Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's amazing, when you see these motions get brought into the parliament and brought up here, to sit there and have a look at some of the things that are being said. I want to rise on this one and support it wholeheartedly, because what we've seen is a motion that has been brought to us after—

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask the member for McEwen to resume his seat. I remind members that if the opposition doesn't have at least one person in the room we won't have a quorum.

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You'd think a former Speaker would have known that! As we know, the last 10 years have been 10 years of totally forgetting about what's actually happened, and everything is just on us today. Let's have a look at this. Ten months ago, Australians voted for change. They were sick of corruption, broken promises and the years of inaction the coalition government gave us. They voted to build a better future, for a government that will actually deliver.

Nowhere in the country is this more evident than in our communities in McEwen. Our communities were ignored and neglected through 10 years of the 'no-alition' government. Broken promises and abject neglect defined their time in government for communities across Victoria but particularly in our electorate. They promised to improve infrastructure to make our roads safer, but did they do that? No. They promised to support sporting facilities in our growing regions. Did they deliver that? No. They promised to invest in infrastructure to help cater for the rapidly growing population. Did they deliver that? No.

We were starved of funding while the coalition looked after their buddies and invested in their own electorates. Pork-barrelling and dodgy deals were rife during their time in government, so they could make sure they looked after themselves and their interests. A perfect example of this was the bright sparks of the coalition who thought giving Victoria only seven per cent of the available infrastructure funding was fair. That was despite the fact that Victoria has over 20 per cent of the nation's population.

Our government, the Albanese Labor government, is fixing the problems and filling the gaps left by the last lot. Looking at our electorate, in the October budget last year we moved swiftly to guarantee nearly $200 million of investment to our communities in McEwen. We committed $15 million to building stage 2 of the Macedon Ranges Regional Sports Precinct, which will help build the next generation of sports stars from our local area and provide huge opportunities for all members of our community, something that was overlooked in the now opposition's time in government for the nine years when they steadfastly refused to fund this project.

We committed $150 million to the Camerons Lane interchange, unlocking the economic potential of the north. Along with the $11 million allocated to fix our roads, this will make the commute to and from work and access to our regions and quicker.

The Watson Street interchange at the Hume Highway will be built, backed by an additional $130 million from the Victorian government. The member for Riverina is here, and I will pay credit to him. He came down on a terrible day—we were both there at the horrific train accident that cost two lives. He came with me, we looked at the interchange and he committed to it. Sadly, he wasn't there to actually make sure that it got delivered. But I will pay credit to the member for Riverina because he did listen and listen intently. This is a much-needed project. It needs to be done. Now that the Victorian government has committed their $130 million, we will see this project done to deliver safety for all communities in the region.

We also committed $1.5 million for fixing the mobile black spots in Gisborne and Woodend. The others left a lot of holes in the national coverage. In fact, when we had a look through the mobile black spots funding program, we'd received 2½ towers in nine years. Despite the fact that we'd met every single criteria of the government's own program, they'd still refused to actually deliver those. Those holes that were left were in areas that were affected by bushfires, floods and storms and in areas that have been dangers to our communities. But guess what? The Albanese Labor government is stepping up to fix that.

We are fixing up the mess that was left to us by the previous government. We put forward a budget in the early days of our term that started to tackle the rising cost of living. Let's remember, as to power prices, that theirs was a government that deliberately withheld power price increases from the Australian public. Nothing can be more terrible than a government going into an election and deliberately moving things to stop people from knowing what's going to happen in the future.

But we also said that we would deliver on getting wage increases moving. We're delivering on our commitments on industrial reforms, and on things like cheaper childcare to help so many families in our community who are paying more for childcare than they are for their mortgages. We will help over 6,000 families by getting this delivered. We worked, and we said that we would do and deliver things. And guess what? Unlike those opposite, we actually do.

Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this motion, but not in support of the motion. I do acknowledge, certainly, as the Prime Minister has reminded us in recent days, that there have now been 10 months of this Albanese Labor government. In the lead-up to the election in May last year, Labor made many promises. The Prime Minister has recently said that Australians have had a good 10 months. I am yet to meet a single Australian who has said that he or she has had a good 10 months. Nobody in my electorate of Hughes has had a good 10 months; nobody has said that to me and I have no doubt that nobody will say that to me, because, in the last 10 months, we have had nine consecutive rate increases under this government—a rate of rises that we haven't seen in 30 years. We now have a cash rate sitting at 3.6 per cent. For the average Australian mortgage holder—and 30 per cent of those in my electorate hold mortgages—they are now paying, on average, $1,700 a month more, which is $20,000 a year they have to find after tax. These are not Australians saying to me that they have had a good 10 months, and the next 10 months are not looking any better at all.

I want to talk specifically about things like electricity. There are no Australians that I have met or who have spoken to me who have said that their electricity has gone down by the $275 that was promised by this Labor government in the lead-up to the election. Instead, we've seen massive increases in power prices and no plan to address those increases.

Particularly in my home state of New South Wales, Australians are now paying $564 a year more than we were before the election in May of last year. Only on the weekend, when I went and bought my coffee at the Bianco Nero cafe in Gymea, adjoining my electorate, the owner, George, said to me that he is now paying $50,000 a year in electricity—that's for a small cafe in the suburbs of Sydney. And that is not sustainable for a small business.

Then we can look at franking credits. Labor promised, in the lead-up to the election, that there'd be no change to franking credits. They saw in 2019 what happens if you tell Australians that you're going to make changes to their franking credits. So this time around they said, 'We're not making any changes,' but then, as soon as they got in, there was a backflip, and now we've got changes to franking credits. This impacts a lot of self-funded retirees—a lot of older Australians, and it's older Australians that the government said they have come in to try and assist. Well, they're not assisting them in my electorate or throughout Australia.

Talking of broken promises, let's look at superannuation. Superannuation belongs to the superannuant holder. They have earned the money over the years, and it is their money. It is not for the federal government to get into power on promises like, 'We're not touching your superannuation,' and then to come in and start making changes. In particular, the current Prime Minister, on 2 May 2022, said:

We've said we have no intention to make any super changes.

Jim Chalmers, our current Treasurer, said:

Look, we've said about superannuation that we would maintain the system.

That was in March 2022, on the ABC Insiders program. And then what happened? They're in power and suddenly running a little bit short of money, so they're coming after the money of Australian workers.

Then we can look at Australian families. I've already spoken about electricity bills. I would like to find the Australian families that have had this good 10 months that the Prime Minister's speaking about.

I note the injections from the other side. I'm sure that the member's going to point to quite a few Australians who are telling us what a good 10 months they have had. When Labor comes into power, they break their promises. We always pay more under a Labor government.

Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise in favour of the member for Lalor's motion regarding the very successful first 10 months of the Albanese Labor government. This is not to say that Australians and people in Boothby aren't doing it tough right now. When I'm out and about in Boothby, running mobile offices or doing shopping centre visits in Edwardstown, Marino, Colonel Light Gardens or Mitcham, as I did over the weekend, the message is much the same, and we understand people are struggling with the cost of living. But there is another message that comes through, and that's one of relief. There's relief that after 10 wasted years the adults are finally back in charge. Despite the very real challenges, there is a sense of optimism in our communities and a sense that, while things are tough, we're on the right track. Things are finally happening. We have a leader who gets it, who has empathy for what Australians are going through and who leads from a place of passion and principle. Australians have a government that is working every day to take pressure off them and to help them reach their full potential.

What do we hear from those opposite? From those opposite, who continue to be dealt resounding election defeat after resounding election defeat around the country, we hear one response to every idea or opportunity put forward: no. They have dealt themselves out of relevance time and time again. They are telling Australians that they do not take their problems seriously. They vacate the negotiating table to the crossbench and the Greens. The LNP basically have nothing to say and no positive contributions to make, and so they say no.

