Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hume for the question. I think yesterday I used the word 'audacious' for one of the questions I got asked by the opposition. But, really, honestly, to come in here and ask that after everything this government, in two years, has done on stabilising the energy system in this country, driving renewable energies after decades and—how many policies was it; 22 policies? You had 22 policies and not one of them landed. You wasted a decade fighting amongst yourselves rather than putting the nation's interest at heart and front of mind. That is what we have done, since the moment we came to government.

If there are two stark areas where we have been the opposite of how you behaved in government, wasting a decade, it is energy and housing. In two years, what we have done in terms of energy policy, in terms of energy bill relief, in terms of the caps—all of that you voted against. On the Housing Australia Future Fund, how did you vote on that? You opposed it. Everything we have done to increase housing supply in this country after a decade of no interest from the Commonwealth other than a suggestion—which we might see again tonight—to ransack super so that young people don't leave with any retirement savings and so that you inflate housing prices across Australia. We'll see that rejigged tonight, no doubt.

This budget puts the Australian people and the national interest right at the centre of our decision-making, whether it be cost-of-living relief without adding to inflation or dealing with the many challenges that we inherited, including in energy policy and housing policy, which had been abandoned by you when you were in government.