Anthony Albanese
Grayndler · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“The ground there at Brookvale Oval, as I call it, was of course sponsored by a gambling company, so every time there's a game on there you see that constant advertising around the ground. What our legislation will do is make sure that future contracts can't be issued with things such as advertising on jerseys or advertising on grounds.”
“She's someone who's passionate about it and tells me about her constituent who is 108 years old and travelled, as a very young boy, from South Australia with family for the opening of the first parliament—and he's still there. We hope he's able to attend again.”
“That is why, just this week, there was the increase in the minimum wage, the decrease in taxes, the support for paid parental leave, super being paid every payday. All of these changes make a positive difference to people's lives.”
“This year, Australia is celebrating 125 years of Federation, and I was with you and other members in Melbourne to commemorate that event of the first sitting of parliament, and it was a very good celebration of our history, which is worthy of celebration.”
“We Australians sometimes think of ourselves as a young nation on an ancient continent, yet by global standards, of course, we are one of the oldest and strongest democracies in the world. Next year will mark an important anniversary: the 100th anniversary of Australian democracy making its home here in Canberra, our national capital.”
“I note the member for McPherson, who's a former attendant in Parliament House, has agreed to be one of the members of that committee as well, and that's a good thing.”
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“So, at this election, after I addressed the big Pharmacy Guild conference—the first Prime Minister to do so—we promised to slash the cost of a PBS script to just $25. But, importantly as well, we have frozen the cost for concession cardholders to just $7.70 for the rest of the decade, making PBS medicines, at $25, the cheapest they have been since 2004. Bulk-billing is, of course, at the heart of Medicare, and it's also at the heart of our plans to ease the cost of living, so we've tripled the bulk-billing incentive first. We did it for concession cardholders, and we are now doing it for all Australians. We are investing $8½ billion to cover all 26 million Australians.”
“I thank the member for Forde for his question. Indeed, he understands and is proud of the fact that Labor created Medicare. It's also a fact that Labor created the PBS. Of course, our Labor government is very much focused on strengthening both while delivering real cost-of-living relief. In our first term, we brought down the cost of a PBS script from $42 to $30. That was the first time that PBS scripts had actually been lowered. Ever since it was introduced, they'd gone up—every now and again, over the years—so that they reached that point. We reduced it from $42 to $30, consistent with the policy that we took to the 2022 election. Indeed, that was the first reduction in the cost of medicines in eight decades—promised and then delivered. But we know that there is more work to do.”
“But it was terrific to go with the member and to see firsthand the resilience of those communities and be able to thank emergency service workers and others. At the worst of times we always see the best of the Australian character, and we did on that occasion as well. I'll take on notice that question by the member and will respond appropriately to him, and I undertake to do that in the next week. I know that he is very passionate as a local member in being a strong advocate on these issues and that these communities certainly have suffered a lot. I thank him for the question, and I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper .”
“I thank the member for Calare for his question. As he knows, I went to Eugowra on two occasions during that period, including with the member. We provided substantial support in partnership, not just to Eugowra but to places like Forbes. I think the redistribution might have had an impact, but they were in the member for Riverina's electorate at that time as well. And we worked with the state government to ensure that that community that had been devastated received support. It was quite extraordinary seeing the power of the floodwaters lifting up whole bridges and moving them. Steel structures were literally hundreds of metres from where they had been for many, many decades. In addition to that, the human impact was devastating on that community.”
“I met with all of the councils earlier today, and they thanked the government for the work that we are doing when it comes to South Australia's algal bloom. This is an ecological event that is directly related to the impacts we are seeing right across our continent from climate change. What we have seen here is floodwaters coming through the Murray-Darling Basin, out through the Coorong and into the ocean, at a time when extra nutrients have therefore gone into the water and the water is two degrees hotter than it would normally be at this time of the year. This is not something that is the result of any single government action. This is something that I've met with the South Australian government on. Importantly, we have provided a range of funding. Indeed, every bit of funding that we have been asked for has been provided.”
