QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE: TAKE NOTE OF ANSWERS

Senator STEWART (Victoria) (15:32): I also rise to take note of answers given during question time today, and I want to start by saying that it really is quite bold to come in here and lecture a truckie about the trucking industry. It really was quite bold, I thought. If anybody knows the ins and outs of the trucking industry, it is the great senator I have the privilege to sit beside in this chamber, and that is Senator Sterle.

I want to cover a number of topics that were raised today during question time and cover some of the things that this government is doing to take the pressure off Australian families and small business. I also want to say something about the gall of those opposite pretending to care about the pressures that working families are under when it comes to fuel and cost-of-living relief, because their record in this place does tell a really different story.

When this parliament considered closing loopholes and same job, same pay, those opposite opposed reforms designed to stop workers being undercut and create a fairer playing field for responsible business. They opposed minimum standards for gig workers and microbusinesses dealing with powerful overseas technology platforms. In road transport, they resisted measures that give small and medium operators a way to recover unavoidable costs—protections that matter even more when global fuel pressures squeeze already thin margins.

Cost-of-living policy cannot be reduced to slogans. It is about whether workers receive fair pay, whether a family can afford a prescription or see a doctor or whether a small business can keep its doors open with the costs of inputs rising. People feel these pressures in ordinary decisions every day at the supermarket checkout, when the electricity bill arrives, when they fill the car or when they put off an appointment because the family budget is stretched.

Small businesses feel the same pressures through higher energy, transport and supply costs, while they are still trying to pay staff, serve customers and remain a part of their local communities. That is why wages and workplace standards matter to the cost-of-living debate. When people are properly paid for the work that they do, they are better able to meet essential costs, and, when responsible businesses are not undercut by operators relying on insecure work and unfair contracting practices, the whole economy is stronger.

That is why the Labor government has acted. We've reduced the cost of medicines and expanded access to bulk-billing. We've cut taxes five times, delivering nearly $3,000 a year more for workers on average by 2028.

For small businesses, the instant asset write-off supports investment and cash flow. For transport operators, the standards established through closing loopholes provide a fairer way to deal with rising costs and powerful contracting parties. These measures protect jobs, strengthen supply chains and support the businesses communities rely on.

This is also about economic resilience. If a transport operator cannot recover the cost of fuel, vehicles come off the road, businesses fail and goods do not arrive where they are needed. The consequences are felt well beyond one company, by farmers, manufacturers, supermarkets and families across the country.

Sensible minimum standards help prevent the race to the bottom. Labor understands that household relief and small-business support go together. (Time expired)