Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I just want to put on the record the 11 government actions on the cost of living. To tell the truth I think there was a bit of misrepresentation in the last comment by Senator Slade Brockman of the contribution from my colleague Senator Glenn Sterle. The Australian people will be making up their minds about whether they are getting support for the cost of living. There are millions of Australians who are getting that support. I want to put this on the record.

Since coming to government, to take action in response to the very real and challenging cost-of-living reality that is facing Australians, this government has successfully advocated for wage increases for minimum and award wage workers. We're funding pay rises for aged-care workers. We're delivering cheaper child care. We're delivering cheaper medicines. We're tripling the bulk-billing incentives to support 11.6 million Australians, including children, pensioners and other concession cardholders, to access a GP with no out-of-pocket costs. We're delivering fee-free TAFE and more university places to hundreds of thousands of Australians. We're expanding paid parental leave. We're building more affordable homes, including through the National Housing Accord—but we could do even more if we could get the Greens, Liberals and Nationals out of a terrible anti-housing coalition, to allow us to get on with that job further. We've brought in the new pensioner work bonus so older Australians can keep more of what they earn without it affecting their pension. We're increasing the base rate for eligible recipients of JobSeeker, Austudy, youth allowance and other working-age payments. We're increasing the maximum rate of Commonwealth rent assistance by 15 per cent—its biggest increase in over three decades. We're providing electricity bill rebates to more than five million households and one million small businesses, in partnership with the state and territory governments—and those opposite, the former government who now sit on the opposition benches, opposed that measure at every single turn, and they continue to come in here and try to stitch together a narrative of failure, hopelessness and fear which so characterised their time in office.

I want to draw the chamber's attention to the fact that behind Senator Ruston's blatant falsehoods in her motion there lies a deep misunderstanding of economic fundamentals and the improvements that have already become evident from the Albanese government's prudent policymaking. With such economic ignorance, it's no wonder the LNP were unable to achieve a surplus in their nine torrid years of government. There is a war in the Ukraine, a slowing world economy and a profiteering cartel of fossil fuel producers. In the face of these global headwinds, the Albanese government is delivering on a very clear, well calibrated, carefully considered and carefully implemented three-point plan—no panic, no drama, just doing the job of government properly, which is something so many Australians have not seen in over a decade.

Firstly, this government has recorded a budget surplus of $20 billion, and we've banked those savings, for Australians, to take pressure off inflation. This triumph is evidence of sound economic judgement. It's a sign of prudent decision-making and a stop to the waste and rorts that plagued the previous LNP government.

Secondly, we've targeted cost of living. As I indicated, it was promised and it's been delivered by the Albanese government, despite the whingeing and complaining and deriding that we see in speech after speech by those who would propagate continued fear about the future of this country. Single parents all over Australia are struggling, and increasing the cut-off for the age of the youngest child for the single parenting payment shows that this government cares.

Thirdly, we are investing in the capacity of the economy to ensure our prosperity is safeguarded for posterity. The Albanese government's investment into cheaper child care allows more mothers to rejoin the workforce quicker, boosts family incomes and levels the gender disparity which still exists in this nation, while taking pressure off the cost of living for young families. Speaking as a mother of three—and I know there are parents here in the chamber with me—the challenges of those early years are very significant both financially and emotionally. Any support we can give to young families is going to make a difference for the better for this nation.

But the Albanese government is not stopping there. Later, in September, there will also be the biggest increase to Commonwealth rent assistance in 30 years and a $40 per fortnight increase for those on JobSeeker, youth allowance and other payments, on top of the regular twice-yearly indexation. That is cost-of-living assistance for Australians who need it. More than five million eligible households and one million eligible small businesses are going to receive that energy bill relief. With those two elements alone, we're talking about help for millions of Australians. And we will be making medicines even cheaper for many more millions of Australians on 1 September by introducing changes which will require fewer visits to the GP and pharmacist. These things are a result of careful economic management, and the capacity to do them gives evidence of the Albanese government's sound economic management skills and clear eye to addressing the cost-of-living pressures that are being felt by Australians now. We're doing it in a responsible way.

The latest consumer price index, which was released on 26 July, indicated an increase of six per cent over the year to the June quarter. We don't want the numbers to stay that high, but they are on their way down. You'd think there'd be some joy about that for others in this chamber. But, no, they come in and they think it's a cause for constant comment in the most negative way. The reality is that the CPI is on its way down from a peak of 7.8 per cent over the year to the December quarter last year. We know that inflation increased by 0.8 per cent over the most recent quarter, and that's less than half the quarterly peak of 2.1 per cent that was posted in the March quarter of 2022 before the election.

