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.
Two and a half years ago, my colleagues and I asked the people of Australia to trust us with the honour of serving as their Government and to join us in the task of building a better future.
We came to office knowing this was a time of serious and urgent challenges.
Global economic uncertainty.
A worldwide surge in inflation and energy prices.
And Australia’s relationships with our region under strain.
At home: aged care was in crisis, Medicare under threat, bulk-billing in free-fall.
Real wages were going backwards - not by accident but by deliberate design.
Our energy grid had been run-down by years of ideology and neglect.
And skills and manufacturing hollowed-out to the point that in the midst of a global pandemic we nearly ran out of masks and couldn’t make any more.
These are the challenges we’ve had to face. This is the mess we’ve worked to clean up.
And – always – our focus has been on helping people who are doing it tough.
Making medicines cheaper, opening 75 new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics around the nation.
Boosting bulk-billing, so millions of people can see a doctor for free.
Rebuilding the health system so it’s your Medicare card that matters – not your credit card.
We’ve delivered energy bill relief for every household and small business.
We’re cracking down on dodgy pricing and unfair charges – be it online or at the supermarket.
We’re delivering new rights and better bargaining for workers across the country.
Boosting wages for millions of Australians in aged care, child care and low paid industries.
Expanding Paid Parental Leave to 6 months – and adding superannuation to it.
And - importantly – we are delivering a tax cut for every single Australian taxpayer.
All 13.6 million of them. Not just some.
***
Our economic plan has prioritised helping people under pressure while also fighting inflation.
When we came to Government annual inflation had a 6 in front of it and was rising.
Now it has a 2 in front of it, and it’s falling.
Our responsible economic management has brought inflation down to its lowest level in almost 4 years.
And while inflation is falling, real wages are rising.
1 million new jobs have been created.
The gender pay gap is at an all-time low.
Two great South Australians – Penny Wong and Don Farrell – have worked to stabilise our relationship with China and restored trade for our farmers, growers and winemakers.
And we’ve delivered back to back budget surpluses for the first time in nearly two decades.
This is an economic record we are proud of – and more than that, it’s the foundation for building Australia’s future.
I understand that the past few years have been difficult. I know workers, families and small businesses have all done it hard.
But while there are still challenges to meet, still problems to solve, still people under pressure who need our help…
…when we look at the economy today, we can see new reasons for optimism and new proof the worst is behind us.
Together, we have faced a global storm – and we have navigated it the Australian way, the Labor way.
Not by cutting the services Australians count on, not by denying families the help they need in hard times.
But by looking after people – and looking to the future.
Because for all the challenges we have faced, this remains a time of profound opportunity for Australia.
And if we act with purpose and urgency, if we invest in our people and trust in their aspirations - we can secure a new wave of jobs and prosperity for every part of our country.
Just as South Australia has led the nation in rooftop solar and large-scale renewables, our nation can lead the world on clean energy.
We can power a new generation of manufacturing. We can make things here in Australia.
We can build Australia’s future – stronger and fairer than ever before.
And we can make sure that the people who have carried the weight of today’s challenges, share the rewards of tomorrow’s opportunities.
Reform that holds no-one back, progress that leaves no-one behind.
That’s what drives and defines our Government.
The responsibility we have to help people here and now.
And the duty we owe to the next generation of Australians – to build an economy that liberates their talents and rewards their efforts.
Part of this is about embracing new technology, investing in new industries, creating new jobs, opening new markets and unlocking new energy.
But at its heart is the oldest and deepest Australian aspiration: the aspiration for a better life and greater opportunity for the next generation.
The very best education for your child - from the early years all the way through to their choice of university or TAFE.
Medicare you can count on when your loved ones are sick.
Wages that mean you can save, not just survive.
An Australia where a home you want in a community you love is not a far-off fantasy, or a financial nightmare – it’s a goal you can strive for and achieve.
A country where you know that if you put in and work hard, it adds up to something.
You earn the security to plan for your future – and build a good life for your family.
And where you know that if things go wrong, if luck goes against you or times are hard, you’re never on your own.
No-one held back and no-one left behind.
That principle has guided me my whole life.
I’ve never lost sight of that, I’ve never forgotten the people we are here to serve.
That’s why my colleagues and I work every day to make a positive difference to people’s lives.
And it’s why we’re so determined to win the next election.
To help people through these cost of living pressures, to get more homes built, to get energy prices down, to get more Australians into good jobs, to get Medicare back to its best.
The next election is about all of that – but it’s also about the next generation.
It’s about fulfilling the ambition that all of us share for our nation’s future.
