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

Thank you, Senator Ciccone, for your generosity. You are indeed a gentleman.

We welcome the opposition's questions about our government's responsible approach to managing the budget, our approach to cleaning up the mess that was left behind by those opposite and our approach to dealing with the trillion dollars of debt that they left behind, with absolutely nothing to show for it. We welcome your questions about our approach to dealing with all of that while we get on with our plans: to build a better, stronger future for all Australians; to support Australians with the cost of living; to deal with the energy mess that was left behind after 10 years of complete denial and delay from those opposite; to build a strong and diverse economy, making more of what we need right here in Australia; and to build an economy that is powered by cheap and clean energy—a decarbonising economy.

This week, though—and every week—what we see from those opposite, the former government, is that they are all about saying no: saying no to the good ideas that we took to the election; saying no to the good plans that the Australian people supported at the election; saying no to safeguarding our climate; saying no to safeguarding jobs in regions in transition; saying no to even being part of the conversation about how we do that; saying no to rebuilding Australian manufacturing and making more of what we need right here; saying no to building more social and affordable homes for those in need; saying no to homes for 4,000 women and children escaping family violence—can you believe that the coalition is saying no to that?—saying no to funding for urgent repairs to Indigenous housing; and saying no to capping power prices last year, after they said no to telling the Australian people before the election that prices were indeed about to rise. Right now, the coalition has been reduced to being the party of 'no'—no to being a viable party of government and no to even being a viable opposition.

We know from today's figures that inflation is moderating, but it is still high, and it's still tough for Australian families and Australian businesses. We know that it is hard out there for people. That's why our investments are so important: our investments in households, industry, the economy, the future of our country, cheaper child care, cheaper medicines, fee-free TAFE, putting downward pressure on energy prices and getting more renewables into our grid.

These measures are not only things that help households and businesses; they are also part of our plan to drive inflation down. We've been talking this week about our plan to strengthen and diversify our economy, to rebuild manufacturing through the National Reconstruction Fund—a plan that is supported by everyone except for the opposition. It's a plan that is all about creating the jobs of the future. It's a plan that's all about making more of what we need right here in Australia. It's a plan that is all about securing our supply chains in critical sectors, like medical manufacturing and defence. It's all about making sure that we grab the job opportunities for the future for regions that are in transition.

But who opposes that plan? The coalition—the opposition—opposes that plan. They oppose the jobs of the future. They oppose jobs in regions. They oppose taking advantage of the jobs in renewables and low-emission technologies that we know are the future for our country. They also oppose plans supported by the rest of the parliament to create the safeguard mechanism. This is a plan that industry supports, a plan that industry is keen to play its part in. What people want is certainty. What they want is support. All they're getting from those opposite is, 'No'.