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

What a lot of nonsense was just put on the record here tonight! It's very fortunate that I get the opportunity tonight to talk about the 10 very long years that those opposite had in government. So when they come in here and they bleat about issues like the construction section of the CFMEU—you could have done something, but you failed to do anything.

Those people opposite did nothing in relation to health care in this country during their 10 long years in government. What we have seen from the Labor government in two years is an amazing amount of effort going into supporting Medicare. We have invested more money in health than those opposite did. What we have seen, instead of those bleak years under the governments of Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison, is that we have actually built urgent care clinics. We want Australians to be able to have access to urgent care when they need it. In my home state of Tasmania, we have four of those urgent care clinics.

Those opposite had 10 years to make medicines cheaper, but they wouldn't stand up to the pharmaceutical lobbyists or the pharmacists who were out there lobbying to stop it. What did we do? We actually went down that path. We've legislated it because we know how important it is to have 60-day scripts to reduce the number of times you have to go and see your GP. It saves you money. It also gives the opportunity for other people to get to see their GP. And why wouldn't those opposite go down that path? Their current leader, Peter Dutton, when he was Minister for Health, was voted by doctors in this country to be the worst-ever health minister since Medicare began.

In contrast, Labor built Medicare. We built it because we believe in universal health care. We did it because it is in our DNA to make sure that Australians have the best possible health care, because it's fundamental for a healthy community. We introduced cheaper medicines. We've frozen the cost of the PBS for one year. And we know that pensioners are always going to be looked after when it comes to us.

We on this side will always vote for better wages for workers. Those opposite were in government for 10 years and not only did they not have their eye on the ball when it came to aged care in this country, they had to call a royal commission into their own failings. They had five aged-care ministers in 10 years, but did they ever do anything to actually increase the wages of the people who work in this important sector? No, they did not. Did they do anything to improve wages for people who are in the care economy looking after people with disabilities? No, they did not. What have we done in the two years since we've been in government? We've increased the wages of those workers.

In their 10 years of government, what did those opposite do for those early educators who look after the most important people in our community—our future, our children? Did they do anything to show respect and support and give them a wage rise? No; they did not. Again, it was this Labor government. Let's remember what those opposite said. They had a deliberate policy to keep wages low. They said: 'Keep people down! We don't want Australians to be aspirational people going forward.' They only want to look after the elite in their communities.

We have not only improved the wages for early educators in this country but we have also made child care cheaper for Australian families. Why? Because we want women to be able to go back into the workforce, because we support women. It's just like we're reducing the gap of the difference in pay between male and female counterparts doing the same job. The reality is that Labor governments, because of our DNA, will always look after workers. We will always fight for better wages for Australian workers each and every day in this place and the other place. We believe in supporting people in the care economy. (Time expired)