Ms BYRNES (Cunningham) (16:11): I'm going to start by saying that I actually agree with one point of the member for Groom.
Honourable members: Good night!
Ms BYRNES: There's 'good night' as well—make that two. I also hope that we are talking about Labor's tax cuts at the next election. Eighty-four per cent of my electorate are going to benefit from these tax cuts and be better off, so I hope that at the next election we are still talking about this, because Australian families are under pressure and our Labor government is responding. From 1 July, every Australian will get a tax cut, because on this side of the chamber we want people to earn more and keep more of what they earn. That's why, as I said, 84 per cent of people in my community are receiving a bigger tax cut on their hard-earned wages.
Tackling cost-of-living pressures is our No. 1 priority. That's why we're working to cut taxes, boost wages, bring inflation under control and drive fairer prices for Australian consumers. We have seen the world and our country face unprecedented changes since 2018, when the coalition first introduced the stage 3 tax cuts. It is the role of government to make hard choices and not just easy choices. It is the role of government to respond to the country we have now and not to one that we lived in six years ago. We are doing the right thing for the right reasons. Our tax cuts are good for Middle Australia, good for women, good for young people, good for helping with cost-of-living pressures, good for labour supply and good for the economy.
Our tax cuts are in addition to our $23 billion cost-of-living package introduced last year. In the past 18 months, we have introduced cheaper child care. We've reduced the cost of medicine. We've funded fee-free TAFE, provided energy bill relief and backed a 15 per cent wage rise for 250,000 aged-care workers, just to name a few. Labor has also increased the rate of JobSeeker and rent assistance to ensure that those in greatest need receive the additional financial assistance that they deserve. And, from 1 July last year, the national minimum wage was increased by 5.75 per cent, and wages are still on the rise, predicted to rise by four per cent in the coming financial year.
We have made historic and record-breaking investments in Medicare after years of neglect by those opposite. As part of Labor's $6.1 billion strengthening Medicare reforms, we have tripled the bulk-billing incentive for GPs, making it easier and cheaper for people to see a doctor. In the Illawarra, we have already seen, as my friend the member for Whitlam knows, an increase in bulk-billing rates. In November and December alone, locals saved an estimated $480,000 in gap fees, helping to ease the cost of living in the Illawarra. Medicare is part of Labor's DNA. We are proud to have been the party that introduced universal health insurance to Australia, unlike those opposite, who continually seek to dismantle and disrupt it.
We also know that rising grocery prices are impacting millions of Australians experiencing cost-of-living pressure, and we are acting. On 24 January, we commissioned the ACCC to conduct an inquiry into Australia's supermarket sector and pricing practices to ensure that savings are passed on to our community—the consumer at the check-out.
When those opposite were last in government, their finance minister described low wage growth as 'a deliberate design feature of our economic architecture'. Well, at least he was honest. When the coalition talks about a fair go, it's not a fair go for all. For nine long years, it was the policy of those opposite to keep wages low. Labor's tax cuts will benefit all Australians, not just high-income earners. Low-income earners who were forgotten by the coalition's plan have been included in Labor's plan. From Woollahra to Wollongong and from Point Piper to Port Kembla, all Australians will receive a tax cut under our plan. In just 18 months, the Albanese Labor government has started to turn things around and deliver real outcomes for all Australians. We will help deliver the government's commitment of 30,000 new social and affordable rental homes in our Housing Australia Future Fund's first five years. We are getting on with rolling out the cost-of-living relief that is carefully calibrated to take the edge off pressure for our families.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ): I thank all members for their contribution today. The discussion has now concluded.
