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

I've received a letter from the honourable member for Hume proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely:

The Government's policies causing a per capita recession.

I call upon those honourable members who approve of the proposed discussion to rise in their places.

More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before the election, this Prime Minister promised that Australians would be better off under his government. He didn't promise it once; he promised it many times over. In fact, his $275 promise on electricity prices was made 96 times. He promised cheaper mortgages. He promised a broader lower cost of living. He promised 1.2 million more houses over five years. But none of these things have come to fruition; not one of these things has come to fruition. Australians are experiencing a collapse in their standard of living, a collapse the likes of which we haven't seen in our lifetimes, and right at the heart of it is a huge increase in taxes being paid. We're paying a 20 per cent increase in personal tax, a 12 per cent increase in interest rates, a 10 per cent increase in prices on average of many, many items that are absolutely essential to the household budget and a 27 per cent increase to gas prices, which is substantially more, just to take an example.

Australians are experiencing a family recession. The latest economic update that came out in the last week or so confirms that Labor has been missing in action on managing the economy. The Prime Minister and his team have spent the last year wasting time on their $450 million frolic for the Voice referendum.

Many Australians scraped through the pandemic only to find life harder than ever with less to show for it. There is a better way, and I'll come back to that in a moment, but it is worth dwelling for a moment on what happens to our economy. We are facing a GDP per person recession. At the end of the day the only thing that matters to someone in the economy is what they're feeling, what the family is feeling, what the household is feeling, what the small businesses of Australia are feeling. As I said, after two years of Labor, they haven't seen it so bad, with higher taxes, higher prices and higher mortgage rates. The economy is grinding to a halt, and the sad reality is that we have got to a point where the only thing left growing in this economy is the population.

In the last 12 months we've seen the population grow by 2.6 per cent. Meanwhile, we're seeing the economy growing at only 0.2 per cent per quarter. The sad reality is this is a government that thinks it's okay to have an economy that is only powered by immigration growth—over 500,000 in one year with population growth over 600,000. Today, we read that the housing requirement for that extra 500,000 is about 75 per cent down on where it needs to be. Only in one in four of the houses required for Australians relative to that population growth is being built. If you dig a little deeper, you see that the combined impact of a 23 per cent increase in personal income taxes being paid, the 10 per cent increase in prices and the 12 interest rate increases has led to a 7½ per cent reduction in disposable income for Australians.

We see it on the ground wherever we go. I make a point—and I've done this with many of my colleagues behind me here—of going to food banks in my colleagues' electorates to hear and see what Australians are feeling. We're seeing people at food banks who have never been there before. We see people relying on Vinnies, a wonderful organisation, for clothing and other supports who have never required that support before. People who are working, people with double incomes and people with mortgages are all looking for this sort of support under this government.

The cause is straightforward. It is a government that is distracted. It is a government that's spending more time on politics than on managing the economy. It is a government that thought spending a year on a referendum that the Australian people unashamedly rejected last year was a good way to spend its time, rather than focusing on the economy. But the response of Australians is the most striking thing of all. Australians are a stoic lot. If they have a bad government that's doing the wrong thing and making the wrong calls, they cope. But they cope in ways that hurt.

First of all, we have almost a million Australians now working a second or third job—almost a million Australians. It's only way they can pay the mortgage or make ends meet. We see Australians, essentially, no longer saving. We saw the savings rate drop to just over one per cent of disposable income. They've essentially given up on saving. If you are a young Australian, the only way you are ever going to own a home is to save the money for a deposit, and they've given up under this government. We know savings rates need to be at seven or eight per cent to be sustainable. They are nowhere near that. We see people cutting back not only on their discretionary spending but also on their non-discretionary spending. When they're cutting back on the food bill, we know things are absolutely desperate. This is supposed to be the lucky country, but Australians aren't feeling lucky under Labor, and it's bad decisions from Labor that are making the difference.

I've already pointed to the mismatch between immigration and housing. Immigration rates are over 500,000. The government itself is forecasting over 1.2 million people immigrating to Australia over the next four years, and every indication is that the number is going to be substantially higher than that. What we also know, as I said, is that only one in four of the houses required is being built. Even on the government's own forecast for housing, they're expecting 20,000 houses a month to be built, and, in fact, they're building about 12,000. I don't know where they think these people are going to go, but I do know that young people I speak to in my electorate and across this country cannot find housing. They cannot find housing because it's simply not there.

Meanwhile, there is a better way. That's why we have said that it's right and proper that Australians should be able to access their superannuation for housing. It is a bizarre situation where the only house Australians can't invest in with their super is their own house, but it's a situation that is okay by this government. We see a government that is spending in a way we haven't seen for many, many years. We've seen over $209 billion of additional spending since this government came to power—that's $20,000 per household—and the $450 million referendum is just the beginning.

