Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

With all the signs pointing towards a minority government, this election provides voters with a unique opportunity to keep Mr Dutton out and to push Labor harder to take meaningful action on the things that matter. In a very wealthy country like ours, everyone should be able to afford the basics—food on the table, a roof over their head and a world-class health and education system.

But, while millions of people are struggling to get by, Australian billionaires are raking in $67,000 an hour. Let me say that again, $67,000 an hour. That is 1,300 times more than the average worker gets. It is time for voters to turn the tables. If we were to tax Australia's 150 billionaires, we would raise $50 billion over the decade. We could use that money to fund services like getting dental into Medicare for everyone, having everybody see the GP for free or fully funding our education system this year.

One in three big corporations pays no tax. I will say that again, one in three big corporations pays zero tax. The Greens will make those corporations pay their fair share of tax so you can see the GP for free or go and see the dentist without your credit card.

If you are worried about the cost of seeing a doctor, a dentist or a psychologist, you are not alone. Despite being a wealthy country and despite people having access to the health care that they need, we know that more and more people are putting off healthcare appointments because they can't afford it. And let's not even talk about those people on income support who haven't seen a meaningful increase in this term of government. Those people are choosing between getting their health attended to, putting food on the table and paying the rent.

We cannot keep voting for the same two parties and expecting a different result. If you want to see the GP for free and if you want your local public school to be fully resourced and free, the first step is to fight for someone who will vote for you. When the Greens held the balance of power in 2010, we got dental into Medicare for kids, and if you put the balance of power with us in the next government, we will work to push Labor to get it done for everyone. More than three million children have had 43 million services provided to them since the Greens secured that change. Change is possible and, at this election, you can vote for it.