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

I can only wait for Senator Hughes to bring forward some dollars to go with the profession of care, because at the moment all we hear from the opposition is: 'Don't spend. Don't support Australians.' The affectation of care and the reality of responding are two different things.

We need actual policies to be advanced in this place, to be put on the record by the coalition, instead of these hollow talking points. The reality right now for Australians, who we are governing for, is that inflation absolutely is still higher than we would like it, but it's less than the six per cent that it was when we came to government, which was what was inflicted on Australians under the Liberal-National coalition. We can absolutely say that underlying inflation is moderated and the momentum of inflationary pressure is actually going downwards. That is a good thing. It is worth celebrating, and it is worth saying to people that, if you're struggling, hold on. We see that struggle, and that's why we want to assist you with things that you need, such as your electricity.

We know that, under the coalition, they didn't deliver a surplus and they didn't manage the economy well. We know that, under the opposition, people's electricity prices really became a problem, and today we had questions in question time where Senator McAllister was explaining what the chaos of energy policy under the Liberal-National coalition determined in terms of the market's reaction. It's into that chaos that we have brought order. Of course, we've made commitments to assist families in real terms with what they need—to assist every single household under every roof in this nation.

Australians can expect $300 to help them, not to pay their bill in its entirety but to help them. That's $300 per household to make sure that they get a bit of relief from the energy costs that we know are part of why Australians are doing it tough. We know that the challenges facing small businesses are significant as well, and that is why we have a small business package to assist. Over a million businesses are going to get the benefit of support from Labor. Making rent cheaper for a million households is a great commitment to help people. We've delivered tax cuts for every working Australian. All of these things are indicators of support for— (Time expired)