The Treasurer is a doctor of spin, not a doctor of economics. He hasn't even bothered turning up here today. In the whole time that he has been Treasurer, he's not bothered to turn up to an economic debate like this one. This Treasurer has instead set up a $40 million spin unit. That's what you do when Australians are doing it tough: you set up a spin unit to tell them they've never had it so good. Australians know far better than that. Meanwhile, he is going down a long list of taxes that he's imposing or, no doubt, planning to impose: unrealised capital gains—we haven't seen a government go there before—franking credits, a tourist tax, recycling and clothing. Every farmer under this government is going to see an additional tax when they sell a head of sheep or cattle. It's going to be there on the invoice. They'll see it. This is a government that is very happy to go after farmers, but it's not only going after farmers but it's also going after tradies and families with their utes. It's a government that's happy to say, 'You should pay $15,000 more for your HiLux'—or $14,500, to be exact—and substantially more for many of the most popular cars in Australia.'

Meanwhile, we see the energy minister crow because energy prices are not going up as much as they were, having promised a $275 reduction. This is a hapless energy minister who will never deliver the promise that he made to Australians. Meanwhile, we see small-business failures increasing rapidly and exits from the industry increasing at a rapid rate—and I have no doubt that under this government we're going to see far more of the same. There is a better way, but it's not the way that this Labor government has taken us.

Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wasn't sure if the member for Hume would hang on for his MPI today or get himself packing to avoid the scrutiny, but it appears he is still here at the moment. Are you staying, member for Hume, or going? He's going. He's so deeply interested in this topic, so deeply interested in his own MPI that he's leaving the chamber now. But here we all are, having been reminded of the many ways the opposition is standing in the way of cost-of-living relief to working families in Australia.

Having torched the place with a decade of junk economics, they now have the gall to stand in the way of a proper economic strategy, relief from cost-of-living pressure in a way that does not add to a nation, repair of the budget position and supply chains, the first surplus in 15 years, and reform which lays the foundation for future growth. This is the work of a serious government—hard choices taken to ease financial pressure on Australians and set up our economy for the long term. I acknowledge the leadership of our economics team in this work. I suggest that the Australian community has seen through the bluff and the bluster and the confected outrage of the other side. The good people of Dunkley certainly have. Let me take the chance to put my congratulations to the member for Dunkley, Jodie Belyea, on the record. She will be a fantastic local member for her community.

As for the other side, it looks like they have already bailed out. They have suffered through the rubbish of the member for Hume, holding their breath, hoping he doesn't start talking about Vegemite again, breathing a sigh of relief when it's over and then quickly running for the door, where they've all just gone.

I'd like to add a small detail to the member's speech, something about his own community, just up the road in New South Wales. There are some 79,000 taxpayers in the member for Hume's electorate, and 68,000 of them will be better off under the Labor's tax cuts than they would have been under the Liberals' plan. For those without a calculator, 68,000 is 86 per cent. In my electorate on the Central Coast of New South Wales, it's 88 per cent—hardworking teachers, nurses, food manufacturers and others who deserve the financial relief that tax cuts will bring. The hardworking staff from Warnervale Public School, whom I welcomed here to Parliament House yesterday with their students, are among the 88 per cent of workers in my community of Dobell who are better off under Labor's tax cuts. This fact repeats over and over around the country, which is why, for all their bluff and bluster and confected outrage, the opposition actually voted for this change. They voted for this change.

The Albanese government wants Australians to earn more and keep more of what they earn, and our bigger tax cuts for more taxpayers will help make this happen. Labor's legislation will deliver a tax cut for every taxpayer, and more tax relief for more people to help with the cost of living. As we know, and as the Treasurer says each day, people are still under pressure, and there is more to do. Anyone who listens to their communities understands this deeply. Again, I echo the words of the Prime Minister: it's not the job of a leader to sit back and wring their hands when confronted with new challenges; it's their job to act, to take responsibility and to do the right thing. That is exactly what we're doing with rent assistance, fee-free TAFE, energy bill reductions, housing and, of course, wages.

We said we'd get real wages moving again, and we are. Real wages growth is back and ahead of schedule. Annual real wages grew at the end of last year. The most recent wage figures show a 0.9 per cent rise in the wage price index for the December quarter, meaning wages were 4.2 per cent higher through the year—the equal-fastest annual growth since 2009. This is the first time since 2018 we have seen three consecutive quarters of real wages growth. On this note I will mention aged-care workers, and the invaluable contribution they've made and the proper recognition they will now receive for the work they do providing dignity to older Australians. Since the election, nominal wages have been growing at an annualised average of four per cent—almost double the average under those opposite. We've turned that around in less than two years. The Liberals want people working longer for less, and that meant annual real wages were falling 3.4 per cent, as the Treasurer said in question time today, when we came to office after a decade of deliberate—and this was by design—wage suppression and stagnation.

