Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that after over 7 years of this Government, Australia is falling behind the rest of the world on numerous key measures of economic and social success;

(2) notes that, in relation to:

(a) the economy, even before the COVID-19 pandemic the Government had badly mismanaged the economy with reputable data and global rankings showing that:

(i) real wages in Australia were 0.7 per cent lower in 2019 compared to 2013, with Australia ranked third last out of 35 OECD countries to wage growth;

(ii) over 8 years of the current Government, Australia's productivity rate has been steadily declining, from 2013 when Australia ranked tenth among 34 OECD nations, to 2018 when Australia ranked fifth last;

(iii) Australian household debt as a share of GDP sits at 119.4 per cent of GDP, the second highest rate out of 41 countries assessed;

(iv) Australia is now the third most unaffordable housing market within the OECD; and

(v) Australia is lagging behind in the jobs recovery from this recession;

(b) education outcomes:

(i) Australian children's educational outcomes have slipped in both national and international terms, with Australia slipping in science and mathematics outcomes; and

(ii) OECD data confirms Australia has high tertiary tuition costs by global standards with the average annual borrowing by Australian students in tertiary programs rising by 36.7 per cent in just four years;

(c) environmental outcomes:

(i) Australia's rate of greenhouse gas emissions per capita has been the highest in the world;

(ii) Australia ranks second worst globally for government climate policy;

(iii) by 2018 Australia ranked 18 out of 25 of the world's top energy-consuming countries with sharp declines from 2014 and 2016; and

(iv) Australia has the second highest level of biodiversity deterioration in the world; and

(d) numerous other measures, Australia is falling behind and ranks poorly, for instance:

(i) First Nations Australians have the lowest life expectancy amongst First Nations people globally;

(ii) Australia now ranks only 8 out of 11 high-income countries for healthcare affordability;

(iii) Australia now ranks sixth worst in the OECD for obesity rates;

(iv) Australia's global ranking for the proportion of women in the lower house of the national parliament fell from a high of thirty-second place in 2010 to forty-eighth place in 2019, noting that only 23 per cent of the entire coalition Government party room are women;

(v) Australia is ranked sixty-first globally for fixed broadband speeds;

(vi) investment in research and development in Australia has fallen significantly as a percentage of GDP under the current Government; and

(vii) Australia has become more corrupt under this Prime Minister, slipping to eleventh place on the Corruption Perception Index;

(3) acknowledges that with a possible federal election this year, Australians have a right to question:

(a) how well they are doing under this visionless Government; and

(b) whose side the Government is on; and

(4) condemns the Government for spending $1 billion of taxpayer funds on government advertising, racking up over one trillion dollars' worth of debt with nothing to show for it and wasting the economic recovery.

This motion makes clear that Australia is falling behind the rest of the world and going backwards under the Liberals. I am old-fashioned, compared to the Deputy Prime Minister at least. I believe facts still matter and that the evidence is clear. In the eighth year of this tired, pointless government over there, we have got enough data in now to assess their actual record. How is Australia actually faring comparing to other countries? How are Australians actually doing in the eighth year of this government? The conclusions are stark. From independent, reputable data from the OECD and other international sources, we have global rankings—like the Olympics of developed nations—to see how we're measuring up. Are we progressing or are we falling behind? The conclusion—it is fair to say—is that Australia is less productive, more unequal, more corrupt, less happy, more indebted, less affluent and less trusting of public institutions than we were when this Liberal government was elected in 2013.

Let's look at the economy. The government—the Liberals—love to claim they are great economic managers. 'We're leading the world,' we're told all the time. 'We're going great; it is tickety-boo.' It is simply not true when you look at the facts and scratch behind the marketing spin that the Prime Minister gives us. Have a look at wages. From when the government was elected in 2013 to six years later, 2019, real wages had fallen in Australia. In 2019, Australia sat—this is before COVID; they can't hide behind COVID—third-last place in the OECD out of 35 countries for wage growth. The government's only answer is new laws to allow bosses to cut wages further and to get rid of penalty rates. Look at housing affordability: while wages have been going backwards, we are now the third most unaffordable housing market in the OECD because prices have been rising much faster than wages. This is a disaster for society. We've seen house prices in Melbourne and Sydney go up by two per cent month on month. It is terrible. The only housing affordability policy this government has had was Malcolm Turnbull saying 'You should get rich parents to give you a deposit.' They've had no minister for years and, now that they have got one, it was probably better when they didn't have one. They have come up with their bathroom renovation scheme, which is their only answer.