“When it comes to the follow-up then, we had a question to the Deputy Prime Minister alleging something like a fake moon landing—that meetings that were held by the Deputy Prime Minister with the Vice President of the United States—”
“I find it absolutely extraordinary that the shadow minister for trade has asked a question about our deteriorating relationship with our most important partner, the United States, in the presence of a US congressperson. I refer to the comments of the Deputy Prime Minister, who spoke very clearly about the parties of government in Australia and the way that we deal with serious issues. Today, we have had question time begin with a question essentially seeking information from our intelligence agencies. In the answer that I gave, I quoted the former head of the intelligence committee who, on 2GB just this morning, outlined why, at that time and even since, he would not give that information about why decisions are made and that intelligence basis. That is the way that it operates between adults.”
“We've established mandatory customer ID pre-verification for online wagering. We've implemented monthly win-loss statements. We've strengthened classification of video games that contain gambling-like content. We'll continue to work on these areas, as we've said. We want to break the connection between wagering and sport. A lot of that has been done voluntarily, as well, by the sporting organisations, who understand the damage that can be caused. Gambling is legal in Australia. We respect people's right to have a punt, but we also have a responsibility to make sure that the industry acts responsibly, and that's what we're doing.”
“I thank the member for Curtin for her question. With respect, I say that it is not correct to say that we haven't responded. We have done more as a government than any government in Australia's history since Federation. It's as simple as that. BetStop, the self-exclusion register, has been in operation for two years as of last week and is making an enormous difference. We have launched the National Self-Exclusion Register. At the end of July, it had recorded 46,369 total registrations, including 30,750 active exclusions. Thirty-nine per cent of current registrants have chosen a lifetime ban. The problem that we see with gambling isn't someone having a punt on a Saturday at the pub. It is ongoing addiction to gambling, which can be incredibly harmful. We have banned the use of credit cards for online wagering.”
“We've even got your back if you are not working on the weekend but you're at the local pub, because one of the things we've done is to freeze the draught beer excise so you and your mates can have a cheaper pint this weekend to make a big difference as we go forward. Lower student debt, higher wages, supportive housing policies and cheaper beer—that's what my government is about, and it's what we are delivering for young Australians.”
“This is so important, because penalty rates are the things that can make a difference for people, whether they are people working full time or just working on hours that disrupt their quality of life. If you're working on a Saturday night, on a Sunday or on a public holiday, you should be compensated for what you are giving up, and that is what this legislation will ensure. We're also, of course, fast-tracking the five per cent deposit plan to 1 October, wiping years off the time it takes young first home buyers to save a deposit and getting them into a home quicker. So, whether you're a young Australian at work, you're looking to buy a home or you're paying off student debt, this government has your back through all of these measures to make a difference.”
“I thank the member for Bonner for her question. Indeed my government is delivering for all Australians, and that includes young Australians, to give them an opportunity to get ahead and achieve their goals in life, and we've been doing a lot of that in the last week. We've cut student debt by 20 per cent, of course, benefiting three million students and apprentices, who will save an average of $5½ thousand each. We, of course, have legislated free TAFE so young Australians can get the skills that they need for the jobs that they want. Today, importantly, legislation has passed both houses to enshrine penalty rates into law, to protect weekend and overtime pay. So, if you're a young person who relies on penalty rates now, you can trust they will be there in the future.”
“I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the question. There have been a range of comments made in just the last 24 hours. On Monday we received the information and the advice. On Monday afternoon we had the appropriate committees enacted. By Tuesday, we had got our personnel out of Iran to safety and had expelled the ambassador here from Australia, along with three other diplomats from the Iranian embassy. We received bipartisan support, I recall, for that action, but it appeared that it didn't last too long. The member asked about information and when it came back. Indeed, to quote someone: 'Yes, there were calls to list the IRGC back when I was the chair of the intelligence committee, which was from 2017 through to late 2020. The government makes those decisions.”
“It's an organisation and a body that I have participated in for more than a couple of decades now, and a really practical way in which Australians and Americans can get to know each other in that personal way. Welcome, Congressman Smith—good travels while you're here. I look forward to engaging with you in a few weeks time while I'm in the US.”