I turn now to an area of responsibility I have in the health portfolio where major government initiatives are helping ease pressure on Australians: restoring and strengthening Medicare, bringing bulk-billing back from the absolute brink it was at under those opposite, supporting the health workforce and growing access to free, quality urgent care services under Medicare. I've said before that physical and mental health have particular importance in this discussion because health outcomes aren't just a result of access to clinical care, as important as that is; financial security or insecurity itself is a direct driver and important determinant of physical and mental health. Those with financial security generally have better health than those without. Those in work generally have better mental health than those looking for work. As I said, in mental health, when you're under financial strain you are much more likely to experience distress. We see the cost-of-living agenda as a health agenda too, and the government's record investment in Medicare shows how deeply seriously we are taking this task.

Under Labor we have brought bulk-billing back to the beating heart of Medicare. In the first two months since the tripling of the GP bulk-billing incentive, we have stopped the absolute freefall that bulk-billing was in under the former government and seen a big increase in the number of Australians getting their GP appointments for free. This is a health measure, this is a cost-of-living measure and this is making a difference in communities right around the country. We should never have Australians putting off visits to the doctor because they simply can't afford to go. It is estimated some 360,000 additional GP consultations were bulk-billed in the first two months of this policy, saving Australians some $15 million in gap fees. I look forward to more data showing more Australians benefiting from bulk-billed GP appointments.

In addition to bulk-billed GP appointments, Australians are also benefiting from quality, free health care at 58 Medicare urgent care clinics—more than the number promised in our election commitment and with further growth to come, as the Prime Minister confirmed in question time today. So far there have been more than 225,000 presentations to Medicare urgent care clinics across the country since the first Medicare urgent care clinic opened its doors in June last year. Across the country this represents an estimated potential saving to public hospital emergency departments of over $60 million in avoided patient episodes. This is a health measure and this is a cost-of-living measure, and this is making a real difference to Australians.

Working families have been the main beneficiary of this landmark investment in Medicare. More than one in four patients presenting to urgent care clinics across the country have been under 15. More than one in four visits have taken place over the weekend, and on weekdays one in four visits have taken place after five o'clock. This is showing the real difference. This is a health measure and this is a cost-of-living measure that Australians all around the country are benefiting from.

Labor members in this place are laser focused on practical measures to ease cost-of-living pressure and to set our economy up for a fairer and stronger future. As we know, growth in the Australian economy is subdued but steady in the face of higher interest rates, high but moderating inflation and ongoing global uncertainty. The UK finished the year in recession. Around a quarter of G20 nations have recorded a technical recession or narrowly avoided one. Against that backdrop, the Australian economy grew by 0.2 per cent in the December quarter to be 1.5 per cent higher through the year. It does not help to have the opposition and the member for Hume—who has left the chamber, despite having carriage of this MPI today, and all his bluff and bluster about the Treasurer not being here, whilst he can't remain for his own MPI in the chamber—

Good to see! Thank you very much, Member for New England—who is holding up the coalition at this point in time! I mean, this is a perilous place for us all to be on a Tuesday afternoon!

Against this backdrop, the Australian economy grew by 0.2 per cent in the December quarter, to be 1.5 per cent higher through the year. It does not help to have the opposition here—held up by the member for New England!—scurrying around on a scare campaign, the member for Hume trying to impress his colleagues, sitting idly by. This Labor government is improving cost of living. (Time expired)

Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australians are doing it tough, but, listening to the member for Dobell, it seems everything's hunky-dory: Australians aren't doing it tough; everything's great. In a 10-minute speech, probably 20 seconds were devoted to, 'We need to do a little bit better on cost of living.' When it comes to Dobell, I guess people aren't paying more rent, people aren't paying higher mortgages, people aren't paying more for insurance. I guess the member for Dobell must have delivered that $275 reduction in electricity prices. So, for the people in Lemon Tree, Long Jetty and Palm Dale and other places in Dobell, everything's sweet since the Albanese government was elected, according to the member for Dobell.

But the truth is that Australians know they are doing it tough. They know the Prime Minister couldn't be trusted when he said that things would be better off under him, that life would be better under him. People know they have been struggling for the last two years. The record shows that under the coalition people had more savings in their bank accounts, people had more dollars in their pocket, people had a greater disposable income. People weren't having to work two or three jobs, as the member for Hume said, under the coalition.

The government come in here day after day talking about more women being in employment. The reason more women are back to work is that they're struggling; their mortgages have doubled, their cost of living has gone through the roof, they're having to put groceries back on the shelf when the kids pick them up. That's why they're back to work—nothing to do with what the Leader of the House has done. The minister for industrial relations comes in here and says he's saved the country, that everything's hunky-dory under him. The reality is that prices have gone up because of their actions, because of their legislating for their union donors. That's what Labor governments do. It's what they'll always do. Whilst the rules allow them to take that money from the unions, they'll come into this place and act in the best interests of their donors, not in the best interests of you and other Australians throughout this place. That is the absolute reality.

