Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator O'Neill, for your question. Labor understands that Australians are under pressure, and that's why the Albanese government has been focused on delivering cost-of-living relief while bringing down inflation, and we know that there is more to do. Under this government, every single Australian taxpayer has received a tax cut. Under this government, child care and medicines are cheaper, and we have boosted bulk-billing. We've opened 75 free Medicare urgent care clinics across the country, delivered energy bill relief for every household and small business, introduced fee-free TAFE and reduced HECS debts. We're expanding paid parental leave to six months and adding superannuation to it. Under this government, you've seen increased wages for millions of Australians in aged care, child care and other industries. When we came to government, annual inflation had a six in front of it and was rising. Now, it has a two in front of it and is falling.

Mr Dutton, Senator Cash and those opposite voted no to every single cost-of-living measure. What cost-of-living relief would be on Mr Dutton's chopping block? He's confirmed he wants to make huge cuts that will leave Australians worse off, but he won't tell Australians what they are until after the election—a whopping over $350 billion in secret cuts! And we know that he wants to spend up to $10 billion a year of workers' money on long lunches and billions of dollars forcing nuclear power plants into peoples' backyards with the great result that their power prices would go up.

Unlike him, we are focused on cost-of-living relief. Mr Dutton is focused on cuts, conflict and culture wars. Australians would be worse off under Mr Dutton. (Time expired)