Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Gallagher. The Albanese government is taking comprehensive action to tackle cost-of-living pressures. Can the minister outline how the government is working hard to get costs down for families and individuals, to get wages up for workers, and to strengthen the budget foundation to deliver tangible benefits for Australians? How is this approach helping to relieve the cost of living at time when global economic challenges persist?

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

I thank Senator Stewart for the question and for her interest in addressing cost-of-living pressures for Australian households. Since we came to government, the government has been totally focused on addressing cost-of-living issues. You saw that in our election commitments, which directly went to assisting households with cost-of-living pressures. You've seen it in the way we've handled issues while we have been in government, including in providing energy bill relief—around this time last year in the final weeks of parliament—which those opposite voted against, of course.

We are working hard to support families by introducing measures which bring down the cost of living, like cheaper child care and reduced medicine costs. We're seeing results, particularly in the area of medicines but also in childcare fees, which are a big part of household budgets when you have children under the age of five. When we look at reducing medicine costs, we've seen significant savings—$20 million each month—from lowering the price of monthly scripts, with that money going directly going into people's pockets. In relation to 60-day dispensing, which, again, those opposite voted against, we've already seen 600,000 scripts, saving $5 million, as a result of the changes that we have been putting in place and which you voted against.

We are also seeing improved good results—and it is early days—in the increased investment that we have made to bulk-billing, which is allowing more GPs to bulk-bill more people. We've been doing this because we've been taking measures to strengthen the budget so that we can find room for these important programs that assist Australians with the increasing cost of living, and we will continue to do so.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Stewart, a first supplementary?

Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister, for outlining some of the things that we're doing in response. The government is delivering significant investment in cost-of-living relief, including the $23 billion package delivered by the government. Can the minister also provide further details on how specific initiatives, like cheaper child care, are easing financial pressures on families while also delivering lasting social reform?

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

I thank Senator Stewart for the question. As Senator Stewart said, our $23 billion cost-of-living package—large parts of which those opposite voted against—includes those important measures like energy bill relief, cheaper child care, the bulk-billing investments that are rolling through, cheaper medicines, 60-day dispensing, boosting income support payments, addressing some of the rental pressures with Commonwealth rent assistance, our fee-free TAFE, building more affordable homes, expanding paid parental leave and getting wages moving again. This is all part of our agenda to ensure that Australians can keep up with those cost-of-living pressures that we're seeing.

But we're also, importantly, focusing on measures that improve the productive side of the economy, like our investments into child care, which we see as a significant economic reform, and, indeed, our extension to PPL, allowing more women to work.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Stewart, a second supplementary?

Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister, for that response. Can the minister update the Senate on how the government's policies have led to wages growing at the fastest rate in a decade? How do these efforts in securing fair pay align with the Albanese government's broader economic plan? How does this further support the efforts to alleviate cost-of-living pressures facing Australians and their families?

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

(—) (): I thank Senator Stewart for the supplementary question. We've been focused on getting wages moving again since we came to government because we inherited an economy and policies from the former government that had low wages as a deliberate design feature of their economic architecture, and we will never let you forget it. You had minimum wage submissions that had whole sections on the importance of low-wage work. This is what you were when you were in government. We have been putting in place changes. Aged-care workers are finally getting the recognition and respect they deserve, with a fully funded 15 per cent wage increase. It's highly feminised, low-paid work that had led to significant workforce issues, which led to an aged-care system which the royal commission itself characterised as a 'system of neglect'. That is what you oversaw. We have put in place measures— (Time expired)