“Ours is an alliance between free peoples and proud democracies that enjoys bipartisan respect and support from both sides of politics here in Australia and also in the United States. I look forward to continuing to work with Congressman Smith, other members of congress in the senate, and members of the US administration, including President Trump. Congressman Smith's presence here comes just a couple of weeks after the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue I was able to host at Kirribilli House, the prime minister's residence in Sydney, and it was a great privilege to do so. I know Congressman Smith and I both participated in the AALD when it was held in Perth in 2019.”
“I am absolutely delighted to welcome United States Congressman Jason Smith to the Australian House of Representatives today. Congressman Smith will be known to many members of this House as the Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. He has met with many ministers over the last couple of days. As parliamentarians, we understand the hugely important role that committee plays in shaping the policies of the congress and delivering on the priorities of President Trump's administration. I am so pleased that yesterday we had the opportunity in my office to have a lengthy meeting. It wasn't all talk about politics, it must be said. It was a conversation which reaffirmed the friendship that we have, based upon people-to-people relations between Australians and Americans.”
“This is what was stolen by gunfire—two lives full of future happiness and years of happy memories that should have been made and treasured with others. It will take time before we have a full and clear picture of what led to Tuesday's terrible events. Today we can say this with absolute certainty, and I say it not just on behalf of this parliament but as Australia's Prime Minister on behalf of every Australian: Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson was a hero; Senior Constable Vadim De Waart was a hero. They will be honoured and remembered as heroes by Victoria Police, by Victorians, by all of us and all Australians. With honour, they served; may they rest in peace.”
“That is a truth for all of us to remember, because when someone starts being a police officer, they don't stop being a son or a brother, a daughter or a sister, a beloved partner or a mate. We see that in the tributes to Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, recognising not just his distinguished service but also his deep love of the outdoors and the long list of things he wanted to do in his upcoming retirement, the new chapter of his life he was so looking forward to sharing with his devoted partner, Lisa. The same is true for Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, someone who came to Australia from Belgium and signed up to serve his new community in his new home. He is being remembered for his passions and enthusiasms, his love of travel, motorbikes, scuba diving and his determination to fill his days with discovery.”
“The death of any officer in the line of duty goes to the heart of every member of the police family. The terrible events at Porepunkah are a sombre reminder to all of us of the dangers that police officers face to keep our families and communities safe. Every time they put on their uniform, police officers put themselves on the line—they do it for us—and every day carries the cruel possibility that the very worst could happen, that you could walk down a driveway, knock on a door and have it open into a nightmare. In their tribute to their fellow officers, the Victorian police association said that they 'were more than the uniforms they wore and were defined by more than the selfless work they performed'.”
“This difficult and dangerous task is being carried out in very challenging conditions. I've been speaking regularly with Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, and I want to make it clear that the Commonwealth stands ready to provide any support required now or in the future. I understand that in these raw, early days the close-knit community of Porepunkah is grappling with a sense of horror and disbelief, the cold anguish that something like this could happen in their peaceful and beautiful part of Victoria. I know that the member for Indi, who I spoke with this morning, shares in that grief. There will be a time to process this, to come together as a community and to try to come to terms with it. But right now the most important thing for everyone in the area to do is to listen to the police, follow official advice and keep yourselves safe.”
“on indulgence—All members of this House and, indeed, all Australians are thinking of the families, loved ones and colleagues of the two Victoria Police officers who were killed in the line of duty on Tuesday morning. As a parliament and as a country we offer our deepest condolences to all whose worlds have been shattered by this horrific shooting. Our hearts go out to everyone whose heart is breaking. We honour the bravery of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, and our hopes and prayers are with their fellow officers who were at the scene, including one currently in The Alfred hospital in Melbourne receiving treatment for their wounds. Right now, Victoria Police are still engaged in their search for the killer at the centre of these terrible events.”
