Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Well, Senator Reynolds, it took you five minutes to come up with one word. That must be a classic. Let me tell you what word comes to my mind when you lot come in here bleating about the cost of living. The word that comes to my mind is 'ironic'. Isn't it ironic that those opposite come into this place and actually complain about the cost of living—because I remember when the current wave of inflation started. They have very short memories on that side. The peak of quarterly inflation was reached in March 2022. Who was in government? Those opposite were in government. They created this crisis through the last decade. The decade they were in power was just a complete waste of opportunity. What did they do in that decade? Nothing—there was complete inaction. They did absolutely nothing.

But, unlike those opposite, we're actually doing something about it. After the almost decade of failure by those opposite to tackle the housing crisis, we're investing $32 billion in providing more social and affordable homes for Australians and helping more Australians own their own home. We've made health care cheaper by tripling the bulk-billing incentive and rolling out bulk-billed Medicare urgent care clinics across Australia, including five in my home state of Tasmania.

Cheaper medicines continue to deliver savings to all Australians. Across the country, Australians have now saved more than half a billion dollars thanks to cheaper scripts following major reforms to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. This includes over $9 million in savings, once again, for my fellow Tasmanians. As of 1 September this year, there are now approximately 300 different medicines available for 60-day prescriptions, providing more cost-of-living relief to those who need it most. We've also made the largest cut to the maximum patient co-payment in the 75-year history of the PBS. And we're providing $300 in energy bill relief to every Australian household.

We've provided $3 billion in HELP debt relief and delivered over half a million fee-free TAFE places. On top of this, we're reducing all HECS and student debt by 20 per cent, wiping more than $16 billion in student loan debt to take the pressure off more than three million Australians.

Not only are we helping reduce household expenses but we're also boosting household incomes. Just recently, more than five million Australians benefited from an increase to their income support payment when the last indexation took effect on 20 September. On that same day, over one million households got an increase in rent assistance. With these latest increases, the rate of JobSeeker payment has increased by more than 21 per cent and Commonwealth rent assistance by about 45 per cent since we came to government.

As we know, housing is a major impact on family budgets.

I'm pleased to say that, after 2½ years of political protesting and holding up our housing reform agenda, yesterday, the Greens finally saw the light. It's a shame there's not more of them in here at the moment. They finally saw the light and decided to support it. The Greens finally realised that they misread the electorate really badly and that their cynical attempt to boost their brand had backfired miserably. They, to be honest, were just too cocky for words—they really were. But did they apologise to Australians struggling to find suitable and affordable housing for delaying our much-needed housing reforms? No. Instead, we heard that they had to capitulate and do the highest backflip I think I've ever seen, because they simply couldn't get what they wanted. They were going to hold out. They thought that we would cave. Guess what? That's not how it works. You don't always get what you want, according to Mick Jagger, and that's a lesson that I think the Greens need to know.

What is it they wanted? We all know what they wanted. They wanted headlines to take to the next election. They wanted social media to be able to increase their chances at the next election. But what has happened is that they have kept thousands of Australians that could have been in secure and affordable housing by now on waiting lists and made it so that we couldn't get on with the job of increasing our housing stock. And, while they pretend to care, every time the government seeks to deliver on our election promises—