Julian Hill
Bruce · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“We want people to aspire to home ownership and to get into the housing market, and yet for the past 20 years it has felt like, however fast they save on the treadmill, house prices just race ahead twice as fast—and that's what the data shows. The opposition's policy depends on who you ask.”
“For those listening at home, Narrabundah is a pretty wealthy suburb in Canberra. He was standing in front of a flat this morning that, in 2006, sold for $420,000. The asking price today is $900,000. He thinks that's not a problem. He thinks nothing needs to change.”
“One of the things that we've been hearing over the last couple of weeks, out in the community—I was at the Berwick market on Sunday morning; around Dandenong at lunchtime—is the question of house prices. What's going to happen with house prices with the government's tax changes? I want to make a couple of points.”
“The definition of insanity, of course, is doing the same thing and expecting a different result, which is what we see from the Liberal Party. Actually, I'm going to contradict myself; I'll finish on this point. They do have one policy for housing: super for housing.”
“Seven out of 10 for performance art. There were a few questions I was actually looking forward to responding to, but unfortunately the opposition chose to call a bunch of silly divisions and has eaten into the time, so we've run out of time. Proposed expenditure agreed to.”
“The truth is, from when the government was elected four years ago, debt is in a better place. It's lower, deficits are lower and the debt-to-GDP ratio is lower. The fact is—and you can see it in the budget papers in black and white—the budget is in far, far better shape than the mess that the Liberals left behind.”
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“If we want to see Australian nurses trained, this is a cost of living measure that incentivises it. Early childhood certificate III in South Australia—we need skilled early childhood workers. You're a paediatrician, Deputy Speaker Freelander; one of the smartest investments we can make in our future economic wealth is investing in good early childhood training. That is $4,400 saved, and that incentivises students into that. A certificate of agriculture in Queensland can save $5,250. In the ACT, cybersecurity—we have a massive cybersecurity workforce shortage in this country—can save $3½ thousand. But at least the opposition is consistent; I'll give them that.”
“You can apparently go to lunch by yourself at the golf club and have a $10,000 lunch, and that's okay, but they don't support free TAFE. So it's an important clue. Skilling Australians is wasteful spending, according to the Liberal Party, but you've got to cut free TAFE to pay for your boss's long lunch. The government has a different vision. Skills and TAFE are critical for the economy, for Australia's future and, as I said, for cost-of-living help right now. Let's put a couple of numbers on the record. Thousands of dollars are being saved by Australians right now from free TAFE. A student in Victoria studying the diploma of nursing can save up to $17,700. That's an enormous amount. We need more nurses. I want to see Australian nurses trained, as I said, so we can rely less on overseas skilled migration.”
“Never before in the history of our Westminster democracy has the alternative government been so disrespectful of Australians that they're actually saying, 'We're not going to tell you what we're going to do after the election; we're just going to make cuts.' That is $315 billion of secret cuts, 'but we'll tell you after the election.' Of course, that's only the tip of the iceberg because they've got to find $600 billion to pay for their risky nuclear reactor fantasy, and goodness knows how much the long lunches are going to cost—somewhere between $1.6 billion and $10 billion. It depends on how many people go out and take the full $20,000 tax deduction on the taxpayer so Australian taxpayers will be paying for their bosses' long lunches.”
“We have a different view about universal services, and free TAFE is part of that. It's good for the economy and it's a cost-of-living measure. The other thing they've said about free TAFE is that it's 'wasteful spending.' There's an important clue here. One of the great mysteries that erupted outside this chamber last week is when the Leader of the Opposition said, We're going to make giant cuts to public services, but we're not going to tell you what they are until after the election.' 'Giant cuts, but we're keeping them a secret.' It's gaslighting the Australian people. It's trolling the Australian people.”
“It was what they fundamentally believe. The Liberal and National parties' history is to fight against universal services. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was the Labor Party that fought election after election to try and introduce Medicare. They don't like this, but this is the history of your party. You fought election after election, opposing Medicare, opposing— Well, it's history. It's there. Malcolm Fraser abolished the first version of Medicare, and then you went to election after election with John Howard and Andrew Peacock and John Howard until you finally learnt the lesson that you can't win an election in this country without at least pretending to support Medicare. It's the same philosophy. That's what they believe: if you don't pay for it, you don't value it.”