“We're already opening up the additional Medicare urgent care clinics that we committed to. Bulk-billing is being expanded from November. As of 1 August, we will have frozen indexation of draft beer excise for two years—a very popular policy. Who can't drink to that? Aged-care nurses will receive the next instalment of their pay rise in October following the first instalment in March. Of course, our tax cuts will kick in next year and the year after. When we said we wanted to give a tax cut to all 14 million Australians, it was described by those opposite as a betrayal, treachery, trickery, shameful class warfare and a war on aspiration. They said it would obliterate opportunity and crash confidence. No. What it's doing is providing tax cuts for all 14 million Australians. That's a good thing.”
“The 30 per cent off home batteries we know from the minister today has delivered for 40,000 households a permanent reduction in their power bills as well as all Australians benefiting from pressure taken off the grid. There's been a boost to Medicare with the additional $1.8 billion in extra hospital funding kicking in. There's more choice, lower costs and high-quality care for Australian women through the largest health package directed towards women that has ever been introduced in this parliament. And there's been the extension of the $20,000 instant asset write-off for another year. All of that kicked in on 1 July, but further actions are rolling out through 2025. The legislation that we have now passed to reduce student debt by 20 per cent will benefit three million Australians by an average of $5½ thousand.”
“I thank the member for Werriwa for her question and for her fantastic work in south-west Sydney. I was very proud to launch the member for Werriwa's re-election campaign, and a very successful campaign it was, based upon the cost-of-living assistance that we provided in our first term but also committing to cost-of-living assistance in our second term. From 1 July, we have delivered a 3.5 per cent pay rise for all minimum wage workers and award wage workers, taking the total increase under Labor to over $9,000. Those opposite never ever put in a submission saying that people who are minimum wage workers should be looked after. The super guarantee rose to 12 per cent on 1 July. More energy bill relief kicked in. A $10,000 bonus for housing apprentices on top of their wages kicked in as well.”
“But we know how important these facilities are to the Mount Isa community. I make this point as well. Part of the Future Made in Australia agenda is our understanding that areas like critical minerals are important for us, that they are impacted by policies, whether it be domestic policies of some countries, such as the United States—the changes that they have made to tariffs—or the actions of countries such as China and the way that they've responded on international markets. We'll continue to work constructively. I know how important this is for the member for Kennedy. I was there this year, as I have been just about every year. I'd ask Minister Conroy to supplement the answer.”
“I thank the member for Kennedy for his usual eloquence when it comes to asking a question—and, indeed, my spirits have been uplifted whenever I have been with him in Mount Isa, including by being the first prime minister I think since Hawkie to go to the Mount Isa rodeo, as well as when visiting the facilities at Glencore, which I have done on at least four occasions over the years both the member for Kennedy and myself have been in this chamber. I understand and am very sympathetic with the member's position. The minister for industry and science—and I'll ask his rep here to supplement this answer—has been working with the Queensland premier Crisafulli. I have had direct discussions with the Premier as well. The closure of the Glencore copper mine has had a direct impact on its copper smelter and other facilities in the region.”
“That came through on Monday. We had appropriate meetings and acted, like adults, in the national interest. That is what we will continue to do.”
“On these issues we take advice from the intelligence agencies. We go through our appropriate processes, including our National Security Committee. We look at the legislation, which, at the moment, would not enable us to list—the legislation that we inherited, as well, from the former government. The member for Canning has made it very clear that he has had that view for a period of time, going back prior to him being a minister—indeed, as chair of the committee—and spoke about the fact that members, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Home Affairs, the former leader of the opposition, the former member for Dickson as well, all sat on those committees. This was a time when the chair of the intelligence committee, according to themselves, was recommending this. What we have done is take advice from the intelligence agencies.”