After almost two years of Labor, Australians' quality of life has fallen dramatically, with higher income taxes, higher inflation and low productivity. They talk about income taxes, but the government wouldn't be doing anything around income taxes if the former coalition government hadn't already legislated to cut them from 1 July. That is the absolute reality. There's not a member on this side of the House who advocates for income taxes any day of the week. In fact, in the last two years all they've done is say, 'How do we actually get rid of those legislated stage 3 tax cuts?'—that you said you wouldn't cut.

The reality is that businesses are also suffering. Small businesses are suffering. For every man, woman and child in Australia, the economy is going backwards; there is less money in their pockets. That's what the figures produced last week say and what the shadow Treasurer, the member for Hume, spoke about today. Workplaces are more inefficient—workplaces are not as productive—because of the workplace laws that this government has introduced.

Businesses are now more worried about trying to work out, 'What is the definition of a casual?' What is the definition of a casual? We're not sure.

There is fear and uncertainty over the right to disconnect. Now, how many members here—there are quite a few members in the House—have actually had someone come up to them and say, 'I'm really worried about my boss calling me after hours; I'm really worried about being sent an email after hours'? I've been a member here for 10 years and haven't had one person raise that with me. But now you've got small businesses around the country going, 'You know what? I might not put on that extra employee.' And unemployment is rising under the Albanese government.

There's the duplication. For years, in Queensland, we've had legislation addressing wage theft, and the federal government introduced the same legislation but doesn't talk to the current legislation in Queensland.

Capital expenditure is down. People are not investing in their businesses because the Albanese government have wound back the instant asset tax write-off. And now we have one employee in every 15 whose full-time job is to deal with compliance and regulation. That is the Albanese government's legacy. SMEs have stopped growing. They've stopped employing. They're finding it tough. And Australians have given up on the Albanese government.

Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's always a pleasure to follow such an illustrious contribution from the member opposite! The reality is that everybody in this House, everybody in this parliament, and especially everybody in the Albanese Labor government, is acutely aware that people across our communities have been doing it very tough for a protracted period of time now. But working people are not mugs. They know that the conditions that have led to these challenging circumstances weren't made overnight and they're not isolated to Australia. Many times in this chamber, across the public discourse, we have discussed the issues related to inflation in our economy, many of which began as part of an international inflation problem, and we see the reverberations of that international problem across all economies, including many of our peer economies in the developed world.

The reality is that, as compared with other economies across the world, Australia is doing relatively better—that's true: relatively better. But I come back to that point I made at the beginning: people across our communities are still doing it very, very tough.

Now, in any household budget—indeed, in any budget, really, at all, but in any household budget—there are the revenues coming in and the costs going out. In order to address the challenges that our households face, we need to look at both ends of their budgets. That's what the Albanese government has been relentlessly focused on, since we were elected: how we can support families, households, across our community with the cost of living by looking at both the revenue and the costs.

When we talk about revenue at a household level, I know that some of those opposite measure their revenue in terms of their returns from their Gold Coast apartment investments, or their family businesses that are essentially chains of childcare centres that return revenues. But, for working people, we are talking about wages. Wages are the revenues of the households of working people. So our government has relentlessly pursued the policies and the actions that lead to real wage growth for Australian workers.

We have seen the worst decade, under the former Liberal government, for real wage growth in our country's history, and only in the last three quarters have we started to see positive real wage growth returning for Australian workers. The most recent wage figures showed a nearly one per cent—a 0.9 per cent—wage increase in the wage price index in the December quarter, and that brings the annualised wage price index to 4.2 per cent higher throughout that year. That's the fastest growth for real wages in Australia since 2009, when Labor was last in government. It's the first time since 2018 that we've even seen three consecutive quarters of real wage growth.

Our government has been relentlessly focused on the revenue side of household budgets, in order to increase wages by any means necessary, for working people. At the other end of household budgets, we have the costs. We know, due to those international pressures across energy markets and food and groceries, as well as some of our own domestic challenges, particularly in relation to the weather events that we've had, that some of those household costs have been growing at a faster rate than households are able to absorb.

So, again, we have worked relentlessly to try and reduce the costs, reduce the outgoings, of households and working people across our economy. The best way that we can do that is to introduce—and, indeed, it had the lukewarm support of those opposite—cost-of-living tax cuts for every single Australian taxpayer. Every Australian taxpayer will be getting a tax cut from 1 July. Every single Australian taxpayer will see that tax cut showing up in their pay packet every single month or fortnight, depending on their pay cycle. We are addressing the revenue issues and we're addressing the cost issues. The Albanese Labor government is ensuring that our economy is fit for working people. (Time expired)

Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Energy Affordability) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Electricity and gas bills are up, grocery bills are up, petrol prices are up and mortgage repayments and rents are up, yet today the Albanese Labor government were out patting themselves on the back when it came to electricity prices.