A bunch of nutty backbenchers are telling us that people should be able to withdraw their superannuation to buy a house. That's like pouring petrol on a fire. All that will see is house prices rise further. It's like getting a vacuum cleaner into your superannuation account and sucking the cash straight into the pockets of the guy selling the house. That's all they've got. Third worst in the world.

Productivity: it's the special source of the economy and it's how much value we squeeze out of every hour and every bit of resourcing we put in. In 2013, when Labor left office, Australia's productivity was growing at 1.7 per cent a year. We were the 10th highest in the world out of the 34 OECD nations. Six years on under this mob before COVID—they can't hide behind COVID—Australian productivity growth was negative. It was the fifth last in the OECD. That's shocking. Household debt was 119.4 per cent of GDP—that is, the second highest out of 43 countries. Business investment went down 26 per cent under the Liberals, and 85 per cent of that decline was before the pandemic. You could use GDP per capita. Whichever measure you look at, it belies their claim, their propaganda and their myth that Liberals are great economic managers. It's not true. They say, 'We might be mean, nasty and fight each other, but we're good economic managers.' Well, it's not true. The government will hate this motion. It's full of inconvenient facts, and they don't like to deal in facts. They're desperate not to talk about their actual record of failure in their eighth year.

The problem for the government is that no amount of spin or marketing will help. There's the $1 billion of taxpayer funded advertising that they've blown since they were elected. Not even any amount of idiotic photos of the Prime Minister playing dress-ups and building things—remember the chook shed? You could fit the whole WA Liberal Party into the chook shed now—with the daggy dad persona and the personal photographer will cover up their actual record of failure. As the motion shows, when you look at education, our kids are going backwards compared to the rest of the world in science and maths. Tuition fees are up by 36 per cent in four years for university courses. We're eight out of 11 high-income countries going backwards. Australia ranks 61st globally for broadband speeds. They stuffed the NBN and told blatant lies about its cost. On the proportion of women in parliament, only 23 per cent of the Australian party room are women. First Nations Australians have the lowest life expectancy. On every measure, when you look at the facts, not the spin and marketing, Australia has gone backwards under the Liberals.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Cities and Urban Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I actually want to thank the member for Bruce for this particular motion. Why? Because he has given me a fantastic opportunity to speak against the motion by speaking about all the significant achievements of the Morrison government. It's unfortunate we've only got five minutes, because I am unable to list them all, quite frankly. There has been so much significant achievement by the Morrison government protecting Australians through the COVID pandemic and now leading the COVID-19 recovery.

What we saw from the member for Bruce was a lot of ranting and posturing, quite frankly, but, honestly, the member for Bruce requires his own fact-checker just for him, because some of the stuff that he purports to represent is just so patently false. I'm very happy to go into that a little more in a moment, but we all know those people in our lives who refuse to grow up. Well, the member for Bruce is that in this place. The guy seems to be unable to graduate from student politics quite frankly, so he leads these ridiculous motions just so that he can rant and rave about facts that are simply incorrect.

What are the facts? In 2020 the Australian economy outperformed all other major advanced economies. Let's say that again: in 2020 the Australian economy outperformed all other major advanced economies across the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. First of all, that's completely opposite to what the member for Bruce would have you believe and what he is trying to claim as fact, which it is not. The fact that Australia is world leading—why has that occurred?—isn't just luck, I can tell you that. It's good management by the Morrison government, the Prime Minister and others, including the executive team, as we went through the COVID-19 pandemic. Now our economy continues on its way up. Recently, the national accounts showed that, for the first time since records began, GDP growth has been above three per cent for two consecutive quarters and business confidence is at its highest level in 11 years. So, quite simply, what the member for Bruce put on the table and would have you believe simply isn't correct. Australia is in a much stronger position because of the Morrison Liberal-National coalition government. It would certainly have been in a weaker position if the member for Bruce had his way and we had $387 billion worth of extra taxes on the books when we hit COVID-19—that's for sure. The idea that Labor are better economic managers simply does not hold up to scrutiny.

