Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak on this urgency motion before the Senate today, submitted by Senator Hume, on tax and the cost of living. First, let me say that our priority when it comes to tax reform is ensuring that multinationals pay their fair share of tax here in Australia. Multinational corporations will pay an extra $1 billion in tax as we clamp down on excessive deductions and profit shifting to other countries. Cracking down on multinational tax avoidance is absolutely key to our government's revenue agenda.

So too, of course, is cracking down on the waste and the rorts that have contributed to a trillion dollars of debt left to us by those opposite without any economic dividend to show for it. It is the waste and the rorts of those opposite that we are setting about fixing. It is the waste and the rorts of those opposite that have left a hole in the budget that has been left to us to repair. The sports rorts, the car park rorts, the airport land rorts—remember those? They are the rorts of a former government that spent taxpayer money like it was a Liberal Party slush fund.

Stop to imagine where we'd be today if those opposite had actually thought about how to invest in the Australian people and in the Australian economy instead of in their own failed re-election plans. Imagine if they had invested in any forward-looking plans to address any of the structural economic causes of the cost-of-living crisis today: if they had invested, for example, in renewable energy generation and transmission; if they had invested in manufacturing and securing our supply chains; if they had invested in the security of Australian women and their ability to participate fully in our economy. Imagine, if those opposite had spent 10 years investing in social and affordable housing, where we would be today in the cost-of-living crisis affecting Australians. Imagine if they had invested in the skills crisis that is holding business back right now, today, and holding Australians back from achieving their full potential.

The former government was asleep at the wheel. They were asleep on climate and energy. They were asleep on jobs and skills. They were asleep on securing manufacturing supply chains. They were asleep on understanding how gender equality drives economic growth. They were asleep on housing supply—absolutely asleep at the wheel. So much could have been done to strengthen our economy for the future in the last decade. So much should have been done. The fact that so little was done to position our country not just fort the challenges ahead but for the opportunities too is a complete dereliction of responsibility. You trashed any notion of good government. You trashed any notion of good economic management. It is Australians who are paying the price now nor a decade of missed opportunities and messed up priorities under the former government.

What we are doing is getting on with delivering the meaningful investments that Australians need, which maximise our economic impact and which meet the needs of the community today. We understand that the cost of living is hitting Australians hard, and so our economic plan is a direct and deliberate response to the challenges facing the economy and that you left behind. That's why one of the very first acts of this government was to successfully argue for an increase to the minimum wage to keep pace with inflation. We are proud to be getting wages moving once again in this country after a decade of flat wages brought by those opposite. Our October budget focused on cost-of-living relief and didn't put extra pressure on inflation, and that's the most important thing. Tackling inflation is our top priority.

That, of course, has been noted by the rating agencies, reaffirming our AAA credit rating, pointing to our responsible economic management. We are delivering the economy that Australians need. We are getting wages moving and we are dealing with the cost-of-living pressures that you left behind.