The reality is that people in Western Sydney have been paying 37 per cent more on their bills since the Albanese Labor government came into power. The relief expected from the energy regulator on the market default offer that came in today would have had to have been cut by $1,000 for the reality of the $275 cut promised by the Albanese Labor government to come to fruition. But it didn't happen; it didn't happen at all.

People are really struggling out there. Congratulating yourselves and patting yourselves on the back while people are doing it so tough is absolutely extraordinary, because we are once again in the Albanese Labor government's economic mess. It's taken just two years to trash our economy and send us hurtling towards another spiral in the depths of our cost-of-living crisis.

Now everyday Australians right up and down the coasts of Australia, inland, in the regions and particularly in Western Sydney, my patch, are facing a per capita recession. This means economic growth per person is going backwards in this country. For families, this means they are facing a recession. The Prime Minister, many times, committed to the public at the election that he would ensure—he actually said, 'I promise you: you are going to be better off under us.' Instead, the cost of living, the standard of living, in this country is going backwards. People in Penrith, Fairfield, Parramatta and Liverpool are all hurting under the economic policies of this government. We need a coalition government to deliver the right policy settings to move our country in the right direction.

Since Labor took office, we've had higher taxes, higher inflation and lower productivity. Consumer confidence is down, and you know this. Just walk into a cafe—I do this all the time with small businesses in my electorate—and ask, 'How is business going?' They say: 'Customers are just not coming through the door. We are threatened with closing every single day.' I get contacted by small-business operators saying yet another small business has closed. Whether in retail, hospitality or manufacturing, small businesses are closing their doors because they just can't afford to stay open under this Labor government.

We're seeing mums and dads selling their family home because they can't afford the tripling of interest payments on their mortgage. And we know, because it's happening in every single electorate in this country, that for the first time families on double incomes are lining up at food banks. I've been to schools in my local electorate and given grants to them so they can have a fridge and shelves in their schools—pantries to put food in—so kids can be fed during the day because parents are struggling to give them breakfast and lunch for school. This should not be happening in our country.

In Western Sydney, we know that we are just buckling under the weight of the government's migration program, especially when billions of dollars have been slashed from our infrastructure and transport projects. We simply cannot keep up with the demand to live in our region without adequate support to ensure our roads, our trains, our metros, our schools, our hospitals and our employment hubs are able to cope with a rising population. I'm not surprised that people want to live in Western Sydney. We are an aspirational community, and we have a new international airport which creates so many local jobs, so kids don't have to travel out of the area for a job. But, while the planes might be taking off, you can't get to that airport because the infrastructure on the roads has been cut by government—billions of dollars cut.

In terms of mortgages, the Reserve Bank board has met 19 times since Labor came to office, and it has increased interest rates 12 times. Again, the government is patting itself on the back and saying, 'Oh, but today they didn't do that.' But there have been 12 interest rate rises. This is why people are struggling so much under this Labor Prime Minister.

Talking about taxes, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy wants to put a tradie tax in place. People in my community are going to love this! Tradies on the road will not be able to afford the cost of their utes and the cost of transport to get to their jobs. This cost-of-living crisis is impacting so many Australians. It's time for Labor to wake up and create policies to fix their mess.

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

If the Liberals actually cared about the living standards of Australians, they would not have presided over a moribund decade of low productivity. It was the lowest decade of productivity growth that we have seen in 60 years. If they actually cared about the living standards of Australians, they would not have presided over energy secrecy and energy chaos—22 policies and a failure to land even one. Now they've cooked up, in their cooker's laboratory, the nuclear frolic. We are just watching as this narrative crashes and burns with the Australian people. I'm really pleased that they are taking this to the next election, because we can finally apply some scrutiny and science to these claims.

If they actually cared about the living standards of Australians, they would not have presided over galloping, out-of-control childcare costs. In fact, they rose 41 per cent in the decade that those opposite presided over. They would not have presided over the collapse of bulk billing. They would not have watched as wages stalled and stagnated. They would not have watched economy-wide skill shortages in this country which in turn fed into the supply-chain problems that we had when the pandemic washed over us.

If they actually cared about the living standards of Australians, they would not have burdened young Australians with $1 trillion in debt and nothing to show for it—or not enough to show for it. If they actually cared about Australians' living standards, they would not have presided over the housing crisis. The decline in housing started in around 2016, and it has been in freefall ever since. Now we are trying to turn this supertanker around. If they actually cared about Australians' living standards, they would have offered Australians the best fuel-saving technology in cars a decade ago. Instead, Australia is a laggard with respect to fuel efficiency standards. Australians have been denied the most fuel-efficient cars for over a decade while those opposite were in power.

But the reality is that those opposite never cared about Australians; they cared about themselves. You only had to watch Nemesis to confirm that. It was all about their politics; it was nothing to do with the Australian people.

