STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator WALSH (Victoria) (13:32): In just a few weeks time Australians will have a clear choice to make about our future in this country: building Australia's future under Labor or going backwards under Mr Dutton and the Liberals. Take Australia's manufacturing industry: after a decade under the Liberals, Australia's manufacturing industry collapsed. The Liberals drove our car manufacturing industry off a cliff and more than 50,000 Australian jobs went with it.

When it comes to health, Mr Dutton's record is a disgrace. He tried to jack up the cost of medicines. He cut $50 billion from our public hospitals.

He was voted the worst health minister on record by Australia's doctors. What is Mr Dutton's plan for Australia's future? No surprises—it's cuts.

It includes $350 billion cut from the budget; 36,000 public sector jobs cut; and work-from-home rights cut, hurting Australia's working women and families. This isn't a plan for Australia's future; it is a blueprint for ripping apart the fabric of our society. Labor wants to keep building Australia's future.

We're bringing Australian manufacturing back onshore. We are investing in Australian-made steel and aluminium and processing our critical minerals here. We'll use them to back local jobs and build a renewable energy future right here in Australia.

We are strengthening Medicare, with $25 PBS scripts. We are making record investments in bulk-billing. We are investing in more Medicare urgent care clinics.

We're building a stronger education system, with full funding for public schools for the first time ever. We are delivering a three-day guarantee for early childhood education and cutting student debt by 20 per cent. The only thing Mr Dutton is cutting is $350 billion from Australian families.