PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Ms KARA COOK (Bonner) (11:22): People in my community of Bonner know that cost-of-living pressure is real, and, at times like this, people expect their government to step up with practical help. That is exactly what the Albanese Labor government is doing. We are delivering tax relief for workers, we are backing higher wages, and we are making things like medicines cheaper.

We are strengthening Medicare and helping more Australians into housing, because our priority is clear—helping Australians with the cost of living while building a fairer economy for the future. For people in my community of Bonner, one of the clearest things we have delivered is tax relief. Labor has delivered tax cuts for every taxpayer, and we are going further through this budget that has just been handed down, with $250 working tax offsets as well as the $1,000 instant tax deduction to make tax time easier for so many of our local workers.

Taken together with the tax relief we have already delivered, we have now cut income taxes five times in five different ways, putting nearly $3,000 a year back into the pockets of a worker on average earnings by 2028. That matters in Bonner. It matters to nurses heading home after a long shift, it matters to the tradie filling up at the local petrol station, and it matters to the retail workers, teachers, childhood educators and the aged-care workers trying to keep up with bills while still trying to get ahead.

Labor believes that, if you work hard, you should be able to earn more and keep more of what you earn. That is what Labor stands for. But cost-of-living relief is not just about tax cuts; it's also about wages.

Since coming to government, the Albanese Labor government has backed higher wages for nearly three million workers. Many of those are Australia's lowest paid workers. Real wages have been growing, and the national minimum wage has now risen to over $12,000 a year since we came to office.

That matters enormously in my community of Bonner, where so many people do work in child care, aged care, retail, hospitality and other essential industries. These are the people who care for our children and for those who are most vulnerable in our local community. They deserve fair pay, and they deserve a government that backs them every step of the way.

We know that, for many families, one of the biggest cost pressures is health care. That is why we are making medicines cheaper with $25 scripts, and it's why we are building more urgent care clinics. Two have opened in my community of Bonner, with the Carina-Carindale and Capalaba urgent care clinics now open and having serviced over 10,000 people already since they opened their doors.

These are practical changes that are making a real difference. When it comes to housing, the Albanese Labor government is taking that challenge seriously. We set a target of building more than 1.2 million new homes.

We are helping more Australians buy a home with lower deposits, and we are supporting more housing supply. We're also reforming the tax settings so that more investment goes into building new homes instead of simply pushing up prices on homes that are already there. Housing is not an abstract policy in my community; it is about whether young people can move out of home.

In Queensland, we are seeing 20,000 homes that are being built exclusively for first home buyers. While Australians and working families are under pressure at the moment, we have ensured that we are delivering for them. We are investing more in things like aged care, we are funding permanent urgent care clinics, we are supporting community housing for young people at risk of homelessness and we are making sure that the child support system is safer and fairer so that single parents and their children get the support they are owed.

We know that people are under pressure, and we know that global events are having an impact here at home. We also know that Australians expect more from their government than just commentary from the sidelines. That is why we are delivering real tax cuts for workers and backing higher wages.

It's why we are making medicines cheaper and making urgent care clinics permanent, as well as ensuring there are more bulk-billing GP practices. It's making sure that if you work hard, look after your family and contribute to your community you have the chance to genuinely get ahead. That is exactly what this Albanese Labor government is committed to—today and every day.