Let's look at a few of the portfolios that the member for Bruce mentions in the motion. On education, the guaranteed funding commitment of this government is an investment of $315 billion in schools over the next decade. This increases the average funding per student by 60 per cent over the decade from previous levels. On health, federal funding provided by the Morrison government for public hospitals will more than double when compared to what Labor were able to achieve. We all remember when they were in government and they couldn't even list lifesaving medicines for Australians on the PBS because fiscal constraints didn't allow it. Labor put $13.3 billion into health in 2012-13. It's now $29.9 billion. What a stark record that Labor members opposite should be absolutely ashamed of. We have our record on bulk billing as well. More Australians are now seeing their doctor without having to pay. Nearly nine out of 10 visits to the GP are now free, because this government is looking after all Australians. Nearly 143 million free GP services were delivered last year alone.

From 2021, the Australian government is investing $110 billion over 10 years on infrastructure. We're upgrading major highways and we're busting urban congestion, including in my electorate of Ryan, with some really important projects, making public transport better, such as through the Brisbane Metro, and we're upgrading our airports. Importantly, we're not just busting congestion and getting people home to their families safer but also creating jobs right across this country. Our record on the environment is also something I'm incredibly proud of. Our emissions are lower than when we came to government in 2013. We beat our 2020 Kyoto targets by more than 459 million tonnes.

The facts simply do not bear out what the member for Bruce is claiming. It simply shows the Morrison coalition government is working for all Australians and Australia is in a better place, economically and financially, because of the Morrison government.

Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Cities and Urban Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to second the important motion moved by my friend the member for Bruce. It's an important motion which reflects important work that he has done and highlights the dismal record of the Morrison government—the government previously led by Malcolm Turnbull and by Tony Abbott. I wouldn't say this very often, but it was interesting to hear the contribution from the member for Ryan, who announced with some fervour at the start of his contribution that he would struggle to detail all the wonderful achievements of this government in five minutes. I reckon he would have struggled to spend a minute of his time talking about this government's record. That's not his fault; that is the fault of the government. I'm going to touch on just a few elements which go to that and go to the alternative. Of course, members of the government are entitled to their views, but, as the member for Bruce and his work sets out, they are not entitled to their facts. They should also do us and the Australian people the courtesy of setting out their vision for recovery as well as justifying the decisions they've taken, rather than just hiding behind the good decisions of our state and territory governments, and I think they can look abroad for some guidance.

We note that, this week, Mathias Cormann, a former minister in this government, has been elected as Secretary-General of the OECD. I've had the opportunity to consider the vision statement that he set out in support of his candidacy. He starts with a very interesting phrase—a phrase that the Prime minister will find familiar: 'I am ambitious for the OECD.' That is a familiar phrase, I think you will recall, Deputy Speaker Bird. If only, though, the Prime Minister were as ambitious for Australians as he is for himself, because that really nails it. This marketing man, with no concern for public policy, no concern for community and no plan to manage the economy, is really only ambitious for himself. The vision statement of Mr Cormann went on. He wants to lead an OECD, which is 'the world's centre of excellence for credible, evidence-based economic analysis, advice and policy guidance'. The OECD has provided us with much credible evidence-based economic analysis, all of which has been or is being ignored by this government to the detriment of our economic growth and our productivity growth and, most importantly, to the detriment of ordinary Australians, who rely on having a government that is on their side now more than ever. As we look to the future, this becomes even more stark. Mr Cormann's statement went on to talk about the importance of shaping policies for future prosperity and stability. He said:

Through the OECD, we can come together to share ideas about our collective green recovery effort on our journey towards a low emissions future. As Secretary-General I will strive to make the OECD a place that inspires collaboration and action in support of a sustainable future.

