Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How has the Albanese Labor government been working for Australians over the course of 2023.

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

I thank the member for Hasluck for her question and for her commitment to the people of that wonderful part of Perth. We have, since we came into office, seen the creation of at least 624,000 new jobs. That will always be a priority of a Labor government. That is more jobs created than in any new government in Australia's history, and we're only halfway through. We have the lowest gender pay gap on record. We have record women's workforce participation. We've got real wages moving two quarters in a row. We have a 15 per cent pay rise for aged-care workers. We have an increase in the minimum wage. We have, of course, the first budget surplus in 15 years, turning a $78 billion deficit under them into a $22 billion surplus.

We're also delivering on cost-of-living measures. Cheaper child care began on 1 July. Cheaper medicines began on 1 January. There will be 58 Medicare urgent care clinics by the end of the year. We've tripled the bulk billing incentives for Medicare. We've delivered already 300,000 fee-free TAFE places and energy bill relief. We've strengthened paid parental leave and increased support for jobseekers and single parents and people who need rent assistance. All these motions were opposed by those opposite.

We're putting in place the Housing Australia Future Fund, the Social Housing Accelerator, the national housing target of 1.2 million homes, the better deal for renters and the expanded home guarantee scheme. And we're delivering. The National Reconstruction Fund is up and running. We've passed the Safeguard Mechanism to bring down emissions. There is 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave. We said there'd be a national anticorruption commission, and it is operating. We had the robodebt royal commission, consigning that to the dustbin of history where it belongs. We've restored Australia's standing internationally.

We have been getting on with the job of working for Australia each and every day, delivering on promises that we made but also pointing towards the future. There will be more fee-free TAFE places and more cost-of-living relief. Further strengthening of Medicare was underlined by yesterday's National Cabinet meeting. We'll continue to work for Australia.

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