Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Higgins, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How is the Albanese government taking pressure off families and building a better future for all Australians? How is the government working with the states to assist this?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Higgins for her question and for her outstanding representation. She is the finest member for Higgins I have ever seen, I must say!

When the government was elected, we did say that we would build an economy that worked for people and not the other way around. And we are working on this. We are taking the pressure off families through cheaper medicine, cheaper child care, expanding paid parental leave, more affordable housing, energy price relief and our fee-free TAFE places. We are also working to make employment more secure, because secure jobs give people dignity; they give them purpose, stability and connection to their communities.

We have acted to get wages moving again. Remember the minimum wage? Perhaps that has an impact on people buying things in the supermarket! That $1 an hour increase has an impact, but it was opposed by those opposite. They said it would all fall down—that the sky would fall down. It's why we're also committed to building up Australian manufacturing through our National Reconstruction Fund. Our Housing Australia Future Fund is delivering housing for women and children escaping domestic violence, and for veterans. It's delivering more emergency funding and delivering funding for housing, to fix up some of the housing in remote Indigenous communities as well. But that's opposed by those opposite.

We know there is more to do. We know that families are feeling under pressure. But those opposite just say no to everything that is put forward. They've said no the Housing Australia Future Fund. They've said no to manufacturing jobs. They say no to power price relief for households. They say no to making super stronger for the future. They say no even to their own policy on climate change, the safeguard mechanism. They don't put forward amendments, they don't put forward improvements and they don't try to engage in serious policy debate; they just say no. It's no wonder that the Leader of the Opposition has not appeared with the New South Wales Premier since last October. There's a force field around the New South Wales Premier! He's very happy to appear with me, Mr Speaker. He's very happy to appear with me, as is the Tasmanian Liberal Premier, about getting constructive measures done—that is what we have done.

I say this to the Leader of the Opposition: don't miss out this Sunday. He missed out on the Victorian Liberal Party campaign, and look where that got them! Don't make the same mistake twice. Get out there and back it in. I'll miss the Liberal Party campaign launch, but I encourage the Leader of the Opposition to attend on Sunday to introduce Premier Perrottet. I'm sure that will be a very successful thing.

On that note, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.