“Sometimes they get all contorted just trying to find ways to say no. That's what's going on here. But it's worse than that, of course, because now they're coming after renters. Senator Bragg has said that the build-to-rent scheme is 'a massive conspiracy between Mr Chalmers, the unions and the big super funds to become perpetual landlords'. Drum the spooky music background here. But he was beaten by Senator Roberts in the debate over there, who thinks that build to rent is part of the World Economic Forum's agenda—conspiracy theory. I kid you not. These are the bedfellows of those opposite in trying to just oppose everything. It's like they're allergic to helping Australians into housing. They're allergic to trying to help renters. They haven't learnt. They haven't changed. Their negativity is just getting stranger. (Time expired)”
“That includes Wagga Wagga, where I gave a lift to the member for Riverina this morning for the bush summit. Now the average first home buyer in Wagga can save a five per cent deposit in a couple of years, not the usual nine years it would take to save 20 per cent. The same first home buyer will save $27,000 in mortgage insurance, which will make an enormous difference. Think of the difference it will make to young people in the regions as well as in our suburbs. Now, unfortunately, the news hasn't been welcomed by everyone. The coalition's housing spokesperson has had a lot to say about five per cent deposits. He continues to say that it's about helping billionaires. The idea that billionaires are worried about whether it's a five per cent or a 20 per cent deposit for a $700,000 property is just bizarre.”
“I thank the member for Petrie for her question and congratulate her on her election and her first speech. She welcomed me to North Lakes, where we had good discussions with locals around the shopping centre there over a period of time. They certainly were very keen on our housing policy, because that is a growing area of Queensland. It's a beautiful area of Queensland. It's now serviced by a train line, first promised in 1895 but delivered as a result of our former government's response. Today in parliament, Minister O'Neil formally fast-tracked our five per cent deposit plan for first home buyers to start from 1 October this year. We're bringing it forward so that every Australian who wants to buy a home of their own, whether they live in the city or the bush, can have the opportunity to do so.”
“The member who asked the question has a record of standing up on racial issues across the board, including through his support for Indigenous Australians. What we're seeing here, though, is a political response which is entirely inappropriate and entirely different from the leadership of the Jewish community that he mentions. Indeed—”
“He did another interview yesterday. Yesterday he said, 'I think we should have listed the IRGC sooner, but I understand that our intelligence agencies had to stack it all up and do so in a forensic manner.' We take these issues very seriously. We listen to intelligence agencies. We don't try to second guess them, as occurred with the caravan incident. We wait for the proper advice. We get proper briefings and then we act on them. We act by taking the advice of ASIO as well as the Australian Federal Police. We got the advice on Monday morning and acted as soon as possible, given the need to get Australian personnel out of Tehran safely.”
“The bipartisanship shown yesterday in the statements, 'We offer unequivocal bipartisan support to what is the response of the government,' and, 'I want to make it abundantly clear on behalf of the coalition that, while we sit opposite from the government in this chamber, we are entirely united behind the measures announced,' hasn't lasted that long. The member for Canning did an interview this morning where he was asked, 'Why didn't the coalition list it during its time in government?' The member for Canning responded: That's a good question. I was the chair of the intelligence committee. I was always keen to list it. That's for whoever was in government then to explain. To be very clear, he's talking about the then attorney-general, the then leadership and the various ministers that were then in office. That interview was today.”
“So, from 1 January, under this legislation, every Australian with a Medicare card who isn't on a concession card will pay a maximum of $25 for a PBS prescription. This is a cut of more than 20 per cent. That will save Australians more than $200 million each and every year. PBS scripts will be the cheapest they've been since 2004. It adds to the more than $1.3 billion that Australians have already saved from cheaper medicines. It was a clear commitment that we made at the election. I've made it clear that our priority is a year of delivery on the commitments that we were elected on, on 3 May. We've made a commitment to Australia and with this legislation we are delivering.”
“The women's health package that we've put in place—which the assistant minister at the table was so central to delivering—together with the member for Dobell and the minister, they have had a comprehensive plan for healthcare, whether it's cheaper medicines, urgent care clinics providing that mid-point between emergency departments and the local GP, providing for more bulk-billing by having the largest-ever increase in Medicare funding since Medicare was created, proudly, by the Hawke government. We did all of this in consultation with the sector. Earlier this year, I was the first Prime Minister—which I found remarkable—to ever address the national conference of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia. It was in Queensland that we made this announcement that was so important.”