Those opposite have recently taken to asking for more detail from the government. It's funny because they weren't interested in so much detail when they were in charge and had a chance to actually do something about many of the challenges we face. But, if they want more detail, who am I to deny them? Here's a quick list of just some of our highlights from the first 10 months. We delivered Australia's first real climate change policy in a decade with a commitment to a 43 per cent reduction on 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. We've advanced the safeguard mechanism bill, fixing the disaster left by those opposite. We've made more than 20,000 prescriptions cheaper in Boothby alone and more than 2½ million Australia wide. We have delivered transparency, honesty, accountability through a National Anti-Corruption Commission. We'll be delivering cheaper child care from 1 July and delivering the biggest boost to parental leave by adding an additional six weeks of paid parental leave. We've made the Commonwealth seniors health card available to more Australians and unveiled the path to delivering AUKUS jobs in South Australia. We have record investment to improve women's safety. We've improved foreign relations with key partners, including countries of the Asia-Pacific, the US, France and New Zealand. We've committed to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full and just last week announced the proposed wording to be inserted in the Constitution should the referendum get up. We've passed the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response No. 1) Act, delivering on the election promise to reform aged care on the recommendations of the royal commission. We've delivered 37 of those recommendations already. We've passed the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act, implementing the recommendations of the Respect@Work national inquiry into sexual harassment in the workplace. And we're only just getting started.

We know that Australians are doing it tough in what the shadow Treasurer has previously referred to as a global environment of rising inflation. But at street corner meetings on the weekend a number of Boothby residents commented on how the government had hit the ground running, how impressed they were with the amount of legislation and the number of promises we've delivered on, how relieved they are to have the adults back in charge and not to have to bear one scandal after another and how good it is to have a government they can actually be proud of. Given the Victorian election result and the New South Wales election result over the weekend, it seems the Australian public have an appetite for more.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I disagree with the motion and I disagree with the principles behind it. I'm glad the member for Kennedy is in the chamber, because he, like me, knows full well the benefit of regional spending, of funding for country people. He, like me, wants to see an aquatic centre for Mornington Shire. The mayor there, Kyle Yanner—and I know the member for Kennedy would know him well—and his community have been requiring, needing, deserving, expecting a water park for a long time. I gave them the commitment, as the Acting Prime Minister of this country back in 2021, that I would help deliver that, and I know it has had the member for Kennedy's advocacy as well. Hopefully the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, the member for Ballarat, will see fit to do that. I've seen her on a number of occasions. What I worry about is regional funding going by the wayside in the May budget, because what we've seen across the country generally when Labor governments get in is that the regions get hit the first and the hardest. I note that the new New South Wales Premier—and good luck to him—did not mention the regions in his acceptance speech on Saturday night, and that is a concern.

The member for Lalor comes here and talks about all sorts of delivery, including repealing the cashless debit card. That is going to hurt those communities in, particularly, remote Australia where that initiative was doing a lot of good, particularly in making sure that the financing of families was going to the right places—not grog, not gambling but school lunches, uniforms and making sure that the welfare of the families comes first. What we don't want to see is a rising tide of domestic violence in families as a result of that cashless debit card being withdrawn. I note that the member for Lalor talks about the government delivering on its election commitments to build a better future. Well, if delivering a better future means rising inflation, rising energy costs, changes to super which prior to the election Labor said would not occur, more expensive mortgages, Labor touching franking credits, raising taxes, more consultants and contractors in government infrastructure—if these things are building a better future—I'd hate to see what a worse one was. I seriously would, because that is, unfortunately, what we've seen in the first 10 months under Labor. We've seen all of those things and so much more. Good, ordinary, hardworking, everyday Australians are jack of it. They are sick of it. They are struggling as it is with cost-of-living pressures, and what they don't want to see is ideology taking over from practicality. Yes, they want to see action on climate. I get that. Yes, they want to see this place be a place where integrity comes first. I get that.