Building an economy and society worthy of the people whose resilience and hard work has brought us through these hard times.
Building a country that’s smarter and stronger, fairer and more prosperous, with the confidence to shape the future, rather than wait for the future to shape us.
For our Labor Government this mission always begins with education.
***
Education is the most powerful weapon we have against disadvantage – and it is the best investment we can make in building Australia’s future.
Because every challenge we have to meet, every opportunity which is there to be seized, depends on investing in the skills and capacity of the Australian people.
The tradies and architects who will build and plan the homes we need.
The engineers and electricians who will deliver the clean energy to take us to net zero.
The scientists discovering new cures and driving new breakthroughs.
The nurses and doctors keeping our families healthy.
The aged care workers and disability carers bringing security and dignity into the lives of our loved ones.
The programmers and technicians to help Australia succeed in a new era of digital transformation.
So many of the jobs we require to shape and secure our future, will require either a TAFE qualification or a university degree.
Not as an added extra, as a starting requirement. The first thing employers will look for on your CV.
It will be the expectation for almost every child in primary school today and almost every child who will follow them.
This is why our Government is making new investments in every stage of education.
We’re getting wages for early educators up – and keeping the cost of child care down.
And in the years ahead, we are determined to make early childhood education an opportunity that every child can access and every family can afford.
Around the country, we’re working with the states and territories to boost funding for every student in every government school.
And, friends, one of the biggest changes we have made in education has been one of the best.
We’ve put public TAFE back at the centre of training.
Under our Government, over half a million Australians have enrolled in fee-free TAFE.
35,000 in construction courses – and the same in early education.
50,000 in digital technology.
130,000 in aged care and disability care.
Tens of thousands of jobseekers getting a fresh start.
Hundreds of thousands of young people, training for a new career and older workers training for a new opportunity.
1 in every 3 places taken up by people in regional communities.
6 in every 10 enrolments have been women.
And you know what the Liberals and Nationals said?
They called it ‘wasteful spending’.
I’ll tell them what’s a waste: the waste of potential when people are held back from a new job because they can’t get the qualification they need.
The waste of experience when older workers are left to fall through the cracks, rather than getting the chance to re-train.
The waste of time and opportunity when housing and energy projects can’t get off the ground because of skills shortages.
The waste when businesses have to look overseas, instead of Australians being trained and ready here at home.
No Labor Government would ever call TAFE a waste.
Because we know that TAFE and university are equally important to our workforce and equally vital to our future.
And the choice to enrol in one or the other should be driven by one consideration alone - what is best for the student.
Because both are good for Australia.
Today I am proud to announce our Government will lock-in free TAFE and make it permanent, nationwide.
We will legislate to guarantee 100,000 fee-free TAFE places, each and every year.
More tradies to build more homes.
More apprentices getting a start.
More carers to look after our loved ones – whether they be young or old.
More opportunities for Australians to train and re-train in a changing economy.
TAFE gives our country and our people all of this.
And as long there is a Labor Government, free TAFE is here to stay.
***
Whether it’s TAFE or university, post-school education is an investment individuals make in themselves and their career.
But it’s also an investment that government makes in the future of our country: the creativity and innovation that Australia needs to grow and thrive.
For the individual, the return on their investment is a job they love, a career that lets them build a life for themselves and their family.
For the country, it’s bigger and broader than that - it’s discovery and research, industry and ideas, a more productive workforce and a more equal society.
Our whole nation benefits when we make it easier for people to access education.
That’s what I meant on election night, when I spoke about opening the doors of opportunity – and widening them.
It’s why we are doubling the number of university hubs in the regions and outer suburbs, to bring higher education to communities that were missing out.
It’s why we created Paid Prac. New financial support for our future teachers, nurses and social workers, so they don’t have to worry about missing work and wages while they’re on placement.
And it’s why in this year’s Budget, we wiped $3 billion in debt from around 3 million Australians who had been caught out by the spike in inflation.
Saving a person with an average debt around $1200.
Part of this was about addressing a one-off. Just as importantly, we changed the system, we made it fairer and better, so it could never happen again.
Liberal Governments have done a lot of damage to the university system.
If you think back, to when a Labor Government created HECS, they chose that name because it was about students making a contribution to the cost of their education.
But the Liberals changed it, to say you were getting a loan.
As if you were borrowing money for a new car, rather than working to earn a degree to assist yourself and also our nation.
That Liberal obsession with squeezing every possible dollar out of students has brought us to the point that just when university has never been more important, for more Australians...
…it's never been harder to pay off.
This generation of students are graduating from 3 year degrees with debts of thirty, forty, even fifty thousand dollars.
