CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Mr HILL (Bruce—Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs and Assistant Minister for International Education) (10:00): Can I also thank and commend the previous speaker for sharing that story with the parliament and recording that tribute in Hansard. We're back for a fortnight of parliament and on day two, the contrast couldn't be clearer.

On one side, you've got the government focused on things that matter to Australians: tackling the cost of living; the global inflation pressures, particularly from the war in Iran; cutting tax for working Australians in five different ways; and boosting wages. The policy of those opposite when they were in government was for real wages to go backwards. That was their deliberate economic strategy as they said.

There has been some really good news in the last week about Medicare bulk-billing. We inherited a bulk-billing rate in freefall, and we turned that around, with the largest investment in Medicare. Bulk-billing rates are now up to 84 per cent.

That means that 84 per cent of visits by Australians to GPs across the country are now free—no out-of-pocket expenses; 3,800 GP practices now fully bulk-bill their patients, 100 per cent. And fee-free TAFE: 800,000 enrolments. Having a great job changes lives, and Australians can now train without worrying about the cost of fees in critical skills-shortage areas.

That means more nurses, more tradies and more early childhood workers. The $10,000 tradies cash bonus is making a real difference. Anyone who is interested in a construction trade should take up this offer.

Then there is the extension of paid prac, which has already changed the lives of student nurses and teachers, to 10 other occupations—psychologists and so many more. And cheaper medicines—essential life-saving medicines—are saving hundreds of millions of dollars for Australians. The coalition and One Nation oppose all of this.

The contrast with the opposition rabble is astounding. This morning they've completely lost the plot. They had their senior members out there pulling political stunts, wasting police time with ridiculous referrals.

I want the Australian Federal Police focused on serious crimes that make a difference to Australians, not engaging in pathetic political stunts. And the opposition are now ripping each other to pieces trying to out-One-Nation One Nation. I saw John Howard, former Liberal prime minister, in the paper this morning reminding them of a few basic truths.

John Howard and his generation of Liberal and Nationals leaders knew back then that you couldn't give an inch to One Nation, that there was no backward step. Yet this mob are playing footsie, wanting to import from overseas the chaos and division that we see on television. They've forgotten the lesson of the Howard era—that playing footsie with this kind of politics is dangerous for our economy, for our society and for our place in the region.

I really encourage them to get their act together, to pull themselves together. But I saw on TV this morning that they've now got a plan, which they're waving around; it looks like they've discovered ChatGPT. There's nothing in the plan, but it's got a lovely cover!