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

In budget week, just weeks from an election, senators on this side of the chamber and Australians are asking themselves whether Mr Dutton and the Liberals, those opposite, have any policies they'd like to share with the Senate or with the Australian people other than the deregistration of the CFMEU, other than their policy to cut $350 billion from the federal budget and other than their policy to cut 36,000 Public Service jobs. Australians are asking: do the Liberals—does Mr Dutton—have any policies other than cutting the services that those public servants provide today?

We know that Senator Cash has a lifetime achievement award for seeking to deregister unions. We know that. We know that Senator Cash and Mr Dutton want to focus on anything other than budget week and their complete absence of any policies to help Australians with the cost of living. We know that Mr Dutton is desperate to hide the one policy he has attempted to articulate to the Australian people: cutting $350 billion from the budget. He wants to hide his cuts so much that he won't tell Australians what he will cut until after the election. All that Australians know today is that Mr Dutton cuts and they pay. Mr Dutton cuts, and Australians pay. Mr Dutton wants to cut 36,000 Public Service jobs right around the country, including in my home state of Victoria. He wants to cut those jobs. He wants to cut the services that those public servants are providing as well, including critical services like processing the tens of thousands of veterans payments that were held up by the Liberals and their understaffing of our Public Service, that were held up by the Liberals and their contracting out of our Public Service, and that were held up by the Liberals and their waste of billions of dollars on outsourcing and consulting.

All of the progress that federal Labor has made in just three years is at risk from Mr Dutton—make no mistake. The progress we have made in rebuilding Medicare is at risk from Peter Dutton. Our $25 PBS prescriptions are at risk from Mr Dutton, our bulk-billed doctors visits are at risk from Mr Dutton, and our historic investments in women's health are at risk from Mr Dutton. We know that, when Mr Dutton was health minister, he cut $50 billion from our public hospitals and he was voted the worst health minister on record. By whom? Australia's doctors. And Mr Dutton recently said that past performance is the best indicator of future practice. These are his words. That is one thing we can agree on, because, when it comes to Medicare, Australians would be worse off under Mr Dutton, the man who was voted the worst health minister on record and who, when he was health minister, cut $50 billion from our public hospitals. He cuts, you pay. That is what Australians can expect from Mr Dutton.

Right now in Australia, after three years of Labor, jobs are up. Over a million new jobs have been created. Wages are up. There have been five consecutive quarters of real wages growth. Inflation is almost a third of what we inherited when we took office. Interest rates are heading down in the right direction. We are rebuilding the foundations of a good life in this country and providing the relief Australians need. Mr Dutton and the Liberals have nothing but cuts—$350 billion of cuts that they won't tell you about until after the election. Peter Dutton cuts, and you pay. That is what is clear today.