That level of debt hangs over you – you can see it when you log into MyGov, or do your tax return.
It affects how much you can borrow for a home, it impacts decisions you make about family and career.
And because of the changes the Morrison Government made, it comes out of your take home pay, sooner.
Fixing this intergenerational unfairness will require substantial investment, it will take time.
But that’s not an excuse to delay – it’s the reason we’ve already started.
We’re already fixing indexation.
And today we are going further.
Today I announce that if we win the next election, we will deliver more help for all 3 million Australians with a student debt.
A re-elected Labor Government will take 20 per cent off student debt - for everyone who has one.
It will be the first piece of legislation we bring into the next Parliament.
The first thing we do in our second term.
And it will take effect by the 1st of June, next year.
This measure alone means a typical university graduate will see their debt cut by $5,500.
But we are not stopping there.
We will make it easier for young Australians to save for their future – and we are going to make the system better and fairer as well.
We will raise the repayment threshold from $54,000 up to $67,000, lower the rate of repayments – and index both to keep them fair in the future.
This means if you’re earning $70,000 you will save $1300 a year in repayments.
It helps everyone repaying a student debt right now - and it delivers a better deal for every student in the years ahead.
Permanent, structural reform to boost take home pay for young Australians.
This is about putting money back into your pocket - and putting intergenerational equity back into the system.
Good for cost of living.
Good for this generation – and for generations to come.
Good for building Australia’s future.
Just like the wage increases we’ve delivered for workers and the tax cuts we’ve delivered for every taxpayer…
…these reforms will help Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn.
These policies are our next big step – and they won’t be the last.
Because Labor will always be the party of education.
We will always be the party of aspiration.
And no matter where you live, no matter how much your parents earn – we will always work to ensure the doors of opportunity are open for you.
***
This is what Labor Governments do – we help people under pressure and we build for the future.
We deal with the challenges in front of us – and we do it in a way that anticipates and creates a better future for all of us.
That principle will be at the heart of the positive and ambitious plan we take to the Australian people next year.
At the next election the choice our nation faces will be as clear and important as it has ever been.
A Labor Government working every day to get costs down for families, wages up for workers and inflation back to where it should be.
A Labor Government securing the progress our nation has made, delivering the better results that all Australians have worked so hard together to earn.
A Labor Government driving the change our nation needs – and creating the opportunities our people deserve.
Or, a return to the denial, delay and division of the past, the Liberal and National Parties.
The same people who spent nine years in Government creating the problems – and have spent every day in Opposition trying to block the solutions.
Their cuts, their waste, their neglect left Australia wide open to global uncertainty - and now they want to go further.
They want to cut what is helping and punish people who are struggling.
To claw back the tax cuts we’ve delivered.
To close the Medicare Urgent Care clinics we’ve opened.
To stop the housing projects we’ve started.
To take away the help with power bills you deserve.
To push up the price of medicines you need.
To rip away the pay rises you’ve earned and the rights you have won.
To derail the progress we’ve made on renewables – so they can burn hundreds of billions of dollars on nuclear reactors.
A plan that will deliver less than 4 per cent of the energy Australia needs – and two decades too late.
Peter Dutton has spent every day as Opposition Leader hoping for the worst for this country.
He thinks Australia can’t compete for good jobs, he thinks workers don’t deserve fair wages, he thinks you don’t need help with your power bills, he thinks medicine should be more expensive and Medicare less generous.
He’s wrong about our country - and his agenda is all wrong for Australia.
Because the challenges facing us will not be solved by cutting, the opportunities ahead of us will not be seized by wrecking.
This is a time for building.
Building better education for all.
Building more homes for Australians.
Building the cleaner and cheaper energy to cut our emissions and power our homes and industries.
Building an economy defined by good jobs, fair wages and equality for women.
Building an economy connected to the growth and opportunities of Asia, where we make things here in Australia.
Building a society defined and uplifted by better aged care, a more secure NDIS and stronger Medicare for everyone.
Building a nation that is secure at home, strong in our region and respected on the world stage.
Building an Australia where we care for our environment and keep it safe for our grandchildren.
Building an Australia where we embrace every culture, faith and tradition that enriches our nation – beginning with the oldest continuous culture on earth.
My fellow Australians
Next year, with respect for our people, optimism for the future and a determination to shape it…
…our Labor Government will be asking for the opportunity to continue to serve the greatest country in the world – and the chance to make it greater still.
Building on the strong foundations we have laid.
Building together.
Building to last.
Our Labor Government - Building Australia’s Future.
As at 3 November 2024.