“One of them is Cara, who I had the privilege of meeting a few weeks ago. Cara has endometriosis, and she's had it since she was 11. When Cara moved out of home, she had to stop her treatments because she couldn't afford them, and her health got worse—an all-too-common story. Thanks to Labor's cheaper medicines policy, Cara can now get the medication she needs. In her words: 'I wouldn't have been able to afford this medicine last year, but now I can, making an enormous difference.' Of course, that goes on top of not just the urgent care clinics that we're opening—an additional 50 more. The health minister and I were in Victoria just a couple of weeks ago, announcing the opening of the first three on top of the 87. Now we're up to 90 and rising when it comes to urgent care clinics right across Australia.”
“This legislation builds on our legacy in providing cheaper medicines, not just from the level that we reduced them to first, but by reducing them to just $25. We know that there's an old saying that my mum used to say and others have too: 'Nothing goes down in price.' Guess what. Under this government the price of medicines goes down not once but twice and by big amounts. They will be the same price as they were in 2004, more than 20 years ago. In addition to that, we have frozen the cost of medicines at $7.70 until the end of the decade. For all Australians, January marked the first time for more than 25 years that the price of medicines didn't rise with inflation. As each phase of medicines becomes eligible, millions of Australians with an ongoing health condition are getting a bit more help with their cost of living.”
“Yes, we do want to see an expansion of the urgent care clinics that have been so successful, with more than 1½ million Australians benefiting from getting the care they need, when they need it, close to where they live, and all they have needed is their Medicare card.' And we know that, of those, about one-third have been under the age of 15, so that, when little Steve or Mary falls off their bike or has an accident while playing sport on the weekend, they can go and get that immediate care. They're not clogging up the emergency departments of hospitals, not waiting hours while more life-threatening conditions jump the queue—quite rightly, because they're the priority in an emergency department. But they're getting the treatment they need, when they need it, and doing it with just their Medicare card.”
“In addition to that, we introduced a tripling of the Medicare bulk-billing incentive for people who were concession card holders, and, in addition to that, we introduced 60-day prescriptions, rather than just every month, saving people visits to the doctor and saving Australians money. All of these measures were opposed by those opposite. And the Australian people gave their verdict on 3 May. On 3 May they said: 'Yes, we do want a government that cares about cost of living. Yes, we do want a government that prioritises health care.”
“I'm very proud to speak to this legislation that goes to the heart of one of the defining distinctions in Australian politics—that we, on this side of the House, understand that Medicare and the provision of health services should be on the basis of need, not on the basis of how wealthy you are. It also goes to one of the big distinctions, which is that, post the pressures that were on Australian families arising from COVID and then from global inflation, we, on this side of the House, continued to prioritise cost-of-living help for Australians—all of the measures opposed by those opposite. In our first term, of course, we decreased the cost of medicines on the PBS by $12.”
“They tell stories about harassment on campuses, just like students in the member's area have been impacted because they are easily identifiable because of their school uniform. That is not the Australian way. The Australian way is to respect each other regardless of people's faith and regardless of their origin and to engage in constructive dialogue about issues, not to engage in the sort of activity which we have seen. We have taken strong action against Iran as a result of this. My government stands by it. I know it's received the support of the opposition and, I'm sure, the member for Wentworth as well. I would hope every member of this parliament supports the strong action we have taken, which is entirely appropriate given the revelations and the findings that the ASIO director-general and the Australian Federal Police have made.”
“What we need to do is to make sure that we advance peace and security for people in Israel and Palestine. But what we certainly can have control over here is making sure that we don't bring conflict here, that we promote social cohesion. I congratulate the member, because that is something I know she has been undertaking as the local member for Wentworth. We have a range of programs, including the increased security arrangements around schools and around synagogues. That's the increased support that we have put forward. We will continue to have a dialogue with the community and to work with them to ensure that, like other Australians, they feel safe. Every Australian should feel safe. Yesterday I spoke again with the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, who are here somewhere, as I have every year for a long period of time.”