We have come to power, and now we are here to clean up their economic mess. Our focus is on delivering as much relief as we can—and that's what we've done, over two budgets—to the Australian people. With respect to one area, health, for example, we have given Australians to more affordable and accessible health care. We have rolled out 58 urgent care clinics around the country, including one in Prahran in my electorate. This clinic is currently diverting at least 20 patients from the emergency department to the clinic, and that's lowering the pressure on our overburdened hospital system.

We've also delivered cheaper medicines for Australians. This has come in the form of 60-day scripts, which have already saved around $13 million for Australians over the last two months. It comes off the back of cheaper medicines where we cut the general script from $42.50 to $30, saving Australians around $20 million a month in the year since it was introduced.

We have also given Australians more access to immunisations on the National Immunisation Program through their local pharmacy. For example, the Shingrix vaccine, a highly effective vaccine against shingles, is now available free to all Australians over the age of 65, immunocompromised patients and First Nations patients who are 50 years or over. This vaccine normally costs $600 but you can get it for free because we have enabled that to happen.

In addition, we have bedded down these cheaper medicine reforms with an agreement with the community pharmacies sector—$3 billion. That has only come about because of our economic management, which has allowed us to have the first budget surplus in 15 years, something they talked and talked about. They talked a big game but they could not deliver. We've delivered it and it has enabled us to provide more relief to Australian families.

Child care is an incredibly important issue for families. In Higgins, families spend the highest amount on child care in Victoria, and the reforms we introduced have brought welcome relief to those families.

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

I want to take the member for Higgins up on a couple of issues. I have the utmost respect for the member for Higgins; I want to put that out there. She was a clinician scientist before coming to this place, an expert in infectious diseases as a physician and an award-winning doctor as well. So I do want to commend her and thank her on behalf of the nation for the work that she has done in the medical field.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Hear, hear.

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

I hear, 'Hear, hear', from the member for Sydney. And I do acknowledge it; I am being genuine. But to say that the Liberals—and Nationals, by the way; we were a coalition government—did nothing in 10 years is to completely erase what happened during COVID. I look around and there is not one member in this chamber at the moment who was in that meeting when we were told by the Chief Medical Officer that 40,000 Australians would die unless we acted. We acted. And we saved many, many lives—thousands of lives.

I am slow to anger, but it irritates me a lot when the Treasurer in question time today and the previous speaker say that we have nothing to show for what we did as a government. We do have something to show, and it's 10s of thousands of people's lives. I think that if you were being fair you would, as a doctor, also acknowledge that. It is important.

This matter of public importance is about the economy; it is about the nation; it is important. When you think that a recession of sorts—the way it's been described in this matter of public importance goes to the core of what people are able to take home now. People are taking home less, and real wages are falling. Don't take my word for it. I'm not reading off talking points. I'm talking about the anecdotal evidence that you hear from everybody. When you go to meetings, when you go to sporting events and when you go into your electorates, you hear just how tough people are doing it. And no doubt you are hearing it too.

I appreciate the Reserve Bank of Australia has held steady on interest rates today. Thank goodness for that, because it is so hard for people—certainly for those who are new in the homebuying market—to achieve what used to be the great Australian dream. When you talk about the economy, you see the Labor government wanting to put more taxes in. They're wanting to charge our farmers a biosecurity levy. Let's call it what it is; it is a tax. They want to charge our farmers for their competitors' goods coming in from overseas. We are going to be slugging our farmers. What country on earth would be so preposterous, so ridiculous, as to even contemplate that, let alone want to legislate it through their national parliament? Then we have the fuel efficiency standards. It has been described by the member for Lindsay as a tradies tax, and she's right. It's also a tax on the mums who want to carry their kids around to sporting events, dancing performances and all of those things. For people with families and growing families, it is going to be a slug on their ability to have the SUV.

Earlier today I heard a horrendous story about the town of Tom Price in Western Australia, population 2,874 last time they counted. That community, which is in the Ashburton shire of Western Australia is responsible, with the shire's output, for—wait for it—two per cent of the nation's GDP. That's a lot of money, and yet it doesn't have a bank. The Treasurer, instead of maligning the previous government's economic record, should be asking questions as to why that community doesn't have a financial organisation, why that community's people have to put cash in suitcases and drive it down to Perth, why the nearest bank is about 360 kilometres away. These are the issues that everyday, ordinary Australians are asking, and they're not being by those opposite. They're not being addressed by the government and they should be. These are the bread-and-butter issues. Instead of coming in and getting your talking points and reading them ad nauseam, do something that's constructive for and on behalf of Australians, particularly regional Australians, who carried this nation through COVID.

Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We're not even two years into the Albanese Labor government, yet we are making huge progress in cleaning up the mess left behind by nine years of waste and neglect by those opposite. We are making huge progress putting this country back on the right track, and even though we are cleaning up their mess, the coalition have been no help to us at all. In fact, they have actively stood in the way of our efforts again and again, voting no on important government actions that are easing the cost-of-living burden and improving the quality of life for everyday Australians. They voted no to the cost-of-living tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer. They voted no to a bigger tax cut for more workers. The Labor government wants workers to earn more and keep more of what they earn. Instead, the Liberals and Nationals want workers to work longer hours for less. They voted no to cheaper medicines. They voted no to energy bill relief. When it comes to the cost of living, the coalition becomes the 'no-alition'. They always say no. But we're getting on with it anyway. On top of our cost-of-living tax cuts, we're rolling out billions in cost-of-living relief, including rent assistance, energy rebates, cheaper medicines, income support, Medicare bulk-billing incentives and much more. We are getting on with it because we understand families' budgets are tight right now and that the impact of cost-of-living pressures and inflation are being felt around the country.

We are a government that is in touch and is listening. I'd hate to imagine how much harder things would be for Australians if the coalition's reign of waste and neglect had continued. Thankfully, the Australian people put the adults in charge. We have taken the responsibility of cleaning up and rebuilding our country seriously. We have focused on making life better for Australians, and our efforts are bearing fruit every day. Just this morning, the Australian Energy Regulator released its draft default market offer for electricity prices for the next financial year, 2024-25. The new default market offer will see electricity price reductions all over Australia. Under our leadership, energy prices are stabilising and trending downwards. This is big news for my electorate—the draft default market offer sees electricity prices falling up to 6.7 per cent for residential customers in the Hunter. There is even bigger news for small businesses in my electorate, with planned falls in electricity prices of up to 13 per cent for business customers. These forecast electricity price falls will make a difference for families right across Australia, and especially so for families in the Hunter. These forecast falls in electricity prices are a result of clear economic leadership from the Albanese Labor government. Under those opposite we had a decade of coalition infighting, which completely undermined much-needed investment in our new energy production.

This government, a united team, have given investors certainty, clearing the way for much-needed investment in our energy market. Under the Labor government renewable energy production is booming and upgrades to our energy transmission networks are under way that will set up our country the right way into the future.

But we did not just sit around waiting for prices to come down. Unlike those opposite, who are out of touch, on the side of the House we listen to Australians. We understand that people are doing it tough. We're here to do something about it. When capacity prices rose, we provided energy price relief to around five million households and small businesses across Australia. This direct relief, combined with coal and gas price caps, offset energy price rises for so many Australians. Now that prices are stabilising and heading in the right direction, things will be better going into the future.

Speaking of the future, we are two years into cleaning up the nine years of waste by the coalition. But we have much more to do. We will continue to do everything we can to help Australian families, to help small businesses. We will keep supporting Australians without contributing to inflation. We will keep real wages growing. We will keep the economy moving. We will keep the budget in good shape, unlike those opposite. We will keep creating more secure and well paid jobs, unlike those opposite. We are just getting started. We have so much more to do in this space, and I look forward to what's to come.

Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I talk about what I want to talk about, I'll mention something that always comes up from those opposite. It is part of their talking points, clearly, this myth that is the $1 trillion in debt that they inherited.

If you look at the budget papers, member for Hawke, you can find that it was $418 billion. About $250 billion of that came from the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government. So if you are going to regurgitate talking points, make sure they are accurate. Don't listen to what the Treasurer is giving you, because it's not accurate. This is what happens on that side. We hear again the talking points.

Government members interjecting—

I will take the interjections because I know they don't like the facts. But the facts are that it was never a trillion. It didn't exist; it was made up, so I will take the interjections from those opposite. We are actually talking about an issue that is significant and serious, and talking points won't cut it. We're talking about the cost of living crisis that Australians are facing and the per capita recession that Australians are going through. Last week, when I was in my community, I was filling up with petrol. I took a moment, by coincidence, to see the price of what the person before me had put into the tank. They had put $30 of petrol into their tank, and they got just over 13 litres for that $30. Let's be honest. In this House sometimes we can put our petrol in and we don't look at it.

Government members interjecting—

They're interjecting again. It's an example of how much Australians are struggling. That's why, when the shadow treasurer asked the Treasurer today about the per capita recession, what was the response from this Prime Minister? This Prime Minister sits in that chair and laughs. He laughs at the Australian people, who are struggling with the cost of living, when they get a question about per capita recessions. It's a laughing matter for this Prime Minister. He sat in that chair two hours ago and laughed at the cost of living per capita recession Australians are going through. Because they've solved the problem with $15 a week in four months time. They're going to give the Australian people $15 a week, which is about 6.5 litres of petrol in my community, in four months time. Problem solved. And you know that it's problem solved because the Treasurer himself has told us. He has told us that's it. Good luck to the Australian people. I'm going to quote from the Treasurer of Australia: 'There will likely be additional cost of living help in the budget.' But it won't be anywhere near the magnitude of the tax cuts, so it's nowhere near $15 a week for the Australian people. He also said, 'We need to be upfront and say any additional help will only be a fraction of that.' Wow. How out of touch are this Prime Minister and this Treasurer, laughing at the cost-of-living crisis, telling the Australian people that $15 a week in four months time will solve all their problems? It is a government that is out of touch. It is a Prime Minister that is not prepared to make the tough decisions.

