Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Hansard source

That contribution from Senator McDonald felt like we were in some sort of twilight zone. She talked about interest rate rises, cost-of-living rises and real wage increases, when, after 10 years of coalition government, the whole deliberate design feature of their budget was to keep wages low. That contribution was extraordinary. It completely ignored the actual facts of a decade of wasted opportunities and wrong priorities that the coalition government left us. And let's not forget: they did leave us with a trillion dollars' worth of debt without much to show for it.

I have to say that I was so proud to be in the other place last night to hear our Treasurer deliver the 2022-23 budget speech. For the first time in 10 years a Labor budget was presented to the people of this country—a budget which is responsible, right for the times and ready for the future. Making good decisions now is critical to making sure no-one is held back and no-one is left behind. Much of what we presented last night was motivated by the cost-of-living pressures faced by Australians around the country that were brought about by the lingering impacts of the pandemic, by the war in Ukraine and by natural disasters at home that have led to pressures on supply chains and prices.

Budgets, at their best, bring together the global and the local. This budget delivers for all Australians, helping them manage the cost-of-living pressures and plans for the future with our five-point cost-of-living plan: cheaper child care, cheaper medicines, expanding paid parental leave to six months, more affordable housing and getting wages moving again. Our plan for cheaper child care will support families and deliver an economic dividend. The $4.5 billion plan will cut the cost of early education and care for around 1.26 million Australian families, easing the cost-of-living pressures, giving children access to critical early education and giving parents the opportunity to work and earn more if they want to. And we're making medicines cheaper for Australian households. For the first time in the PBS's 75-year history, the maximum cost of general scripts under the PBS will fall.

We are delivering a $531 million investment to expand the paid parental leave system up to 26 weeks by July 2026. This is the biggest boost to Australia's paid parental leave scheme since it was created by whom? It was the former Labor government in 2011, because the other side—the coalition government—don't create those programs that make significant, real change in people's lives. The extension will support parents to spend more time with their children and share caring responsibilities more equally. We will also deliver 40,000 new social and affordable houses, including 30,000 from the Housing Australia Future Fund and an additional 10,000 dwellings under the new National Housing Accord. And we will introduce measures to get wages moving again by ensuring a safer, fairer and more secure workplace.

On top of the five-point plan for the cost of living, this Labor budget builds a stronger, more resilient and more modern economy with investment in so many vital areas. Infrastructure is critical to building the nation, which we all want, and the Albanese government's investment in infrastructure will deliver the best outcome for the Australian people now and into the future. The budget takes an important first step in ensuring that the Commonwealth's infrastructure spending is responsible, affordable and sustainable. We are delivering on our election promises, which take the total investment in transport infrastructure in every state and territory in this budget to $55 billion over the forward estimates for new and existing projects.