I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, and I pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
It’s always good to be in Nowra. And it’s a pleasure to speak at the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre.
If you’re at a loose end next Saturday night, come back here and see Boy & Bear. They’re a great band who come out of Marrickville.
It’s so important that the lifeblood of the arts flows through here in all its forms, whether it’s a band on tour, or a permanent fixture like Bundanon just up the river from here.
It’s all part of what makes life tick in the great diversity of communities in regional NSW. And no one knows that better than you.
It gives me the greatest pleasure to be here with the members of what is easily the best country party Australia has ever known – Country Labor.
It’s great to be in a state that once again has a Labor Government, under the leadership of Premier Chris Minns.
And I’m especially pleased to be in a beautiful part of NSW that enjoys such strong representation – both at the federal level with my friend Fiona Phillips, and your great new voice in Macquarie Street, Liza Butler.
Whether it’s Liza or Fiona – or Fiona’s equally superb electorate neighbour, Kristy McBain – what they represent, indeed what all of you here represent is this fundamental truth: The people of country Australia find their best political representation in the Australian Labor Party.
Anyone who wants to know why regional NSW does best with a Labor government only needs to look at what we’ve already done – even just in the last two weeks.
In Parliament’s first sitting fortnight of the year, we introduced legislation to give all Australian taxpayers a tax cut.
We’re delivering tax cuts for all 13.6 million Australians.
Right across country NSW, 960,000 people will be getting a tax cut.
And over 86 per cent of regional workers across the nation will be getting a bigger tax cut than they would have under the Morrison Government’s plan.
Our tax cuts are aimed squarely at regional Australia. Our tax cuts are aimed squarely at middle Australia.
If you want positive change, vote Labor.
We wanted even more to show for our fortnight in the national Parliament, so we closed another round of workplace loopholes.
- We ended the concept of a forced permanent casual.
- We introduced world-leading minimum standards for gig economy workers, including rideshare drivers and delivery riders.
- We ensured a safe, sustainable and viable trucking industry.
- And we stopped unpaid, unreasonable overtime for workers through a right to disconnect.
We want Australians to earn more and keep more of what they earn. The Coalition wants Australians working longer, for less.
This is the stuff that only gets fixed when with a Labor government. And after nearly a decade of the other mob, we have work to do.
We are getting on with the job.
The Coalition’s just getting on its soapbox, shouting about how the world will end if Labor follows the Australian spirit of the fair go.
Their gut reaction was to oppose our tax cuts. Their first instinct was to promise to roll them back.
Then – because they actually heard the Australian people’s strong support for Labor’s tax cuts – they changed their mind, gritted their teeth and said they’d support them after all.
Even then, they’re still dreaming of rollbacks.
They have voted against every other cost of living measure we have introduced. They are so against it that in Parliament on Thursday, they even moved an amendment to take mentions of “cost of living” out of the Bill title.
They only ever take a stand when it’s to stand against something.
They offer no alternative plan. They have no idea on how to help middle Australia. They have no idea on to help regional Australia.
And the ideas never occur to them because you never occur to them.
They can change how they vote – they'll never change who they are.
Friends, this is the great divide in Australian politics.
We want you to earn more and keep more of what you earn.
The Liberals and Nationals want you to work longer for less.
And the first chance they get, they’ll walk away from middle Australia.
They talk about aspiration as if it’s something that only kicks in once your bank balance is big enough.
That’s the only measurement they apply because it’s the only one they know.
In the Labor Party, we know aspiration doesn’t start at the top tax bracket.
Aspiration is about the life you want to make for yourself and your family.
The security and opportunity you want to build.
The society and community you want to live in.
The environment you want your grandchildren to inherit.
Our definition of aspiration is inclusive, not exclusive.
We don’t doubt that people on high incomes work hard for their money.
That’s why our tax cuts travel all the way up the income scale.
But in the Labor Party, we know that our economy, our prosperity, our country is driven by the hard work of millions of low and middle-income Australians in the outer suburbs, in the country towns, right across the regions.
The Liberal tax plan had no room for those Australians.
And only the Nationals would so cravenly nod along and abandon the people they claim to represent.
That’s not the Labor way.
We believe in an economy that works for people not the other way around.
We champion a simple principle: no-one held back, no-one left behind.
We respect the work of every Australian, not just some.
And we champion the aspirations of all Australians, not just some.
I feel it’s safe to assume a few of you watched Nemesis on the ABC. What it made forensically clear was just how focused the Libs and Nats are on themselves – and only themselves.
Now I have a small confession to make: there was a moment during Nemesis when I felt a bit of sympathy for Peter Dutton. There was Scott Morrison getting five secret portfolios, but all Pete got was a single syllable.
And when Malcolm Turnbull uses a word of just one syllable, you know things are serious.
But what was even more damning that the word “thug” was that in the 4 ½ hours they spent talking about each other like they were flicking through a thesaurus of hatred, the Australian people barely rated a mention.