What an extraordinary statement for one of the architects of the disastrous and damaging climate policy this government has imposed on Australians today and Australians into the future. What an extraordinary indictment on the role that he has played to all of our detriment.

The OECD itself has just issued an interim economic update, which makes concerning reading. It shows how far behind Australia is compared to the rest of the OECD in our journey towards recovery this year and next year. It sets out three priorities for what governments can do. Firstly, vaccinate fast. Well, we remember the Prime Minister telling us that we were in the front of the queue, yet every day we slip further and further back. Concerningly, the plans to manage the rollout don't seem to have taken into account the challenges around Australia's population distribution and composition more broadly. Secondly, invest fast. We know that, despite the rhetoric, this government's record when it comes to infrastructure investment is appalling. We've slipped from the top of the charts when Labor was in government to near the bottom, with no plan for recovery. This is particularly important in areas that I represent, that the member for Fraser represents and that the member for Spence represents—areas which need infrastructure investment to allow people to access opportunity and amenity in recovery. Thirdly, support people. This is a government that have left too many people behind. They were dragged kicking and screaming to a wage subsidy scheme. They've cut too many people out of JobKeeper and JobSeeker support, and even now they are moving to take supports away.

I urge every member opposite to consider the report the member for Bruce has done and ask themselves whether they are proud of what they have done through this pandemic and beforehand. Australians deserve a government that is on their side, a government which sees this country as it is and has a vision for how it should be and will fight to get there—an Albanese Labor government.

Gladys Liu (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Bruce has moved this motion with absolutely no consideration for Australia's strong economic recovery. Last week, national accounts confirmed that a strong broad-based recovery is well underway. Australia's economy grew by a massive 3.1 per cent in the December quarter, having been outperformed only by the 3.4 per cent rise in the quarter preceding it. To date we have recovered around 85 per cent of the economy that existed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The coalition government's HomeBuilder package has driven investment, seeing a rise of 4.1 per cent. Our business tax incentives have seen business investment expanded by 2.6 per cent. Meanwhile, machinery and equipment investment has risen by 8.1 per cent. These are extraordinary numbers, and we are beating all forecasts. While MYEFO forecast an unemployment rate of 7.5 per cent in the March quarter of 2021, the RBA is now predicting the unemployment rate to be six per cent by the end of 2021. These economic indicators are strong and a sign that our economy is recovering. It's not just the national economy. All of Australia's states and territories have seen their economies start to grow again. This is fantastic. Sadly, through the COVID-19 pandemic, 1. 3 million Australians lost their jobs or saw their hours reduced. It is wonderful to hear that 94 per cent of those people are now back at work. The job certainly isn't done but these indicators are good. The Prime Minister and all members of his cabinet should be congratulated for their strong leadership during these tough times.

Not only is Australia's economic recovery well underway, but the Morrison government is also putting the framework in place to drive the improvements in education which will see our country prosper well into the future. The Morrison government understands that Australia's fortunes tomorrow depend on the quality of our education system today, which is why we are continuing to deliver record funding for higher education and for Australian schools in all sectors.

But we also know that funding alone is not the answer to improving student outcomes. To achieve sustainable results, we need to invest in long-term strategic reform in areas which are proven to have the greatest impact. That's where the 2019 National School Reform Agreement comes in. By working with the states and territories, we can deliver real and practical change for Australian students, lifting outcomes across our schools and across the nation. The focus is threefold: supporting students, supporting our hardworking teachers and building the national evidence base. We know that there is room for improvement in our education system. Australia can do better, but the way forward is by delivering increased funding and by working with our state and territory governments, whether they be Labor or Liberal-National. That's what we are doing. The member for Bruce can take pot-shots if he likes. We will just get on with the job.

The upshot of our focus on the economy is that we can continue to guarantee the essential services that Australians rely on; we can continue to fund health and education at record levels; and we can deliver on plans that will see Australia remain strong and grow even stronger in the future. That's why it is so important to see that the coalition government, the Morrison government, is working for all Australians.

Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm an economist by training and, from experience, I know all too well that, in this day and age, we're subjected to a blizzard of economic announcements. Every day there's some new statistic that we are bombarded with. But I also know all too well that it's so important to look behind all of these figures at what really matters. This government also knows all too well about the cacophony of economic announcements that are being put out constantly and it has have become the masters at cherry-picking all of these many statistics. Whether it's real GDP, nominal GDP, the participation rate or whatever it might be, this government has become masterful at cherry-picking and spinning all these numbers. What the government intentionally doesn't do is dig beneath the surface and ask which of these numbers really matter for people and which of these numbers really reflect what's going on in households in the communities that we represent.

When you look beneath the many statistics out there and ask what's going on at the household you see that, for many years, our economy has been going backwards. Let's look at a basic measure of what's going on at the household level—real household disposable income. This fell by one per cent in the quarter leading up to March 2020. That's pre-COVID. So, before COVID hit, before we had to deal with any of that, our economy was going backwards according to a measure that really matters for households: how much disposable income they have got to spend on the things that matter to them. Indeed, even more scary than that, even more appalling than that, is the fact that with this measure real household disposable income was 0.5 per cent lower in that quarter than it was in December 2011. That's almost a decade. This government, now well into its third term, over its many years of governing this country, has seen real household disposable income—not stalling—going backwards. This is the worst performance we have seen on this very important measure since the Great Depression. We are not talking about COVID. We're talking about year after year after year of going backwards on this measure. We're talking about year after year after year going backwards on real wages. The worst performance on real wages we've seen under this government since records were kept.

Let's not get caught up in all of the many, many statistics that this government can cite. Let's look at what's going on for real individuals and their wages. Let's look at what's going on for households, in terms of their disposable income. This government has failed. It's only population growth that's keeping many of our numbers at any respectable level. But, of course, population growth doesn't help a household. The fact that Australia is experiencing far faster population growth than other major OECD countries doesn't put food on the table. It doesn't lead to more dollars in your pocket. In fact, in per capita terms under this government's watch we had a major per capita recession in 2017-18. Again, well before COVID. And, of course, we've had a major one since COVID.

Once population growth is stripped away this government's performance is appalling. According to the International Monetary Fund between 2013 and 2019 Australia's aggregate GDP grew by 15.7 per cent, that ranked third among OECD countries. But once you strip away population growth our ranking falls considerably. Once you take population growth out we grew, in per person terms, by just a little over five per cent. We were third last amongst major OECD countries. That's what people feel in their pockets. That's what people feel in terms of their living standards. We were barely better than Italy. The country of my birth I might say, but not a country whose recent governments inspire great confidence in terms of economic management. When you look at it in per capita terms, which matters to real people and tells you about what's happening in their lives, during the course of this government's administration we rank barely better than Italy.

How do we fix this? Well, everybody agrees you only turn this around, you only see sustainable growth in wages and in household disposable income, if you fix productivity growth. Productivity growth under this government is low and it's falling. They haven't engaged in microeconomic reform. They haven't engaged in serious investment in infrastructure. They haven't improved business confidence to the point where they're undertaking R&D and investment. What we see is this government will spin numbers. They'll tell us all sorts of things about real GDP, nominal GDP, aggregate numbers of this and that but when it comes to what households are feeling, when it comes to measures that really matter—real wages and the real disposable income that households experience—things have been going backwards for a decade under this government and that's not good enough.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question before the chair is that the motion be agreed to. I give the call to the member for—

Russell Broadbent (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Monash.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Monash.

Russell Broadbent (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I know you're used to the former seat of McMillan, Deputy Chair, but it's Monash. I'm very pleased that that remarkable change has taken place, which we've worked on for many years—to have the seat changed from McMillan to Monash. To go from one to the other has been pretty good.

