QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE: TAKE NOTE OF ANSWERS

Senator WHITEAKER (Western Australia) (15:28): You know what? Those of us on this side of the chamber, the Albanese Labor government, are proud of our record, and we do take responsibility for the great progress that we have seen over the last term, when we were in government, and over the last six months or so since we were so convincingly re-elected at the May election.

I think it's really important that we do talk about the record of those opposite. It find it extremely, extremely ironic that those opposite try to lecture us on our record on the economy and on housing when we were left in an absolute mess thanks to nearly a decade of inaction by those opposite. What is their record?

Debt, deficit and a deliberate strategy to keep wages low. Many of them said a number of times they didn't want workers to earn more. They certainly didn't want workers to keep more of what they earn.

They had no plan on the cost of living. They had no plan on housing. In fact, for much of their time in government, they didn't even have a minister for housing.

To our record, which those opposite seem very, very keen for us to talk about but then largely ignore the facts of when we do—so I'll remind them again—we have made substantial, significant progress on keeping our economy one of the strongest in the world. Inflation, as my colleague and friend Senator Walker said, is at half of what it was under those opposite.

Headline inflation under the former government was at 6.1 per cent and climbing. Now headline inflation is at 3.2 per cent through the year to September. Yes, it's an increase on the last quarter.

There are certainly challenges ahead. But what I know and—I'm pretty confident—what the Australian people know is that it is only this government that has a plan to keep our economy heading in the right direction. It is only our government that got wages moving again.

It is only our government that has brought inflation down. It is only our government that has a plan for the cost of living. Energy bill credits will continue through to the end of the year.

I know they have made a huge difference to Western Australians across my home state, who have been the beneficiary of significant energy bill credits through partnership with the state Cook Labor government and our federal Labor government. I think the Australian people know that it's only us, it's only our government, that have a plan on housing. Our plan on housing is central to the work of this government.

It's a $43 billion commitment to build 55,000 social and affordable homes for the Australians who need it most—30,000 of those from the Housing Australia Future Fund, Senator Bragg's absolute favourite topic! In the very short time that the HAFF has been operating, there are already hundreds of Australians across the country benefiting from those homes, living in those homes.

There are currently more than 18,000 social and affordable homes that are in the planning and construction phase. Let's compare that to the previous coalition government's record. I know they don't like to hear about it.

I'm sorry, but I'm going to talk about it again. They built just 373 social and affordable homes in nine years in government. It's extraordinary.

It is no wonder you don't want us to talk about it, because it's a pretty bad number. But what we're seeing now with Labor in the driver's seat is more than 25,000 of those 55,000 social and affordable homes in the construction and planning phases, with over 5,000 already completed, well and truly ahead of what we saw from those opposite. So do you know what?

We will continue to talk about your record. But we are proud of ours. (Time expired)