To show how cynical this Prime Minister and this government are: the member for Hume talked about food banks. Anyone who's taken the time to visit a food bank in their community knows that they're struggling with increased demand and costs going up. They're under significant pressure. Every food bank I speak to in my community is busier than ever.

So what did this government do? I'll give them credit here; I'll give credit where it's due. They gave $14 million to support food banks across the country. Given the cost-of-living crisis that we're seeing under this government, it's better than nothing. But what did they do at the exact same time that they gave food banks $14 million? They committed $40 million to selling their stage 3 tax cuts of $15 a week. So there is $14 million for food banks and $40 million of taxpayer money to sell their tax cuts, which come in in four months. What do you need to sell to the Australian people? Oh, that's right: it's all about the spin. It's all about the politics for this government. They can say what they like, but look at their actions: $14 million for food banks and $40 million to sell their stage 3 tax cuts to hold on in Dunkley and leave the Australian people fending for themselves.

The Treasurer has told us that himself. He's told us there's nothing in the upcoming budget that's worth more than $15 a week. The Australian people have been abandoned by this Prime Minister, this Treasurer and this government. (Time expired)

Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I start by saying it is a bit rich for those opposite to talk about the spin of any government given their record on spin when they were on the government benches for 10 years. The debate today gives me great chance to speak about the Albanese government's policies and how they are supporting not only the economy but also residents in my community. We have over the last few years lived through the most extraordinary and challenging period. Jobs have been lost, families have been separated and loved ones have passed away. It's been a very awful time, particularly in suburbs in south-west Sydney.

In fact, the global economy is now facing several challenges that have been compounded over the past years. Persistently high inflation has affected the majority of the developed world, fuelled by the lingering effects of COVID and the illegal invasion of Ukraine. There has also been a sharp slowdown in the economic activity of Australia's largest trading partner and the world's second-largest economy, China. This is the context in which the MPI has been brought forward, though it's this context which has been conveniently omitted by the member for Hume.

At home, Australia faces challenges similar to those of the rest of the developed world: high inflation and slowing growth. High inflation has defined the past few years, and it's been the focus of this government to put downward pressure on inflation while simultaneously laying the foundations for a stronger economy and helping Australians that are doing it tough. Inflation remains the primary focus of this government. Thankfully, though the fight is definitely not over, inflation is moderating.

That brings us to the second challenge facing our economy: slowing growth. While it may come as a surprise to the shadow Treasurer, if he'd listened to the Treasurer over the past year, he would have heard him speak about the middle path that the economy must travel between lowering inflation and aiming for a soft landing. It's complex. There are no easy answers, no quick slogans, no magic wands and no throwaway lines.

Every day, the Prime Minister, the Treasurer and, in fact, the entire government turn their efforts to addressing the concerns of Australians and building our economy. It's also the Labor way to ensure that any solutions and government actions are responsible and sustainable. We can run through the suite of policies that the Albanese government has adopted since 2022 that have provided cost-of-living relief in a time of high inflation and kept an eye on the future, building resilience. These include the 300,000 fee-free TAFE places; the investment in renewable energy, skills and technology; expanding the Home Guarantee Scheme; increasing the wages of aged-care workers; establishing the $15 billion NRF to diversify our economy; tripling the bulk-billing incentive; making medicines cheaper with 60-day dispensing and the largest reduction in the PBS copayment in 75 years; and getting wages moving again after the years of deliberate wage suppression during the time of the previous government.

The Albanese government has kept unemployment low and created a record 650,000 jobs since being elected. In fact, there have been more jobs created by our current PM than by any of the previous three prime ministers. I ask: which of these measures did those opposite believe are wrong for our economy? Was it increasing wages for workers both in our aged-care sector and across our economy, or was it the fee-free TAFE places that upskill Australians and ensure that they can work in the jobs of the future?

It would seem that the only policy that is new to those opposite is nuclear energy, the most expensive form of power generation, which will require billions in government subsidies—not supporting protections for Australian workers, not letting Australians raid their super or reintroducing tax concessions for the wealthiest Australians. That seems to be the only plan that those opposite have. They have no vision and no plan for a better Australia, but they do have policies that would hurt workers both today and in their retirement. And they delayed Australia's energy transition for 10 long years.

What I know with certainty is that this government will always put the interests and needs of Australians first. It is the core of everything we do and it motivates all of us every day. I am confident that the work of our responsible government will continue and that better days lie ahead.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The discussion has now concluded.