Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I rise too to make a contribution in this debate. I can't just let it slide that Senator Duniam, like all of those on that side, was talking about inequality as a 'claim'. There couldn't be anywhere further from the truth, because Australians are feeling the inequality in this country at the moment. To back that up, Senator Hume made comment in relation to the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. You can't ignore that. You can't just grab one set of figures out and come into this chamber—although I'd have to say there was a lot more grit in her performance, and she at least delivered her attempt to puff up what the government's been doing, which was still so far from the truth it's not funny.

Senator Duniam was speaking about the youth of Tasmania and what a great job the Liberal state government has been doing in Tasmania. Well, once again, he has misled this chamber, because there have been no signs of any hope. There have been no signs of any jobs for our young people, with the high employment rates we have in my home state.

We must consider new approaches to tackling inequality and poverty in this country. Unlike those opposite, Labor understands this. We understand this, and we've already started with our announcements of policy thus far that will go a long way towards turning around the inequality that this country has developed under this government.

Those opposite can shrug their shoulders all they like about the facts, but the facts are these: the HILDA Survey shows that child poverty is worsening in single-parent families. That's a fact. At the same time, childcare costs have doubled; wages growth has flatlined; and levels of homeownership continue to fall. Australian families are bearing the brunt of rising childcare costs, and they are really struggling. The HILDA Survey also shows that the likelihood of child poverty in single-parent families is very high, between 20 and 25 per cent, which is considerably higher than the general community rate of around 10 per cent. That's a significant difference.

The government's complex new work laws and cuts to early-education access will make things even worse for vulnerable children and single parents trying to stay in the workforce, further fuelling the inequality. The Turnbull government has also recently made a $1.4 billion cut to the family tax benefits. By freezing family tax benefit payment rates, the Turnbull government is leaving 1.5 million Australian families and millions of children far worse off. That is not a government which has any understanding of inequality in this country.

The HILDA figures show that the Turnbull government continues to put investors buying their fourth or fifth property ahead of young people trying to buy their first home. How out of touch can you be? We've already laid out our policies in relation to negative gearing. We've put those out on the table, and what do we hear from those opposite? They say we're just trying to play envy politics. Well, it's not about envy politics. It's about giving young people and young families the opportunity to have their first home. Those opposite have absolutely no credibility on housing. They claimed in the 2017 budget that they would deliver an extraordinary large housing package and it would be an impressive package and it would be well received. But there is nothing in it. There is nothing in there at all to address the key drivers of housing unaffordability—nothing at all.

The huge drop in homeownership for people under the age of 40, the declining living standards and flat wages are the headlines. But it is the Turnbull government's policy response that needs to be highlighted. They are not giving the attention to these issues that they deserve. It is almost like there is this big black hole of lack of policy from that side, and it is just getting bigger and bigger. We know they are distracted with their leadership issues. We know they are distracted by the chaos and the dysfunction within their own caucus. But that isn't what they were elected to do. They were elected to represent the views and the future of Australian citizens, and they are letting them down. Yesterday we had Senator Macdonald make another of his— (Time expired)