Even with the welcome easing of inflation, we know that households and small businesses remain under the pump. There was relief when the independent determiner of interest rates, the RBA, kept those rates on hold. People took a deep breath and gave a sigh of relief. That's only going to be able to continue to hold and then decrease if this government acts in an economically responsible way with targeted, careful cost-of-living support for people.

I think it would be an edifying exercise for Senator Ruston and those on the opposite side if I have a bit of a look for you at some of the global comparisons. In the G7, headline inflation in Germany is higher than Australia's, at 6.4 per cent. In Italy it's 6.4 per cent and in the United Kingdom it's 7.9 per cent. In Australia it's six per cent, which is still too high, but it's on its way down. We should be building confidence in our country, not listening to the soul-destroying, nation-smashing tirades from those opposite. For core inflation, the UK is higher than Australia, at 6.9 per cent, and Germany is equal to Australia at 5.8 per cent. Australia's headline inflation peaked lower and later than most of the major advanced economies. Given it peaked later, it may take a little bit more time to moderate it back to target. We are currently around the middle for inflation, compared to the major advanced economies.

I'd like to remind the chamber that the unemployment rate is at historically low levels not seen in this country for decades. That means more Australians are working now and fewer are unemployed. It's a great thing to have a job. It's no small feat for the government to tackle inflation and bank a budget surplus, all while making sure that employment in Australia remains strong and that the country's employment opportunities continue to grow through investment in education. Critically, those fee-free TAFE places are giving people who couldn't get any training or afford any training the chance to retrain and rejoin the workforce.

The Liberals and Nationals don't even attempt to care about the plight of the workers in this country. Not engaging meaningfully in this debate is evident in so many of the contributions that we hear. And why should we expect anything else? If the chamber were to cast its mind back just a few short years ago, it was the Morrison government's stated policy to ensure that real wage growth was intentionally depressed. It was the Morrison government's policy to ensure that no new homes were built in this country. That's what they did. They kept wages low and stopped building and investing in any housing.

That has changed, with the good decision of the Australian people to change the government and bring in the Albanese government. The Albanese government has a strong agenda and has already hit the ground running. Those opposite seek to stifle that clear election mandate—and that's apparent, sadly, too often here in this chamber—frustrating the will of the Australian people who made it very clear they want change, they need change and they want vision, hope and opportunity, not miserly whingeing and negativity. The Housing Australia Future Fund is smart. It's a responsible and meaningful proposal that will make a dramatic impact on the lives of many Australians, and I urge senators in this place to get on board and get on with the vision for building in this country—building consensus, building hope and building houses.

The government should be building homes for those most in need, increasing supply in the market and making housing in this country more affordable. The market has failed, and it couldn't have failed any worse than how it's failed in regional, rural and remote Australia. It's an absolute disaster there. If you go to places like Elcho Island, you see children who have rheumatic fever because there's insufficient housing and they are living in appalling conditions that are worse than some in the Third World. That is what's going on. We need investment in housing, and the Albanese government is doing it. The independence brought by the security and pride of being able to call a home yours is something that the government believes more Australians should experience.

When a green-blue 'no-alition' of the Liberal and National parties and the Greens join together to try and block sensible housing policy, everybody knows this means trouble. Both the coalition and the Greens understand that if the Housing Australia Future Fund were to become law then they would lose one more thing to pointlessly attack the government on. The green-blue 'no-alition' are going to try and attack the Albanese government on not building enough homes, all the while attempting to block the government from doing that very thing. You can't have your cake and eat it too. We need homes. We need to build them. Get on board.

Further, on the cost of living, I want to talk about who this economy is built for. For too long we've allowed the narrative to dominate in public places that the economy must only work for consumers and investors. I think it should be an economy that delivers for workers, not the other way around. That's why this latest tranche of industrial relations reforms is so important. Casual workers who work the same job—the same shift for the same boss—for long periods of time deserve security. Great small businesses know this. They deeply understand this, and they make sure they look after the powerful asset which is their workforce. But, sadly, there are some malign players, and that's why we need legislation to make sure that Australians who work the same shifts in the same jobs for the same bosses have some protection. Flexibility is a two-way street. Businesses do deserve flexibility, but so do workers. Long-term casual workers deserve to be able to become permanent so they can take a day off when their child is sick and not worry about the rent. They deserve to be able to take some time off when, God forbid, they need to attend a funeral, without worrying if they can still buy their own medicines.

The cost of living in Australia is a challenge. The Albanese Labor government absolutely understands that. We're focused. We're working hard to solve the complex problems the Australian public face, and we're not afraid to introduce new ideas, innovative methods and problem-solving to deliver that. We are delivering on our promises. We will stand with the Australian people.