cost-of-living relief, no to tax cuts, no to better wages, no to cheaper child care, no to cheaper medicines, and no to lower power bills. The reality is if the coalition were in charge right now things would be worse off. There would be no energy bill relief. There would be less bulk-billing, and Medicare would be on its knees. The cost of medicines and cheaper child care would go spiralling out of control. There'd be no tax cuts. We're in government because Australians wanted the adults back in charge.

We know times are tough and that is why we are focused on easing pressures wherever we can. While the opposition just talks about helping Australians, we actually deliver. We will keep fighting for the people of the Hunter and people of Australia. We'll keep driving down costs. We'll keep making life easier for families, pensioners, small business owners and workers. To those opposite who think they can do better, we've seen your record. Australians know better. We know that there's going to be $350 billion in cuts. We just don't know where because those opposite refused to tell us. I think Australians deserve better. They should know where these cuts are coming from. We know they need to find $600 billion to fund their nuclear experiment that they think we're ready for. We know all of this is coming from an opposition who really don't know how to give us or Australians any information.

The only person who believes the shadow Treasurer can bring down the cost of living is the one-man cheer squad himself. Thank you to the member for Hume for supporting yourself because you seem to be the only one that does. Let's get Australia going again.

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