Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak regarding two reports which have been released this year: the Productivity Commission's productivity insights report and the Intergenerational report. Together they have painted a picture of Australia's recent past, current situation and future trajectory. The reports are concerning because under this Morrison Liberal government our standards of living are lower, and this trend is likely to continue if there is no intervening action. In a world that seems uncertain, our communities want a government that can deliver what they set out to achieve. So how does this aspirational essence ring true in contemporary Australia? It must start with a vaccine rollout and end with secure, well-paid, full-time jobs.

Let's talk about full-time and secure work or, as I would refer to it, boosting the living standards of Australians. The Productivity Commission released figures which determine that we are currently living in the worst decade for living standards in 60 years. This is a truly shocking finding but probably not surprising to many who are struggling to make ends meet and see a more certain future in a COVID world. The latest Intergenerational report has predicted that this trend will likely continue. If we don't meet the aspirational average 1.5 per cent productivity growth over the next 40 years, Australians will see their income be $32,000 lower by 2060. I say that 1.5 per cent is aspirational because there is nothing that the Liberal government are doing right now to boost productivity. They will not join the rest of the world and commit to net zero by 2050. They are not sending any clear signals to the private sector about technological adaptation. They are cutting funding to our universities, which are engines of innovation. They are continuing to cut from TAFE. To put it simply, they are not investing in the future of Australia. This will be the Liberal Party's legacy and their lasting impact on Australia.

A Labor government will introduce a start-up year to potentially create 200,000 new businesses and provide a platform for future job growth and economic opportunity. Labor will offer income-contingent loans to 2,000 final year students and/or recent graduates to support their participation in accelerated learning programs. Start-ups have been shown to possess very good job creation and they show great potential, encouraging new firms, which will be good for our economy, good for job growth and even better for wage growth.

It is the duty of government to work with the private sector to inspire and stimulate national focus and to champion the growth that is so desperately needed and to provide direction and leadership for our business community, especially those businesses created by young Australians. Working with higher education institutions, being entrepreneurial and working with investors will ensure that Australia is better placed to identify opportunities and better placed for investment in universities and further research. Building this cooperation should also make it easier for people to actually see that there are real business opportunities here in Australia. We need investment in our universities, not cuts to the universities, not making it more difficult for Australians to be able to attain a university degree, pricing it out of the reach of most Australians. There is a need for government to assume a leadership role in encouraging entrepreneurial activity and the emergence of new firms that can use tech for social good or improve the productivity and efficiency of other businesses. If government does not invest in policy with an intention to reform, then Australia's living standards will continue to flatline. Australians can't afford for this to happen. Australians deserve hope for better living standards so they can get up in the morning and go to work, save for their future, buy a home and be able to raise a family. The next generation deserves better living standards than their parents. This is the new Australian dream, but it may remain just that—a dream—if we continue to elect Liberal governments, because Scott Morrison's legacy will be one that will see our living standards dive.