Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know that Australians are under pressure right now, and our No. 1 priority is helping Australians with the cost of living. That's why last Thursday I joined with my local state colleagues—Ryan Park, the member for Keira, and Paul Scully, the member for Wollongong—to deliver the Illawarra region's first cost-of-living help hub. We had 31 service providers from across government and the not-for-profit sector come together under one roof to offer assistance to those in our community who are doing it tough.

Easing cost-of-living pressure is at the centre of everything we do as a Labor government. We want Australians to earn more and keep more of what they earn. Since 1 July we have delivered a tax cut for every Australian taxpayer, not just some; $300 energy bill relief for every Australian household and $325 for eligible small businesses; a freeze on the cost of PBS medicines for every Australian; a third consecutive pay rise for 2.6 million workers on the minimum wage; and more funding to build more homes in every part of the country. And that's not all. Labor have already delivered cheaper child care, fee-free TAFE and the biggest investment ever in expanding bulk-billing, and now we're delivering a better deal for Aussies at the checkout. We're cracking down on dodgy supermarket discounts, introducing hefty fines and fighting against shrinkflation, because paying more for air just isn't fair.