MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Ms SITOU (Reid) (15:43): Today, 1 July, is an important day. Mark it in your diaries. I do want to thank the shadow treasurer for bringing this matter of public importance to us, because it gives us on this side of the House an opportunity to talk about all the changes that are coming in today, because today all Australians get more help.
Today, every taxpayer gets another tax cut. Today, over three million workers get a pay rise, and today paid parental leave will expand to a full six months. Today, Medicare urgent care clinics become a permanent part of our healthcare system.
Today, small businesses get the certainty of a permanent $20,000 instant asset write-off. Today, payday super begins, so workers' super is paid with their wages, not left sitting in an employer's account for months. Today, we take stronger action on supermarkets that are price gouging.
Today, Australians can access three hours of free energy through our solar sharer program. Today, the Albanese government says to all Australians that we are working hard to help you. More than 14 million taxpayers get another tax cut.
But what did the coalition do when the tax package came before the parliament? What did they do? They opposed it.
I know the member for Lindsay has suggested that the Liberal Party ought to rebrand. My reaction to that—and I'm going to be as parliamentary as possible here—is that you can't polish turd. There's no dressing up a dud political party.
If you vote against tax cuts for all Australian taxpayers, if you vote against helping first home buyers to buy their first home, if you vote against super on government funded paid parental leave, if you vote against payday super, if you vote against same job, same pay, then you are voting against all Australians. That tells you everything about the modern Liberal Party.
And there is no rebranding, no new name, no new logo that is going to fix a party that is rotten to the core. While we on this side of the House supported a pay increase for those on the minimum wage, helping around three million workers, the Liberal Party opposed that wage increase for our lowest paid workers. They spent nearly a decade telling Australians that low wages were a deliberate design feature of their economic policy.
No rebranding is going to change that. While Labor is strengthening Medicare, increasing bulk-billing rates and making Medicare urgent care clinics a permanent part of our healthcare system, the Liberal Party froze the Medicare rebate and they wanted to introduce a GP tax. Again, no rebranding is going to change that.
The Liberal Party are now becoming the Enron and Kodak of brands. They are badly damaged and irreparable and will be a footnote in history. One Nation is no better, because let's remember what we've seen from Senator Hanson in the past few weeks.
She opposed paid parental leave, and then she sort of supported it but not really. I think it's because she fundamentally doesn't understand what it is. It isn't a welfare measure.
It is good economic policy because it keeps parents connected to work, it supports women's participation and it gives parents more time with their children. Today is a great day because we are saying to parents, 'We want you to spend more time at home with your children.' We are expanding the government's paid parental leave to 26 weeks. That's more cuddles, more kisses—a lot more sleepless nights!
But it's a great thing for our country.