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

These people brought us $1 trillion of debt when we had a change of government. Then they come here and start lecturing about what needs to be done. Of course, we start then putting suggestions about what should be done. What do we do? The government turn around and provide the first surplus in 15 years. And what happens? There's still no credit. Then we start putting policies forward to reduce the cost of living. And what do they do? They vote against them. When we have cost-of-living reductions, $3 billion of vital energy bill relief, those opposite vote against it. If they had succeeded in stopping that change coming through from this government, then we would have seen in the September ABS quarter an 18.6 per cent increase in prices for energy. Not only are they standing in the way, but their alternative model would mean that Australians would be even harder hit.

We've seen their opposition on so many issues, like funding cheaper child care and fee-free TAFE. Time and time again we've seen their opposition on issues, opportunities and policies that would take pressure off the Australian public. Then you think: 'Maybe they'll start rethinking what they're doing. Maybe this is just a moment in time. Maybe it's just a blip in the thinking policy, or lack of thinking policy, on how to deal with cost-of-living pressures.'

But you've got to look back a little bit on the coalition, because one of the ways you actually deal with the cost of living is having those big companies that are making bit profits turning around and saying that workers can also get a fair share of it. They oppose that, and, when you look back to 1921, for example—because they have a history of this. In 1921, in the McKell report, for the increases in wages they got through their period of government up to that period in '21 to the period prior under Labor—if they had of got the same increases that Labor did, every worker would be $254 a week better off. So you've got them opposing $254 all that way back; you've got them opposing policies that give energy bill relief; you've got them opposing policies that turn around and increase the minimum wage; and you've got them proposing policies which say the secure jobs bill isn't the right approach, even though it has helped increase wages again. Of course, they're also opposing new legislation coming forward in these present bills that have been discussed over these last number of weeks.

What they're about is not about actually finding relief, because they voted against relief. When we came to power, they voted against relief that would have given us relief from the drama and the incompetence that they'd brought to the economy. We know that this is a tough time for everybody. We know that this is a time when we have to pull together to make those differences. But every time we put forward a proposal for a difference, every time we put forward a suggestion or a recommendation for a cost-of-living reduction, those opposite vote it down. They vote it down because they just can't help themselves.

When it comes to talking about new and proper legislation to make sure there's a fair bargaining field, whether it be for road transport operators, road transport workers, owner drivers or gig workers, the opposition also vote that down. They say, 'That's not something that's fit and proper,' when we're dealing with wage theft where companies are intentionally stealing from their workers, competing with companies who do the right thing, which the majority of companies do. They don't want to even keep the criminals accountable. This just keeps smelling of the same thing. You, on your side, just don't care. That's what you keep saying to the Australian public: 'We don't care how much you hurt. We haven't got solutions, and, when solutions are proposed, we oppose them.' That's either because the big end of town are opposed to them or because those across the chamber can't quite understand that the Australian public deserve something better.

When you start hearing about those who are opposed to some of the initiatives we put forward on the industrial relations front, you get companies like BHP and the Minerals Council and the opposition's favourite, Qantas. All of those are being supported time and time again by those opposite to suppress wages. It's in their DNA. Those opposite want wages suppressed, and they want the big end of down to town looked after.