Thank you, Member for Kennedy. But what they don't want to see is ideology put ahead of common sense, and common sense means that we dig things up out of the ground, we use them for our own domestic energy supplies and we send resources overseas to help pay for schools and hospitals and to keep the lights on. We just saw the other day, at the AFL, what happens when the lights go out. I'm not putting the blame on anyone or anything, but that's just a precursor of what's going to happen under the ideology of those opposite when it takes over practicality and common sense. We're going to see the lights go out in places other than just the Gabba. We're going to see the lights go out in suburban Australia. We're going to see the lights go out and the energy go off in factories and in places of industry right across Australia.

I hear the member for Moreton, but it will happen. I've warned of it. It happened the last time I warned of it, and it will happen again.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm happy to join this debate about Labor governments. As Kevin Rudd, the former Prime Minister and now Australian Ambassador to the United States—congratulations, Kevin—once said, 'Labor governments build community, and the Liberals break things up.' It's such a simple and stark contrast that is worth repeating. Apart from John Howard's gun law reforms, I can't for the life of me recall one outstanding good thing that has ever come from a federal coalition government. What's the lasting legacy from that dreadful conga line of Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison governments? Knights and dames? A shameful, divisive and unnecessary marriage equality plebiscite that has emboldened bigots and even Nazis? Robodebt that robbed and killed 400,000 of our most vulnerable Australians?

When it comes to the nation-changing legacies of Labor governments, in contrast, I give you: Medicare, something that benefits the bush; paid parental leave; the NDIS; universal superannuation; equal pay for women; the Racial Discrimination Act; and the National Gallery—and that's just in the last couple of decades. This Albanese Labor government is delivering on the changes that the Australian people voted for at the last election. We will keep faith with the Australian people—all the people. Since May last year we've been working hard to clean up the mess the coalition left behind, including leaving taxpayers with a trillion dollars of Liberal debt. After a decade of delay, denial, rorts and waste there is a lot of work for us to do, but we're working every day to build a better future for Australia.

We know that these are tough times, so here's what we're doing to tackle the cost of living: by 1 July, we're making child care cheaper; we're reducing the maximum co-payment under the PBS from $42.50 to a maximum of $30, which is a reduction of 29 per cent—I know that many of the pharmacies in my electorate, especially those based in Acacia Ridge, have welcomed this reduction on behalf of their customers—we've made it easier for pensioners who want to to be able to earn more; we're looking after our vulnerable seniors by putting nurses back into nursing homes 24/7; we're implementing recommendations from the aged-care royal commission; we set up a fund to prepare for and respond to disasters; we passed more support for our veterans; we've added an additional six weeks of paid parental leave for families, bumping the total leave payable up to 26 weeks—a full six months—plus we've passed new laws to prevent sexual harassment at work; we made 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave law; and then—legs 11—after 11 years of denial from those opposite, today the Albanese Labor government has acted on climate and protecting the environment.

The coalition, under the leadership of the member for Dickson, hauled up the we're-irrelevant flag while the rest of the parliament enshrined in law a 43 per cent emissions reductions target by 2030 and a net zero emissions target by 2050. Our current renewables rate of 30 per cent isn't enough to reach net zero by 2030, so we're urgently upgrading our grid to 82 per cent renewables by 2030 and transforming Australia into a renewable energy superpower. What's the member for Dickson doing while we're doing all this? He's trying on the red speedos and saying, 'I look good in these.' I know that's a troubling metaphor. Perhaps I'll turn to an alternative metaphor.

In the Watership Down book by Richard Adams from the 1970s the rabbits end up at Cowslip's warren where the rabbits have a great life and are well-fed, but they're harvested by the farmer every now and then. We're seeing that with the coalition. We saw it in the Victorian election. We saw it in the New South Wales election. We saw it at the last federal election. Every now and then the traditional Liberals are being harvested. They're being taken out because they're not listening to modern Australia.