We are here to serve the Australian people.
We’re in Government to make a positive difference.
And that is the Labor way.
Across all this work to strengthen the future prosperity of our nation, we remain focused on providing greater economic security for our people.
Our No.1 priority is helping Australians with their cost of living every way we can.
It’s why we made the responsible decisions that delivered a Budget surplus, the first in 15 years.
Building a buffer against future uncertainty.
Putting downward pressure on inflation.
And giving us room to deliver a range of support for Australians under financial stress.
Cheaper child care.
Cheaper medicine.
The biggest boost to rent assistance in 30 years.
The biggest investment in bulk-billing in 40 years.
We’ve got wages moving again.
We’re delivering energy price relief.
We’ve expanded Paid Parental Leave.
All of this is carefully designed to ease the pressures on people, without adding to pressure on inflation.
Let’s look at the huge contrast between Labor and the Liberal-National Noalition.
They cut Medicare. We’ve opened 58 new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics.
They let bulk billing decline. We’ve made it easier for people to see a doctor for free.
They let aged care drift into a state of neglect. We’ve given aged care workers a 15 per cent pay rise and put nurses back into nursing homes.
They cut TAFE, we’re creating new TAFE places and they’re fee-free.
They sat on their hands as manufacturing was hollowed out. We’re ensuring manufacturing has a strong, proud future.
They stood back and did nothing as our power grid decayed. We’re Rewiring the Nation.
They rail against renewable energy. We are making Australia a renewable energy superpower.
They pretend climate change isn’t real. We’re getting on with dealing with its challenges and seizing its opportunities.
They presided over stagnant wages. We’ve got wages moving again.
They hamstrung Australia with copper broadband that was a museum piece from the start. We’re getting the NBN right.
And on their watch, our biggest trading partner shut its doors to Australian producers. Under us, ships loaded with Australian barley and other products are once again heading to China.
Let’s take a moment to consider what used to be proudly called the Country Party.
The Nationals claim to stand for regional Australia. They claim to stand for regional NSW. But this holds as much water as Peter Dutton’s claim that the Liberals are the true party of the working class.
The Nationals don’t represent their seats – they just occupy them.
Perhaps the greatest paradox about the Nationals is how much they tell us they identify with the man and the woman on the land – and yet how little they are like them.
Who provides a better example of adaptation than farmers? Farmers understand the necessity of change. Farmers endlessly look for better ways of doing things.
Farmers are in tune with their environment, realistic about tackling climate change, and open to the possibilities of new technology.
That’s why we’ve seen such an extraordinary evolution in farming practices.
All that’s changed about the Nationals is that they used to have leaders who were willing to stand up to the Liberals. Now all they do is enable them.
If you want to get something done in regional Australia, the Nationals are never the answer.
What we understand is that the regions are not all the same.
Depending on where you are, farmers, growers, producers and miners may well be a very important part of the picture. In many places, they are the backbone of the economy and the community.
Yet there is so much more. Regions are home to manufacturing.
They’re home to unis and TAFEs and students and teachers.
They’re home to carers and builders.
They’re home to hospitality workers and posties, tradies and nurses, steelworkers and artists.
And they’re home to mums and dads who have big aspirations – for themselves and their kids.
While people in the country often hope for fair weather and a good crop, they also want reliable internet and decent health care.
They want to know their children are learning from great teachers and their parents are getting proper aged care.
That there are jobs and opportunities and rewards for hard work.
We’re working to make sure they get all these things.
As a Labor government, we are committed to spreading efforts right across Australia, crucially in our many regional communities – and everyone who makes them what they are.
Working against the tyranny of distance and – in the case of the Nationals – the tyranny of indifference.
Working to help those communities become even better places to live.
Easier places to live.
Places that attract newcomers – individuals, families and businesses alike.
This is just one of the ways we can make the greatest country on Earth even greater.
An Australia that isn’t so top heavy with capital cities will be a nation more in balance with itself.
Both as Prime Minister and as a former Regional Development Minister, my dedication to regional Australia is absolute.
This is all a part of the story of Labor governments. We are not here for the prestige. We are not here for the job title. We are not here to occupy the space.
We are here to make a difference. We are here to help Australians better fulfil their potential and become the even greater nation that we know we can be.
This is what we do.
Point to change that lifts Australians up and you know it was done by a Labor government.
Point to a real social reform and you know it was done by Labor government.
Point to a big initiative like Medicare or universal superannuation, initiatives that have improved the lives of countless Australians and will be improving the lives of Australians long after we’re gone. And you know it was done by a Labor government.
Whenever the Australian people entrust the Labor Party with the great privilege and responsibility of forming government, we repay that trust – and we repay it with interest.
This is both our proud record as a party – and it is our exciting future.
And everyone here today is part of it.
Thank you. Not just for what you do for Labor – thank you for what you do for our nation.
Together we will build a better future.