Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As we near the end of 2024, we can look back on what has been another extraordinary year throughout the world. The fallout from COVID continues to impact countries, while the combination of extreme weather events and human conflict has caused widespread suffering and hardship. Throughout the world, I detect a growing sense of insecurity. Whilst the meaning of Donald Horne's famous description of Australia being 'the lucky country' is sometimes misunderstood, there is little doubt that we do live in a lucky country and we are lucky to live here.

That is not to deny or ignore the Australians who struggle every day with living costs and other hardships. That is why, since being elected, the Albanese Labor government has made cost-of-living help a priority. We have done that by putting more money into Australian households and reducing costs for essential everyday services. In the limited time that I have tonight, I will touch on some of the government's achievements. Labor has boosted the wages of workers in child care, aged care and low-paid industries. We have provided $300 of energy relief for eligible Australian households and $325 for small businesses. Every Australian taxpayer received a tax cut. We extended Paid Parental Leave to 26 weeks and added superannuation to it. Also, 500,000 Australians have benefited from fee-free TAFE places and around three million Australians have had university debts reduced by around $1,200. HECS debts will reduce even more after the next election if Labor is re-elected. A Commonwealth prac payment will also be established so Australians studying to be a teacher, nurse, midwife or social worker can get paid to go on prac placements.

Importantly, the Albanese Labor government has reduced health costs by making medicine cheaper and bulk-billing more GP visits. Today, some 75 Medicare urgent care clinics, including one in the Makin electorate, have been opened, and another 12 are in the pipeline, ensuring people have access to urgent medical care when they need it at a bulk-billing medical centre. An additional 15,000 GPs have entered the workforce since Labor's election in 2022 and health services are being restored.

To support our veterans we are establishing 10 veterans and families hubs across Australia, employing more staff and providing record funding for the Department of Veterans' Affairs and eliminating the veterans claims backlog and simplifying the claims process.

For the nation's farmers, food producers and wine industry, trade relations with China have been rebuilt after those sectors were decimated by the last coalition government. And Labor is taking steps to stop the price rip-offs by the big supermarkets. Labor has increased rent assistance by 40 per cent, expanded the eligibility for parenting payment for single parents and made child care more affordable. We are delivering NBN upgrades on time and on budget. After nearly a decade of neglect, protecting the environment is also back on the agenda.

I will just highlight some more of the achievements from Labor. We have delivered a 25 per cent increase in renewables in our national energy grid in two years, established a new vehicle efficiency standard and introduced legislation to set up Australia's first national independent environment protection agency. We have kept the Great Barrier Reef off the World Heritage endangered list by protecting it with a $1.2 billion investment and boosted recycling capacity. Very importantly for my state of South Australia, we've rescued the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

We have also established the National Anti-Corruption Commission to restore integrity and trust in our national institutions. Labor is also rebuilding the Australian economy. Inflation has fallen from over six per cent in 2022 to 2.8 per cent, one million jobs have been created, wage growth has returned, we have delivered back-to-back budget surpluses and national debt has been reduced by $150 billion. This has all been achieved in two years.

Australia is part of a global economy, and we are directly affected by world events. We know there is much more to do. But we are rebuilding our economy, acting on climate change, protecting the environment, growing wages and reducing the debt, and confidence is being restored. We have the natural resources, and we have the people to meet the challenges of the future. I believe the worst is behind us, and we have every reason to look to the future with confidence.