What have we done? We've updated the laws to protect the ozone layer. We've made electric vehicles cheaper and easier to use on the very undestroyed weekend. I've actually never seen so many electric cars parked around the streets of Sunnybank, where my office is located. We passed laws to help Australia generate cheap offshore wind power. We're establishing a new environment protection agency. We're delivering 480,000 fee-free TAFE places for in-demand sectors as we continue with our work of making sure that Australians can build for their future. We passed a new law for secure jobs and better pay. We established the new Jobs and Skills Australia. We passed laws to set up the High Speed Rail Authority. We said that once elected we would strengthen accountability, so we passed legislation to establish the National Anti-Corruption Commission. We abolished the hopelessly politically compromised AAT and are replacing it with a review body that will better serve the Australian community. We've got much more to do, but we will not waste a day.

Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I sincerely thank the member for Lalor for some time ago moving this motion on the Labor government. It's my hope that a motion or two like this will speak to my better angels. At times we can be a bit negative. After living the last nine years of the previous government, either as a member of this place or, in my case, as a private citizen, there is a lot to vent about at times. Many on the other side of the chamber would have you believe they left a legacy worth defending on a number of policy issues that we in government are needing to fix as a matter of urgency. We need to unwind nine years of inaction, obfuscation and at times downright sabotage in some areas. However, we cannot lose sight of the need to speak on the reasons why Australia voted in an Albanese Labor government, not voted out a Morrison Liberal-National government.

The member for Moreton, the member for McEwen and my South Australian colleague the member for Boothby would definitely agree with me on this. We have all had some very positive messages to communicate with our electorates throughout this term in government. The main conversation starter of course has been the promises we made in opposition that are being fulfilled in government. Australia voted with Labor to enact visionary policy reforms. We have seen this throughout time. Only a Labor government can get these things right. Too often we have seen policies—like the NBN and the NDIS, for example—being ruined by the changing parties in government.

It isn't just in this place where Australians have entrusted Labor governments to make big decisions and to govern them through a number of trying circumstances. In fact, since the beginning of last year we have seen in my home state of South Australia Peter Malinauskas become the Premier after only a single term in opposition from 16 years in government. This is no mean feat by any standard. We have seen Daniel Andrews in Victoria deliver a performance that one might call statuesque. Whilst it remains to be seen whether he will take the bronze, the good people of Victoria have given him a gold tick of approval, along with his third term in office.

All of this was in the lead-up to Saturday night when we saw New South Wales give Chris Minns the honour of becoming the 47th Premier of their state. At first, the commentariat were giving post-COVID election wins to incumbent governments, such as the victory in Queensland which saw the re-election of the Palaszczuk government and, of course, the imperious win of the McGowan government in Western Australia.

The people of Australia didn't just vote for change. They voted for a policy agenda that only Labor governments are known to deliver at both state and national levels, which is one of the many reasons the Australian people elected an Albanese government to establish the National Anti-Corruption Commission, a bill I'm proud to have spoken on. It marked a historical turning point, one where we, as politicians, can return to our electorates with our heads held a little higher, knowing that we have a government in power that places great stock in ensuring that a degree of probity and honour is restored to our profession. This matters a lot to the people in Spence. I don't lay all of it at the feet of the former government, but some of their actions, coupled with their reluctance to establish a body that would police corruption within their ranks, have lingering consequences—consequences that diminished our standing in the eyes of the world and in the eyes of the average punter.

It isn't just the big picture issues. This government is helping at the hip pocket, making child care more affordable and making medicines more affordable. And, as of earlier today, this House just moved one step closer to bringing Australia toward having a proper climate policy after so many years of climate war. Australia, hopefully very soon, will see some light at the end of a very long tunnel of partisanship on climate, and we can get on with the job of making our country and planet liveable for generations in the future.

Labor governments don't just govern for those who vote for us; we govern for all. We don't just govern for the generation that goes to the ballot box; we govern to make things better for our grandchildren and for generations to come as well. It's how it has always been, and I'm proud to be part of the Albanese Labor government.

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) 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.