There is a better option
WHEN the cost of the necessities of life, like food and clothing, grows faster than the pay packets of Australians, there is something wrong with our nation.
Australians work hard. We look after each other, a feature of our national character that has come to the fore during the Covid pandemic.
Yet our federal Liberal government boasts it is deliberately keeping a lid on wages growth. It is led by a Prime Minister in Scott Morrison who believes our lowest-paid workers don’t deserve a pay rise that allows them to keep up with inflation. He can’t even agree with the concept that all workers, including delivery drivers in the gig economy, are entitled to the minimum wage.
Today Australians have a chance to vote for something better.
The choice is between a tired Liberal government that is out of puff and out of ideas, or a Labor government with a clear plan for a better future for our nation.
Labor’s plan is about a stronger economy, more jobs, greater security of work and higher wages so Australian families can get ahead.
We’ll tackle Mr Morrison’s cost-of-living crisis by making childcare cheaper, making electricity cheaper, and by boosting economic productivity, allowing employers to maintain profits while also giving their employees’ pay rises.
We will end the climate wars and seize the job creation opportunities that will come with greater use of renewable energy.
Renewable energy is not only clean; it is also cheap. Using cheaper energy, Australia can be a nation that makes things again. We can revitalise Australian manufacturing, creating thousands of new jobs across the nation and giving birth to new export industries that will make Australia a renewable energy superpower.
Labor’s Powering Australia Plan, fully modelled by RepuTex and endorsed by the Business Council of Australia, the National Farmers’ Federation and a range of other business and industry organisations, will cut household power bills by $275 a year by 2025 and create 604,000 new jobs, with five out of six of these new jobs in regional Australia.
To ensure Australians have the skills needed to fill these new jobs, we will create 20,000 new university places and 465,000 fee-free TAFE places in areas like the traditional trades, advanced manufacturing and the care industries like nursing and aged care.
The royal commission into aged care described the care of our oldest Australians as a national disgrace. Labor has a comprehensive plan to improve care standards and ensure every nursing home in the country has a registered nurse on duty 24/7.
We’ll strengthen Medicare, making it easier to see a doctor, including by creating 50 new Medicare urgent-care clinics where Australians will receive bulk-billed care for non-lifethreatening emergencies. One of these clinics will be built in the Geelong region to help take pressure off the hospital emergency department.
And we will cut the maximum cost of medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from $42.50 to $30 a script.
A Labor government will also fix the National Broadband Network to give more Australians, including small businesses, access to stateof-the-art broadband.
We’ll boost teaching standards in schools and fix Mr Morrison’s National Disability
Insurance Scheme mess.
Labor’s plans are sensible and affordable.
We aren’t proposing a revolution. But we are proposing renewal using the power of government to make our great nation even better.
After a decade of needless division under the Liberals, Australians have conflict fatigue. They are tired of politicians who don’t step up to their responsibilities and pick arguments rather than seek outcomes.
We’ll work with other levels of government, business, unions and other interest groups to explore areas of shared interest, like economic growth and job creation, creating a partnership in progress to advance the national interest.
Australians have been magnificent during the Covid pandemic. We have endured hardship and adversity together, looking after each other and caring for our community.
As we move away from the pandemic, we have a fantastic opportunity to build back stronger and to create a better future for ourselves and future generations.
Labor stands ready to lead that journey.
The choice on Saturday is between more of the same or a better future for all Australians.