I am pleased to have the opportunity today to talk about the many ways the Albanese Labor government has delivered for our community when it comes to cost-of-living relief and improved living standards.

Since coming to government we have delivered:

• Five income tax cuts in five different ways.

• 50 per cent off the fuel excise to help at the bowser.

• The biggest boost to Medicare in its history.

• Record rates of bulk billing – with 25 GP clinics in my electorate now 100 per cent bulk billing.

• Caps on the price of essential medicines.

• Medicare Urgent Care Clinics that have seen 68,000 free visits in Corrimal and Dapto alone.

• 2,521 cheaper home batteries and 14 community batteries in my electorate – helping to slash power prices for thousands of people.

• Nearly 23,000 students in my electorate with thousands wiped off their student debt.

• Cheaper childcare for local families.

• Higher wages for nearly three million of Australia’s lowest paid workers every year.

• Increasing the Medicare low-income levy for over one million Australians.

• 50 per cent increase in rent assistance for more than 10,000 Cunningham renters.

• 1,159 first home buyers in Cunningham supported with 5 per cent deposits.

• And, thousands of homes built around the country.

I could go on, because these are only some of the ways that we have brought the cost of living down. Needless to say, that is quite a list. But we know that Australians are doing it tough. Inflation, the war in the Middle East and a decade of underinvestment by those opposite, who are now trying to convince people that they would have been better off under a Liberal government—I don't think so. The cost of living has been our No. 1 priority since we came to government. It remains our No. 1 priority, and we have delivered yet another budget that puts the cost of living—and fairness—front and centre.

The reality is that the former government did not invest in health. It did not invest in housing, it did not invest in aged care and it did not give industry confidence in a renewable-energy future—just to name a few. We have had quite a mess to clean up, and we have wasted no time at all. Our focus has been on supporting Australians and those people who are really doing it tough. We want to ensure that Australia is a place that lifts people up and leaves no-one behind. We've worked hard to ensure that workers earn more and keep more of what they earn. Those on the minimum wage or reliant on awards make up about a quarter of Australia's workforce. That's people working in our cafes and supermarkets. They're our cleaners, hairdressers, aged-care workers, childcare workers, delivery drivers—thousands of people who've seen real increases in their wages, with an increase in the minimum wage by over $9,120 every year, thanks to the Albanese Labor government.

We have invested $8.5 billion into Medicare, because health and housing are two of the biggest drains on household budgets. We've capped PBS prescriptions at $25, down from more than $42 under the previous government, and we've added more and more medicines to the PBS, including new and amended medicines under this budget for conditions like cystic fibrosis, chronic kidney disease and cancers—and more, made cheaper. All up, in my electorate, we have seen more than three million cheaper prescriptions filled since we came to government, and that is a real saving in everyone's pocket.

The most effective way to reduce electricity prices is to get more renewables into the grid, and we have certainly done that. For the first time in Australia's history, we have more electricity in our grid supplied by renewables than by coal and gas. The wholesale electricity price has fallen by 14 per cent, and, in my electorate, more than 2,500 homes and businesses now have a solar battery, thanks to our Cheaper Home Batteries Program. I've spoken previously about the difference that this has made to electricity bills in my electorate and what that has meant for local people.

The fact is that, if we had continued along the path the Liberals and Nationals had us on, Australians would be worse off. In the 10 years that they were in power, they built 373 homes. That's it. And they wonder how we are now in a housing crisis. They never had a plan to tackle the cost of living and the big challenges that are facing Australians. The Albanese Labor government is committed to delivering real cost-of-living relief for all Australians.