Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026, Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026
Ms LAWRENCE (Hasluck) (09:41): I support this ambitious, responsible and reforming budget. In his second reading speech, the Treasurer described this as 'the most important and ambitious budget in decades', one shaped by global uncertainty but grounded in confidence about Australia's future. That is the right starting point, because this budget is being delivered at a time when the world feels unstable.
The global oil shock, rising costs and uncertainty abroad are putting pressure on households here at home. I know, from speaking to people at their doors in my electorate of Hasluck, that people can feel rattled. They are feeling uneasy.
Some of them, understandably, are turning to extreme, unhelpful and policy-bereft parties for answers. As the Treasurer made clear, we did not choose these global challenges, but how we respond to them is within our control. This budget chooses to respond with resilience, with reform and, most importantly, with fairness.
Nowhere is that more important than in communities all over Australia, like mine in Hasluck. At its heart, this is a Labor budget because it invests in the things that matter most to people's lives, starting with health care. The Treasurer made clear that there is more Medicare in this budget, alongside record investments in hospitals and cheaper medicines.
Behind those national figures are real stories in local communities. In Hasluck, families rely on our public hospital care and on the primary care that is close to home. When a parent in Ellenbrook needs urgent care for a sick child or when an older resident in Bassendean is managing a chronic condition, what matters is not abstract policy but whether they can see a doctor quickly, afford their medication and avoid a trip to an already crowded emergency department.
The continued rollout and permanent funding of Medicare urgent care clinics is making a real difference. I can now stand anywhere in my electorate and be less than half an hour from a Medicare urgent care clinic, with clinics at Rudloc Road in Morley, North Street in Midland and, now, on Coolamon Boulevard in Ellenbrook. These don't just take the pressure off the local emergency department in Midland; they give the people of Hasluck peace of mind and alternatives to assist them, their children and their loved ones quickly and safely.
The fact that the only card you need is your Medicare card means that no-one needs to worry about whether they can afford the health care they or their children need. Medicare is a legacy Labor program, an institution that embodies the Aussies' fair go in health. The Albanese government's investments in Medicare since 2022 have seen bulk-billing rates rise significantly across the country, and Hasluck is no exception.
The national bulk-billing rate for the January-May quarter this year was 81.9 per cent, an increase of 4.6 per cent on the same period just a year ago. And what does this mean? It means that accessing the doctor is easier in a cost-of-living crisis, and it means that people in South Guildford and Brabham and Brigadoon who need to see a doctor are seeing a doctor, not putting it off because times are tight.
This is not just a statistic. This is a policy success, and I commend the government and Minister Butler for their commitment and their delivery. Another legacy Labor program is the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
The PBS was a child of the Chifley government and part of that government's vision of a fairer society that has become a cornerstone of Australian universal health care. The Albanese government has directly reduced out-of-pocket healthcare costs for tens of thousands of people in Hasluck and for millions of Australians by implementing the largest cuts and reforms in the 78-year history of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
When people in my electorate fill a prescription now, they find the maximum cost capped at $25. If they have a concession, then they find the maximum cost capped at $7.70, and that is now locked in until 2030. And most of them don't need to visit the doctor to get a script or the pharmacy to fill it as often as they did before, because we introduced 60-day scripts.
My constituents and millions around the country are saving time, energy, money and bother because of that reform, which kicked in in 2023. But remember the palaver from those opposite over that change. The coalition had been advised to bring in 60-day scripts in 2018, but the pharmacy industry got in their ear, and they folded.
When we took up the recommendation, the Liberals and the Nationals saw an opportunity to score a few points. They wheeled out all sorts of reasons why the sun wouldn't shine in the morning if we made that change. They played to the gallery and they were wrong.
Life went on, and, for millions of Australians—including, no doubt, some members opposite—life was changed for the better. Cheaper medicines, more bulk-billing and Medicare urgent care clinics—all reducing costs, reducing stress and making people healthier right across Hasluck. If there's one issue raised with me more than any other, it's housing.
My electorate is quite unusual. I have one of the growth corridors that are really driving new investments in housing. People in Brabham, in Dayton and all the way through to Ellenbrook are generally in a lot of new housing estates, but there are a lot of other suburbs surrounding them—Aranda, Caversham and Beechboro—where there are more established homes, and people are struggling to afford to buy into those suburbs.
Young people are wondering whether they will ever be able to afford a home in the communities that they grew up in. The Treasurer did not shy away from this challenge. He described Australia's housing challenge as longstanding and acknowledged the pressures it is placing on young workers and families, and this budget responds with seriousness.
It lifts total investment in housing to record levels, and focuses on increasing supply, because, without more homes, the problem does not get easier. This investment is enabling infrastructure. The roads, the power and the essential services are the very things that have enabled the growth corridor in my electorate of Hasluck to be so successful, particularly for the growing areas around Ellenbrook and the Swan valley, where new housing developments are dependent upon the infrastructure being put in place.
The reforms to support first home buyers matter deeply because, for many people in Hasluck, the issue's not just saving the deposit; it is competing in a market that's been stacked against them. This budget begins to rebalance that. It does not promise an overnight fix, but it does take responsible steps to make housing more accessible, more affordable and more attainable over time.
Of course, the Liberals caused the unsustainable problems with capital gains tax and negative gearing, and there's no way in the world they were ever going to fix them. In the tradition of 'I'm alright, Jack', they would have let the situation continue until it broke irrevocably. But the Labor Party knows that good policy doesn't just happen.
Good policy is built on principles, and it builds on its own success. When we on this side talk about a fair go, we mean a fair go for everyone, not just those born with a silver spoon in their mouths or those who manage to become best buddies with a billionaire. Because if we look at what we've achieved so far, which is a better deal for ordinary Australians in housing and health care, jobs and wages, and education, it is well worth while to ask how much of it would simply not exist under a coalition government run by the member for Hume and Senator Hanson, both of whom have opposed all of these policies and continue to oppose them.
The Liberal-National-One Nation three-headed dog is no friend of Australian workers. There's much more to talk about on education, jobs and skills, and training, because we've made so many more investments in fields where we've got pathways for paid placements through university. We've got free TAFE.
We know that that is taking the pressure off homes where people are looking to upskill, re-skill or gain an education beyond school, which is now also fully resource funded. But I want to bring my thoughts to a conclusion around this. This is a budget that is shaped by difficult global circumstances but guided by clear values.
It is about resilience in the face of uncertainty. It is about reform where reform is needed and it is about ensuring that fairness remains at the centre of our economic choices. For Hasluck, that means practical outcomes, better access to health care for families in Midland, Lockridge and Ellenbrook, stronger educational opportunities for students in our local schools, secure jobs and growing businesses in Hazelmere and Bayswater, and a more realistic pathway to homeownership for the next generation.
This is not a budget that chooses the easy path. As the Treasurer put it, it is about choosing the hard road of reforms while supporting Australians through difficult times. I commend the bill to the House.