“'If you don't pay for it, you don't value it.' I think most parents in Australia have a different view. What about firefighters? If you take that philosophy, if you want the firefighters to come and put out a fire at your house, why don't you pay for it? Otherwise, you don't value it. What about lifeguards at the beach, emergency departments in hospitals or GPs? It was when the current Leader of the Opposition, Mr Dutton, was health minister—you might remember that he was voted the worst health minister in 40 years by the doctors—he implemented that philosophy, the one that they still espouse today, of 'If you don't pay for it, you don't value it.' He literally tried to destroy Medicare bulk-billing entirely by introducing a charge for every Australian to see the doctor. It wasn't just an accident policy. It wasn't a budget measure.”
“Well, she belled the cat on that one. It actually showed who they really are. When you take away all the nonsense language about aspiration they like to parade, they're there for those who already have the most wealth in the country, and they hate universal services. That's been a consistent threat for decades with the Liberal and National parties. They don't believe in aspiration and particularly supporting kids from lower socioeconomic circumstances, be it in the regions or the outer suburbs, to get a start in life, to get skilled, to get training and to get into well-paid jobs. If you take that Liberal philosophy of 'If you don't pay for something, you don't value it,' it actually starts to make sense of their world view and other things. What if you take that to school education?”
“This legislation makes free TAFE permanent and sets up the policy architecture where then we negotiate individual partnerships with each state and territory that adapt to the training system and adapt to what local industry and business and the economy need, as it should be. I'd encourage the opposition to actually look at the evidence and support the bill, but I'm not holding my breath. Every now and again, Deputy Speaker Buchholz, you know those moments—you've been here a while—someone says something in the chamber or around the building that makes your head spin, and you go: 'What? Did she just say that?' That was the Deputy Leader of the Opposition last year. She dropped the mask on free TAFE. She said: And remember this, and it's a key principle and tenet of the Liberal Party: if you don't pay for something, you don't value it.”
“It's absolutely fantastic talking to the free TAFE students in nursing, in manufacturing and in construction related trades, actually getting a start. So it's a cost-of-living measure and an economic measure. For nursing, health care, construction, energy and technology, it provides pathways to good, secure jobs. It has changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Australians already. I think the latest data was that around 568,000 Australians in just 21 months have accessed free TAFE. That's just in the first 21 months. And it is a partnership with the state and territories. It's not some doctrine from Canberra.”
“It's not rocket science that if you train more Australians and you don't do what they did over their wasted decade of decay and dysfunction, cutting billions from TAFE and the training and apprenticeships system, if you actually invest in training and skilling Australians, you reduce reliance on migration. That's what I'm up for. I'm up for giving Australians in the suburbs and the regions a chance at a good, well-paid job by removing those barriers to them pursuing careers. One of the things about free TAFE is that it allows governments to incentivise students to choose the courses in the areas of skill shortage that the economy needs. Last week, I was at Chisholm TAFE, which has campuses in Dandenong and Berwick in my electorate.”
“It's a cost-of-living policy to lower the cost and lower the barriers, particularly for kids from the suburbs and regions like the place I represent in outer south-east Melbourne, to actually access skills and training and provide that pathway into good, well-paid, secure, skilled jobs. But it's also smart economic policy. It is an investment in skills to drive our economic growth. It's critical. It's good for the economy. It's good for wages. It's good for employment. It's good for Australians. And it also reduces reliance on migration.”
“Most of it had nothing to do with the Free TAFE Bill; it was about the Victorian government. Most of it was to do with state government policies on the trading sector, but there you go. But using a reasonable voice doesn't make reason from nonsense. We've had speaker after speaker from the opposition, from the Liberal and National parties, at least coming clean about the choice, or one aspect of the choice, that Australians will face at the coming election—the Liberals will cut free TAFE, and this Labor government will invest in free TAFE. This bill means that free TAFE is here to stay.”
“It's always lovely to listen to the member for Flinders. I'm actually very fond of the member for Flinders. I don't want to jinx you. I don't want to jinx you on your side. This is not a doxing. But I've actually used you as an example in a conversation that I put on the public record only last week. The fact that you're on the backbench after such an accomplished speech, a professional woman who has actually been interested in public policy, and people like the chap here are on the frontbench says everything that's wrong about the modern Liberal Party—when someone of your intellect and contribution over decades is sitting up there. But, anyway, there you go. Thank you—he called me a loser. Thanks. We'll put that on the record too. It says more about you than me. But it is surreal, isn't it? At least that was a reasoned contribution.”