Just looking at this motion by Mr Hill—and he is the member for Bruce, not that I didn't know that I was just checking whether you knew! I have got up to 41 negatives that he has accused the government of and, therefore, the nation of. Twenty-four negative statements and not one positive statement. When the world has faced one of the greatest calamities it has ever faced—international debacle; millions of people losing their lives; hundreds of millions losing their jobs, their livelihoods, their businesses, their opportunity; kids missing out on education right around the world. I stand here today and I look around this nation and I understand what Julian Hill is talking about when he talks about these negatives and that things were running a bit rough beforehand. But I've been here long enough to be under quite a few Labor governments and quite a few Liberal governments, and these somewhat broad accusations that affect the daily household lives of individuals—that's what we're here for, how this affects individuals and the opportunities they're going to get into the future.

I have to say, if they're the negatives, why isn't there one dot in here of policy to say, 'As an opposition we think you're wrong, but this is what we'd do'? There are 24 negatives, no positives and no proposition. You'll reply, 'We'll lay that out, before the people of Australia, before the next election.' Don't come in here and just denigrate the nation, Julian. Don't come in here, the member for Bruce, and just say, 'Look, here are all the things I've written down that my staff have found to be wrong.' Don't go to the Prime Minister—and I say this to my constituents and others—and say, 'Here's the problem.' We know the problem.

The members of this House are like ordinary people. They live the problems. We may be privileged, and I understand that. In the broader community we are privileged. But it doesn't mean we are not rubbing shoulders every day with the people we represent. It doesn't mean we don't work every day on their behalf. It doesn't mean we don't understand their goals, their goals for their children, their goals for opportunities not only for their young children but for their grown children. To see families now worrying about their 40-year-old children who don't have jobs, whose businesses are failing, I am concerned, like every member here. What will be the case in a month's time when JobKeeper starts to be wound back? What really will happen? It's not about what Treasury thinks might happen or what we gloss over on what might happen. In my electorate of Monash I am dealing with real people, real businesses, real jobs.

I am rather proud of governments of this nation, both state and federal, in the way they have had to respond very quickly. Were they going to make mistakes? Amen, yes, they were. I say to everybody who wants to sincerely criticise the leaders of this nation: what would you have done on that day, at that time, when confronted with exactly the same propositions? What would the member for Bruce have done had he been in a leadership position when he was confronted with these propositions? Perhaps he wouldn't be sitting down spending hours a day working with his staff to find every negative to bring this nation down.

I'm not going to do that. I'm going to build the nation up. I'm going to build my electorate up. I'm going to be proud of my state of Victoria and be proud of this nation as it fits into the world. Hopefully, we will be able to stand tall around the world and be a beacon of light for them to say, 'This is the way you should go if you want to manage your economy.'

Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The great irony of the member for Monash's contribution is he had five minutes in which he could outline the great positives of the economic performance of this government, and he used his entire five minutes to put down the report put out by the member for Bruce! It was an entirely negative speech from the member for Monash, full of rhetoric but there's nothing concrete in it.

I would like to commend the member for Bruce for putting forward this motion and for the important research he has done that puts hard numbers to what we all know. I do take the member for Monash's point that we are dealing with real people facing real life situations, not just statistics. But the statistics, the numbers, are the broader picture of what is happening down at ground level. The numbers do not lie. These numbers show dispassionately, factually, without spin, without agenda, that Australia has gone backwards under eight years of Liberal government, eight years of Liberal mismanagement and gross economic incompetence. The research—the facts—rips away the veil. It exposes the Liberals as economic charlatans unfit to govern this country.

We already know that the Liberals are a party lacking in both moral and ethical leadership, drowning in rorts and scandals, and with a Prime Minister unwilling to act because his office sits at the centre of the entire stink. Now, thanks to the member for Bruce, we can also put hard figures to the argument that the Liberals are also lacking in economic credibility. Despite the rotting stench that lies at the heart of this Liberal government, there are many in the community who, in the absence of this report, would hold their nose and say to themselves, 'The Liberals might be rotten, they might be cruel, they might be wrecking aged care and the NDIS, they might be literally stealing money from pensioners under robodebt, but at least they can manage the economy.' That's what people have been told for years—that the Liberals are the better economic managers and you can't trust Labor with money. That's the mantra we've all grown up with. It's been driven into people's brains as truth, but it is fairytale.

