Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Cost-of-living relief has been this government's No. 1 priority. If there's anything we can all agree on, it is that this is a real issue in our communities. We see it in our electoral offices, we see it on the television and, of course, we hear about it very often. We know people that are doing it in a very difficult way.

Every day, I see how our plan is taking the pressure off families in the seat of Barton. On Monday 1 July, the government delivered a tax cut for every Australian taxpayer. By Thursday morning, those tax cuts were in pay slips. In the weeks following, I have been speaking to people in Barton. One young professional in Kingsgrove said it wasn't just a nice surprise. He also said it was an immediate relief to cost-of-living pressures. Karen, a midwife at St George Hospital, said tax cuts will go a long way for her and her co-workers. She said, 'It's good that the government is listening and taking action.'

We have been listening to the next generation of nurses and midwives too. They have told us practical placements can be a stressful time. Many students juggle their prac studies with part-time jobs. On Thursday 15 August, the Minister for Education introduced the Universities Accord (Student Support and Other Measures) Bill 2024, which will legislate prac payments for eligible students in sectors like nursing, education and social work. These payments will take pressure off students and let them focus on their education.

This government wants Australians to keep more of what they earn, but we also want Australians, like hardworking early educators, to earn more too. During Early Learning Matters Week, I visited Gowrie early learning at Clemton Park. A very confident young man, aged five, showed me all the wonderful things they were learning, particularly about whales. The children at Gowrie are a credit to their highly skilled educators, and I met them as well. They have long hours, they work hard and their work is so valued. They are also committed to the welfare and the life chances of the children in their care.

The week of my visit to Gowrie, the Minister for Education and the Minister for Early Childhood Education and Youth announced a historic 15 per cent pay rise for those educators. The first 10 per cent increase is to come in December. For the typical educator on the award rate, it means an extra $103 per week. That is a lot of money. To make sure families benefit too, services won't be able to increase their fees by more than 4.4 per cent over the next 12 months. It will build respect for the sector and build a sustainable workforce for the future. This is what the government is delivering.

Our responsibility as lawmakers is to the people that trust us, the people that vote for us and the people that respect us to do our job, and these are the sorts of things that they expect. They expect a government to make their lives easier. They expect a government to deliver programs, to deliver wage increases and to deliver ways in which people's lives will be much better than they are. That is why we, as the Labor government, are putting so much effort into cost-of-living relief and making sure that we're building a stronger future.