Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It feels like a running joke. Every time that Labor make a promise it's only a matter of time before they break it. At this point, the list of Labor's broken promises feels longer than the wait for new Rihanna album. It feels longer than the line for a coffee at a Melbourne cafe on a Monday morning. It feels longer than the awkward silence after admitting to a film bro that you haven't seen The Godfather. If walking backwards were an Olympic sport, Labor would take the gold.

Since coming to power in 2022, they've walked back from banning gambling ads, making our environment laws stronger, protecting queer students and teachers from discrimination in schools, preventing cuts to the NDIS, recognising Palestine as a state—and the list goes on. They were even going to walk back plans to include gender and sexuality in the next census but folded after pressure from the community. It feels like a running joke, but the joke isn't on Labor; it's on the people who are now suffering thanks to Labor's cowardice. What's the point in governing if you walk back from everything that matters?

Australians deserve better than a government that will promise one thing and then, when push comes to shove, go to water. At the next election, we can't keep voting for the same two parties and expecting a different result. Nothing changes if nothing changes. If you want change, you have to vote for it.

Cassandra Fernando (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Holt is a wonderful electorate, where many move to the outskirts of Melbourne to pursue the Australian dream of owning a home and raising a family. This dream is fundamental to Australians and it is at the heart of our Labor government's priorities. Labor is the only party that truly supports families in suburbs like Hampton Park, Narre Warren South, Lynbrook, Lyndhurst, all of Cranbourne and all of Clyde.

Since day one, we have pursued policies that support new families, including our reforms to paid parental leave. It was first introduced by the Gillard Labor government, and we have now extended it from 20 to 26 weeks. We are also adding superannuation to paid parental leave to ensure that mothers who take time off from work to raise their children aren't left behind in retirement. Last year, we reduced the cost of childcare for 96 per cent of families, and now we are delivering a 15 per cent pay rise for every childcare worker across the nation. This is our way of saying thank you to all childcare workers for the effort you put in to raising our kids. This is why Labor governments are about putting families first.