David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How has the Albanese Labor government developed the policies that were funded in this week's budget?

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

I thank the member for Bean for his question. Indeed, in our first two budgets we delivered on the commitments that we took to the election. These policies were carefully developed while we were in opposition. At a time when those opposite were racking up $1 trillion of debt, providing $19 billion for companies that were actually increasing their profits, deliberately keeping wages low, denying climate change, refusing to upgrade our energy grid, making cuts to Medicare and hollowing out TAFE—doing all of that—what we were doing was coming up with solutions. That's what good oppositions do; they spend their time developing policies.

Back when budget replies had policies, we developed a range of them that we announced on budget reply night. Cheaper child care was a centrepiece of the first budget reply. But we also had our national rail manufacturing plan to lead into the creation of the National Reconstruction Fund. We had our Rewiring the Nation program, our $20 billion program to upgrade the energy grid. We had the announcement of the creation of the Australian Centre for Disease Control.

In our second budget reply we had the Housing Australia Future Fund, still stuck in the Senate with the failure of the coalition or the Greens political party to commit to support. We hope that there is a change of heart from some of those on the crossbenches. We had our Startup Year program to support startup companies. We had New Energy Apprenticeships.

In our third budget reply we had health and aged care as a focus: strengthening Medicare, more carers with more time to care, putting nurses back into nursing homes, better food for residents and better pay for carers. We've seen $11.3 billion in Tuesday night's budget. That's what we did.

The Leader of the Opposition, of course, has contrasted that with what occurred when he was a part of the government. He told Paul Kelly in the Australian that the Liberals haven't had any policies since 2015. This is what he said:

From the time Tony Abbott was deposed by Malcolm Turnbull, the Liberal Party hasn't stood for any substantive policy formulation. There was no major policy offering at the 2022 election.

This guy wasn't a commentator; he was a cabinet minister during that entire period, and he concedes no policy since 2022.

Of course, we shouldn't complain, because, when he did come up with policies, we know it was a tax on GP visits, raising the cost of seeing a GP by $7, raising the cost of prescriptions by $5—a triple threat to people's health care.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will be warned if she continues.

The member for Page will leave the chamber under 94(a). He was warned.

The member for Page then left the chamber.