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

We're all very aware of the challenges in the economy across the world and right here at home. When we start talking about those challenges, we've got to listen to what those on the opposite side say about what it actually means for the fight ahead against some of those challenges and how we actually tackle them. But you've also got to put it in perspective because there was a perspective given by Peter Dutton last year about some of those same challenges where he was a lot more honest than he is being now. He spoke about the hard economic challenges in the times ahead. On Sunrise on 8 February 2022 he said:

… over the next couple of years … we are going to have headwinds economically, as you know.

He went on to say:

… we have to be again realistic about what's happening economically over the coming years.

That was on the Today show on 5 April 2022. He went on to say:

I think if you look at what's happening in the United States at the moment, where inflation's at seven per cent, a similar story in parts of Europe, I think we need to really be realistic about the economic risks on the horizon.

That was on Sky News on 24 April 2022.

Political opportunism is one thing, but then you start saying, 'What have they supported to make a difference on cost of living?' We know the difference they've made: they've made no difference, because every time a proposition has been put forward about dealing with the cost-of-living pressures on hardworking Australians and those doing it tough they've voted it down. We know that their strategy was always to have low wages. That was a deliberate design feature of those opposite. We know that the Liberal and National parties are for low wages. But who would have thought they'd oppose a dollar-per-hour increase in the minimum wage? Don't worry—they said that before the election and they've kept that tune after the election. When we started putting policies forward to give people the opportunity to deal with the cost-of-living pressures and looking at realistic and fair wage increases, they said no. What did Mr Dutton say? He said it was because it was going to increase wages. He said specifically, 'It's going to result in high wages if we support the secure jobs and better pay bill.' Again and again, they are always opposed. They said no to banning pay secrecy clauses and the efforts to close the gender pay gap. That's because, again, they don't want all those people on salaries to get better wages to deal with those challenges.

Let's look at some of the more detailed government policies we have put forward. There was a tripling of bulk-billing incentives from the Albanese government. There's been the largest investment in bulk-billing incentives ever to take some pressure off the cost of living. We're reducing the cost of medicines by up to half for at least six million people. Those opposite are the same people who wanted to charge a $7 GP tax. They tried to increase the cost of medicines by $5. They wanted to charge for emergency department visits. They were opposed to allowing millions of Australians to buy two months worth of medicine for the price of a single prescription before details were even announced. They refused to back patients. That's what the previous government did, and that's what they're doing in opposition. They're undermining the opportunity for people to be able to get by and deal with the cost-of-living challenges.

When you start dealing with the cost of living, one of the smart things you do is you also look at investment so that we can get productivity up. A smart area to do that, because of the dismal failure we've had for over a decade in productivity building capacity within our economy—what do we do? We turn around and come up with a great policy, a policy we took to the election, supported by the community, to have free TAFE. There are 480,000 fee-free TAFE places. Not only is it a cost-of-living exercise, it's also an exercise to make sure we get productivity. We invest in Australians.

What do they do? Sussan Ley, the deputy opposition leader, said fee-free TAFE is a waste of taxpayers money. They're against skills. They're against the minimum wage being increased. Don't get me onto housing, because they're against $10 billion being spent on some of the most disadvantaged people in our community. They're against energy controls. These people have no sense about what's in the interest of Australia.