Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Well, isn't this amusing? What has been happening in this chamber? I've been here since the election, you've all been here since the election and we've seen 60 bills go through this parliament. Let's mention a few of them: an increase in the minimum wage and pay rise to aged-care workers. Let's mention a few more of them. We turned around and made child care cheaper. We turned around and made changes to the workplace relations bill, which they, of course, opposed because that dealt with the cost of living. They don't want to see real workers get wage increases to deal with the pressures of the cost of living; they just want to make sure a very small, minute percentage of this community—at the very top end—are protected so that they can exploit Australian workers. They want to keep wages low; it's part of their policy that has been clearly stated for the last decade and previous decades.

They've kept the same mantra: not doing anything, like making wages bigger and giving people an opportunity for minimum wage increases and to negotiate better work arrangements to make sure wages do increase. Nor, also, for those things that build better wages and improve skills, a very important initiative. It's because there's been a dead hand put on skills development in this country by those opposite. That's what they did for a decade: lost apprenticeships, lost skills and lost capacity. They couldn't turn around and even support our universities during the biggest crisis this country and this world have seen in over 100 years. What did they do? They drained off the Australian community and we all paid the price as a community.

The 60 bills and these changes that we've made have made a difference, delivering the regional first home buyers guarantee—another important increase and improvement in arrangements. And there are cheaper medicines; these are fundamental things that support and give a basic chance to those who are struggling to deal with the cost-of-living pressures that exist in our community.

Dealing with and containing prices, like reducing the pressure on prices for electricity and gas, was something they voted against because they didn't like the idea that the market would get regulated. Actually, what they didn't like was that their mates were going to be regulated—the mates that turn around and support them were going to get regulated. That's the problem. They vote against workers' pay increases, they vote against the opportunity for workers to negotiate better arrangements with their employers across industries and they vote against containing electricity prices. What do they do? They vote against making sure that cost-of-living initiatives are put into this economy.

To hear their list of questions about fuel tax: these are the people who turned around and didn't even consult with the transport industry. It's six per cent of the Australian economy and plays a significant role in making sure that the Australian economy runs. Many in the industry are single-owner operators, small and medium-sized businesses. But those opposite turned around and got rid of the fuel tax credit system. As a result of that, the drivers were not able to get the fuel tax credit basis back as a result of the pricing put forward by clients within the industry. When they took their complaints and problems up to Frydenberg and Morrison at the time, there was no answer.

Of course, the industry players—the Transport Workers Union, which of course is the largest small-business road transport organisation and probably the largest small business organisation in this country by numbers; the Australian road transport organisation, an employer group representing small, medium and large operators; the National Road Freighters Association, a group of well-meaning owner-drivers who do largely long-distance work and of course, NatRoad, the national road transport association—all said quite clearly that what the previous government did was strangle road transport, and without consultation. No matter how they much pleaded with Frydenberg, Morrison and those opposite, there wasn't a voice lifted,

Nor was a voice lifted by Senator McKenzie in support of those people in this chamber. We raised it on a number of occasions and there was dead silence on the opposite side. They did not support the transport industry. That industry called out to the now government, the Albanese government, and asked for support. It said, 'We need this to be fixed,' and it was fixed. It was fixed! That's because we listened to what that industry was saying. That fuel tax credit system has been put back into place.