Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to talk about Labor's responsible economic management and what we have accomplished in just 2½ years, which those opposite couldn't do in 10.

Under Labor, real wages are moving again in this country with four consecutive quarters of growth. The minimum wage has gone up by over $7,000 a year. Early childhood educators and aged-care workers are being valued with historic 15 per cent pay rises, and over a million jobs have been created, with the majority being full time. We are building a stronger economy, and we are building a stronger workforce because, unlike those opposite, we know that working people are critical to our nation's prosperity.

Mr Dutton and the coalition disagree. That's why they kept wages low as a deliberate design feature of their economy. The Liberals love low wages. They love them. And they have opposed every single measure that we have put in place to get wages moving in this country. They do not stand up for Australian workers. They never have and they never will. Under our government, meaningful cost-of-living relief is rolling out to Australians. There is energy bill relief for every household, as well as cheaper medicines that have already saved Australians over half a billion dollars. Free TAFE and cheaper uni are giving people the opportunity to improve themselves and do better. There have been three million additional bulk-billed visits to the GP and tax cuts for every single Australian taxpayer—all 13.6 million of them. We on this side of the chamber under the Albanese Labor government believe that Australians should earn more and keep more of what they earn too.

But let's consider what Mr Dutton apparently believes in. He believes in saying no to cost-of-living relief. He believes in denying cost-of-living relief. Mr Dutton's 'noalition' is simply not interested in helping Australians with the challenges they face today. Mr Dutton's 'noalition' voted no to cheaper medicines. They voted no to our record investment in Medicare. In fact, the Albanese Labor government has invested more in bulk-billing in two years than the Liberals and Nationals did in their entire decade in office. And now they want to cut fee-free TAFE. Listen to what Sussan Ley, the deputy Liberal leader, said: 'A key principle and tenet of the Liberal Party is, if you don't pay for something, you don't value it.' She was talking about fee-free TAFE. What an insult to the half a million Australians who have taken up the opportunity of fee-free TAFE. These are people who are relying on this. These are people who are taking this opportunity up in droves. Half a million Australians absolutely value the opportunity that they've been given, and they are taking it up. They are doing courses like early childhood education and aged care. They are becoming fitters and turners. They're improving their electrician qualifications, and they absolutely respect and value the opportunity that they have been given.

After a decade of Liberal neglect, we inherited a trillion dollars of Liberal debt. There was not a lot to show for it in terms of investment in the kinds of services that Australians want and need from their government, just deficits from years of reckless spending and colour coded spreadsheets. Let's talk about surpluses for a moment. How many did the former Liberal government deliver? That's right: not a single one—not a single one in almost a decade. On this side of the chamber, under the Albanese Labor government, we have delivered not one but two back-to-back surpluses. Our responsible economic management is delivering. We are providing targeted cost-of-living relief in an environment where we know inflation is biting for Australians. That's why we are paying down debt. It's why we're paying less interest and it's why inflation has more than halved under our watch. When we took over, it had a six in front of it; now it has a two in front of it. We will always back Australian workers with higher wages. We will always pursue more jobs for Australians, and we will always fight for cost-of-living relief for Australians, while those opposite say no, no, no.