Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

When the Albanese Labor government came into office, inflation had a '6' in front of it. I think the former speaker in his contribution was a little bit liberal with the truth there, because it had a '6' in front of it and now it has a '3' in front of it. That's called progress. We're bringing inflation down. But those opposite always want to talk the economy down. They always want to talk about the cost of living in this place. But, when it comes to supporting legislation which is going to help Australians dealing with the cost of living, what do they actually do? They vote against the legislation. What did they do when we introduced legislation for the Future Fund to provide social and affordable housing? What did they do with that legislation? They voted against it because Mr Dutton said no.

What did they do when they were in government? They had a policy to keep wages low for Australian workers. So what did they do when we legislated for aged-care workers to get a pay increase? What did they do? Mr Dutton said no and they voted against it. What did they do when we brought in legislation to support disability workers getting a pay rise? What did they do then? They again said no, because that's what Mr Dutton told them to do. So they voted against it. What did they do for early childhood educators in this country to help them deal with the cost of living, but also to demonstrate respect and acknowledgment of the important work that early educators in this country do for our children, our greatest asset? They voted against that as well.

The Australian tax office, on 1 July, gave all working Australians a tax cut. The majority of low-income earners in this country got twice the amount of money that those opposite had legislated when they were in government. So don't come into the chamber bleating and pretending that you are concerned about the impact of the cost of living on the Australian people when you keep saying no. The thing that Mr Dutton is known for, apart from being the worst-ever health minister, is for saying no, no, no. That's all he does. He says no, no, no.

Let's talk about the energy rebate—$300 to every household in this country. And what did those on that side do to that legislation? They said no to a rebate of $300 for every household in this country, and they also said no to the rebate for small businesses. If those opposite had any real concern for Australians who are doing it tough—we do. We understand because we talk to Australian workers, we talk to people in our communities, and we know how tough it is. Those opposite pretend that they're the great economic managers, but it is this Labor government, the Albanese Labor government, that has had back-to-back surpluses—the first time in almost two decades. We have done that. We have created almost a million jobs, and the majority of them full-time jobs, in this country. Why? Because Labor governments always protect Australian workers. We always stand with them, unlike those opposite.

Why do those opposite like tearing down a Labor government? Why do they like to run the economy down? Why don't they want to support any assistance that we have put forward? It is just blatant political opportunism. When we froze for a year any price increases on medications, and then reduced the cost of medications, what did those people on that side, the Liberals and the Nationals, do? They voted against it. Your actions actually speak louder than words. And we know when it comes to energy, Mr Dutton, who was the worst-ever health minister, has this idea of building nuclear reactors around the country. Nobody wants them in their backyard. (Time expired)