Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Smith for the question and also for her continued advocacy on behalf of the people of South Australia to make sure that the government continues to provide cost-of-living relief where we can do so, when we can responsibly provide it without adding to the inflation challenge that we have been dealing with that we inherited from the former government.

The Albanese government has seen inflation come down, wages go up and more jobs created at the same time—1.1 million jobs, which I know those opposite hate to hear. In one term of government, we have seen wages going up and cost-of-living support provided where we've found room in the budget to do so, where we have prioritised cost-of-living support, whether it be the tax cuts that were made fairer so that they helped all taxpayers, whether it be the energy bill relief that we provided to households and small business that those opposite opposed, whether it be the cheaper medicines—an issue we brought into this parliament that those opposite opposed—more bulk-billing that those opposite consider wasteful spending, and more Medicare urgent care clinics, which were also included in the language of the opposition as 'wasteful spending'. Well, I challenge the opposition to go and chat to a few people using the urgent care clinics and ask them if they think that's wasteful spending. Maybe ask the people that are going into the emergency department that Senator Ruston was laughing at before if they think that investment in public hospitals is wasteful spending. Maybe when people go and get their 60-day scripts—