Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

With the recent interest rate rise and cost-of-living pressures, we know Australians are doing it tough right now. That is why the Albanese government are doing all we can to make things a little easier for women, children and families. Those opposite say they care, but their actions tell a different story. They voted against cheaper energy bills, against cheaper child care and against cheaper medicines. But on this side of the chamber, we back our words with action. Our 10-point cost-of-living plan is delivering $23 billion of support targeted to where it's needed most. I'll give a couple of examples of what they are.

We know energy bills are one of the biggest challenges for families. Since July this year, we've been delivering up to $500 in electricity bill relief for eligible families. We're already hearing that some households are saving up to 18 per cent on their bills because of Labor's energy market intervention. For an average four-person household in Victoria, that's a saving of around $250 a year. We know that bulk-bill medical services are getting harder and harder to find, with many GPs across the country moving towards private billing. So to support Australian families, we've tripled the bulk-billing Medicare incentive because we don't want people to have to choose between seeing a doctor and putting food on the table. We are making child care cheaper for 1.2 million households. In practical terms, this means that if your family's combined income is $120,000 you will save around $1,700 a year with one child in care, thanks to Labor. On top of this, we're expanding paid parental leave. We also have 180,000 families who receive paid parental leave each year who will benefit from this scheme. The scheme supports mothers' health and wellbeing, encourages dads and other partners to take leave and gives families flexibility to choose how they share care. We know that good women's policy is also good economic policy, and this investment promotes parenting as an equal partnership while boosting the economy.