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

I come to this debate having heard a couple of contributions from speakers before me. It still surprises me here in the Senate that there seems such glee from those opposite as they describe what we know is a pretty challenging time for Australian people. When we say, 'We know Australians are doing it tough,' we actually really do know. It's been tricky.

But let's be clear about a couple of things. We need to get some facts on the record. Instead of glee and delight in the challenges that people face and heaping misery on top of that by putting out incorrect facts, I want the Australian people listening to this debate to know that the Labor Party wants you to earn more and wants you to keep more of what you earn. That's what matters to people: managing your own finances for yourself and your family. We understand that. We have to manage all of the terms in the economic language that go around in this debate, which can be so off-putting for people that they just stop listening. But we do have to get some facts right around that complex economic debate.

There is some good news, and this is what Australians need to hear. They need to hear hope. They need to hear that a Labor government under Anthony Albanese is hopeful for them and is working for a better future. It's important to note that, in contrast with the topic that's been put up here for debate in this MPI, new data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics actually shows that annual real wages are growing under the Albanese Labor government. They're not growing as quickly as everybody would like—we'd all like our pay packets to be bigger all the time—but they're growing. That contrasts really markedly with what we saw under the previous government, where there was no effort at all to increase the wages of ordinary working Australians.

In addition to increasing the wages that Australians take home every week and that they use to balance their budget, to pay their rent, to pay their mortgage and to get their kids the things that they need, we've also made sure that while Australians are struggling we just don't leave them hanging—and we don't delight in their misery. In fact, we've made sure that we give cost-of-living assistance while people are struggling, to help them through this tricky time.

One of the really important things was the tax cuts. People will have had a look at their salary, their wages that have come in since 1 July, and there has been a change for the 13.6 million working Australians who are getting a tax cut this year. The average tax cut is $1,888 in the year 2024-25. It's not enough for you to buy a house, but it's enough to help you make ends meet; it's a beginning of support for people, encouraging people to be able to get on with their life knowing that their government is going to support them. If we had left the package of stage 3 tax cuts as those opposite had designed it, fewer would have been able to bank those benefits, and 11.5 million taxpayers, or 84 per cent of Australian taxpayers, got a bigger tax cut on 1 July this year because Labor is listening. Labor cares about ordinary Australians and their financial challenges. We won't leave you hanging.

We've increased the Medicare levy for low-income thresholds, and there's energy relief to make sure that all 10 million households across this country are going to have $300 rebated from their bill. When the bill comes in, $75 a quarter is going to be removed because the government, the Albanese government, will not leave you hanging. We will support you. We believe in benefiting all Australians using the power of government alongside people's own endeavours in their interests and their efforts for their families.

The Labor government wants you to earn more and keep more of what you earn and will help you through the difficult times.