This report—the facts—strips away this fiction. The Liberals are not better economic managers. The Australian economy did better under Labor. Australian workers and their families did better under Labor, and they will do better under Labor again. Since the 2013 election Australian wages, under a Liberal government, have either stagnated or fallen. The only reason the gap between women's and men's wages has narrowed slightly is that men's wages aren't rising. In real terms Australians now earn almost one per cent less than they did eight years ago. Think about that. Eight years ago you were earning a wage and eight years later you are earning almost one per cent less. It is unfathomable.

Australia, under the Liberals, is third-last of the 35 OECD countries on wages growth. What a record! We have a new OECD secretary-general on the way, and I think he was the one who went on TV and said low wages growth was a deliberate feature of the economic architecture of this government. So hopefully the new OECD secretary-general is well placed to provide some advice to this government about how to get wages moving in this country. Under the Liberals, Australia now has the third-most-unaffordable housing market in the OECD. In Tasmania, my state, with the end of the National Rental Affordability Scheme we have pensioners literally being evicted this week and moving into cars and tents because there is nowhere to go. Just think about that. They have safe secure housing now but, because they can't afford the rent, which is going up to a commercial rent, they are being evicted—pensioners being evicted and going to live in cars and tents. It is an absolute disgrace that is happening under Liberal leadership here in Canberra and in Tasmania.

Under the Liberals, Australia is less productive. Micro-economic reform and productivity are the key to growth. Under this government, Australia has gone backwards. When Labor left office Australia was the 10th-most-productive nation in the OECD. Eight years of Liberal mismanagement has seen us slip to fifth-last. We need to do better. (Time expired)

Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have literally just run into this chamber after being out the front of Parliament House at the March 4 Justice today. It's a march and a rally where women are asking for their voices to be heard. They're just asking for some acknowledgement, particularly from the Morrison government and the Prime Minister, about the experiences that too many women have on the streets, in restaurants, in nightclubs, in their homes and in their workplaces that have their genesis in gender inequality and that manifest as harassment, assault and often, tragically, as rape.

We are at a pivotal moment. We have been at pivotal moments in our history before, and we are at one now. As my colleague the member for Holt reminds me, and as others have said, it's a reflection point. This is a time not just to use the words 'gender equality' and not just to use the language of empathy; it's a time to live gender equality and a time to live empathy. It's a time to be kind to ourselves, to our neighbours and to everyone. If we don't grasp this moment in time, this reflection point, this tipping point, then we are destined to have another couple of hundred years in Australia of inequality and big sections of our community feeling that their day-to-day existence isn't seen.

We know it's not just women. We know that our First Nations people have been struggling for centuries to have their history before white man acknowledged and their history since white man acknowledged. We know that people in our communities with disabilities have been waiting their entire lives to be seen for the value that they bring to our communities and to their families and for government to not just talk about them when it's politically expedient to do so but to do the hard work to make sure that people who are living with disability get to live lives of fulfilment, just as those of us who don't have a disability do.

We know that people who are gay, lesbian and transgender are still struggling to be accepted. They don't want everyone else to live the lifestyle that they live. They don't want everyone else to all of a sudden say, 'Okay; I'm gay now,' or 'I want to celebrate you the way you celebrate you'; they just want to be allowed to go about their lives and love who they want to love and be who they want to be and celebrate the way they want to celebrate without being told that they're wrong or evil or corrupting—just the way I'm free to go about my life without being told those things because I'm straight. That's what gay and lesbian and transgender people want. We know that people of colour in our community, from First Nations through to the waves and waves of immigrants that have made our country a magnificent multicultural community, just want to be heard and accepted within a community that too many times still, unfortunately, judges others.

I was at an International Women's Day event in Frankston North on Thursday when one of the amazing young women who spoke at that event said, 'Why can't we just love each other more? Why can't we just be loved?' At another event that same day, a young man, who must have been about 12, at a gender equality forum said, 'Why do we all judge each other so much?' If those young people can ask those questions, why can't our government not only ask those questions but also genuinely dedicate itself to be part of the answer? We just need to be kinder to each other.

Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.