Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over the last three years the Albanese Labor government has been working to build Australia's future. When we were elected after 10 years of the coalition being in government, inflation was rising and wages were going backwards through a deliberate design feature of their policy. There were year-on-year cuts to Medicare, hospitals, schools, TAFEs and other essential services. There were 23 failed energy policies, and that was after the Liberals' famous promise in 2013—no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no cuts to family payments, no cuts to the pension.

We saw cuts to all of those things. Over the last three years, our government has worked hard to clean up the mess left behind and to deliver for the Australian people. Under our government, inflation is down, wages are moving again and more Australians are in a job than ever before. We are delivering cost-of-living relief to all Australians through tax cuts for every taxpayer, not just high-income earners, along with cheaper medicines, energy bill relief, wiping student debt and cheaper child care. We have strengthened our social safety net to include legislating the largest increase in paid parental leave since its inception, and we will pay super on it. We've strengthened our social safety net by legislating the largest increase in paid parental leave since its inception, and we will pay super on it. We've been rebuilding our essential services, like Medicare, aged care and the NDIS, and starting the largest housing build under our housing for Australia plan, which will deliver 1.2 million homes.

Not only has our government taken action on climate change as a good global citizen; it has embraced it as a competitive advantage opportunity to build our country's economic capability. We are building on a record that we can be proud of, not making empty promises like those opposite. We actually deliver. Of course, this is all at risk of the Liberals and the Leader of the Opposition, who have recklessly opposed every single cost-of-living measure introduced by our government. I hear today they're going to oppose and repeal our tax cuts too. This is the modern Liberal Party.

But we are not going to let that happen. We have our eyes focused on the election and building Australia's future. Our focus has been how we build Medicare, how we build universal early education in this country, how we ensure that we continue to deliver responsible cost-of-living relief for Australians and how we are more resilient as a country. That's what's at risk this election from those opposite and that's what the Labor Party has to offer.