“They've worked very closely with the Jewish community and with other communities as well. We informed the Jewish community leaders prior to the one o'clock press conference that was held this afternoon as well so that they could watch what the director-general of ASIO, Mr Burgess, in particular, had to say because that was so important. The attack on the Lewis Continental Kitchen occurred on 20 October. There was another attack that we saw on a restaurant in Melbourne in more recent times as well. People can have different views about the Middle East, and it's absolutely legitimate for people to put forward those views. What is not legitimate is to blame Jewish Australians if they disagree with the policy of the Israeli government or to blame Arab or Muslim Australians for the actions of Hamas or other people.”
“I thank the member for Wentworth for her question and for her constructive engagement on behalf of her community about these issues. I think all Australians have been concerned about the rise in antisemitism and the rise of social division that has occurred. I have visited the synagogue in Bondi Junction and spoken directly with the community. I have visited the Jewish Museum in the member's electorate, where we announced additional funding for an expansion and, indeed, met some wonderful survivors of the Holocaust, who went through their personal experiences as well. The information that ASIO has determined is quite shocking. This is a serious attack perpetrated essentially on behalf of a foreign government on Australian soil. The intelligence agencies as well as the Australian Federal Police have undertaken this work.”
“I'll give credit where credit's due. It takes some guts to talk about division in a party room—from people who have just come from a room over there where they were queuing up. The leader of the Liberal Party in the Senate led the charge to abolish net zero in the party room today, and they were queuing up one after the other. They are all over the shop. We have two former deputy prime ministers getting together. It's one of the great romances we've ever seen in this place—the member for Riverina and the member for New England.”
“This is what he said: This is an uncapped scheme which is available to billionaires … The idea that if you are a billionaire you're out there worried about whether you get a five per cent deposit or a 20 per cent deposit—that probably isn't the objective of the people this is aimed at. It's aimed at people like Abbey and Lachie who we met yesterday. They're 23-year-olds who are trying to get into their first home and who've stayed with Abbey's mum and dad in order to save a deposit. But it's extraordinary that those opposite just don't get it. Yesterday they were going to have the vote on it in the Senate, but it's been postponed for a day because their housing spokesperson was in his second home, at the Sky News studio. He was on Credlin , being interviewed by Steve Price, because not even Credlin was on Credlin last night!”
“It was at 17 per cent when the coalition left office, and it has fallen down to 1.6 per cent under Labor. Yesterday, we announced our fast-tracking of the five per cent deposit plan. I note the support that that has received from first home buyers. It means wiping years off the time it takes to save for a deposit and saving thousands of dollars in mortgage insurance. Overwhelmingly, this has been welcomed by young Australians, who dream of homeownership. But I regret to inform the House that it hasn't been welcomed by everyone. Yesterday morning, the coalition's housing spokesperson went on 2GB and said, 'Why should the children of billionaires get access to a government program?' He was talking about the children of billionaires. But, by the time he got onto Radio National, the class war was advancing.”
“I thank the member for Moreton for her question. We have a $43 billion Homes for Australia Plan. That is something that is helping more first home buyers, something that is helping to expand homeownership and something that is assisting renters but also supporting people by expanding social housing. The figures are in: new home starts are up strongly. New dwelling commencements were up 17 per cent in the March quarter. Completions of new homes are up 3.7 per cent compared to a year ago. All up, nearly 500,000 new homes have been added to stock since we came to office. Housing approvals are up 30 per cent compared to a year ago. And, in 2023-24, almost 9,000 more firms entered the building industry than exited. Importantly, construction cost inflation has fallen from a half-century high under the former government.”
“I thank the member for her question and for a question about tax policy not from the government but by people who attended a roundtable. Maybe it was the shadow Treasurer who was raising these things. I actually heard the shadow Treasurer say that everything was up for review and that they had an open mind. I do know this: two days before the last election, the member for Hume, who is a former shadow minister, snuck out the coalition costings, and they revealed a figure $75 billion higher in personal income taxes. That's right. They, including the former Deputy Leader of the Opposition, went to the election on that. Vote for us and you get $75 billion—”