Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition, Anthony Albanese, continues to fall down in the polls. But we're getting on with the job, and the proof is in our agenda. You'll see that over the coming fortnight with the bills that we're going to bring forward: ensuring multinationals are paying their fair share of tax, stopping the abuse of workers' entitlements by unions and employers, preventing the misuse of welfare and helping more Australians get into jobs through the expansion of the cashless debit card and trialling mandatory drug-testing for welfare recipients. We're going to protect farmers from activists as they illegally trespass on their land. We're going to prevent child exploitation with new mandatory sentencing laws for offenders and we're going to outlaw uncompetitive practices from big energy companies, delivering lower prices for Australian families.

And that's the big difference between the coalition and Labor, and that's why Australians made the right choice. The cashless debit card is something that I'm particularly keen to see enforced, having lived in a rural and regional area where we saw significant social and economic issues, children who were suffering with alcohol abuse and drug abuse within the community, and high levels of welfare dependence. We're going to make sure that we find the best ways of supporting people and families, that children receive the services and the access to the materials that they need, and that they're getting the proper food and the access to school equipment that they require, as opposed to allowing welfare funds to be spent on gambling or alcohol. These funds are more appropriately spent on the family. We've also seen the statistics that have shown youth unemployment has dropped significantly in areas where the cashless debit card has been introduced, and we hope to see that continue into the future.