Mrs PHILLIPS (Gilmore) (11:04): I am delighted to support the member for Lalor's motion today, acknowledging the remarkable achievements of the Albanese government in just six months. We have gone hell for leather, initiating the reforms that people in my electorate on the New South Wales South Coast voted for—the reforms that our country deserves.
We started on day one with reforms to fix our broken aged-care system. We said we would put the care back into aged care. We promised 24/7 nurses in aged-care homes. We promised to end the decade of neglect under the Liberal government. On our very first day of government in this place we introduced the bill to do just that, and now it is the law. On top of that, we have also delivered a long-overdue pay rise for aged-care workers so that we can encourage more people into this vital sector and ensure that our aged-care workers are paid fairly for the incredible work they do. That is a significant achievement in itself, but it is just the beginning.
I often talk about the improvements this government has made for pensioners, but, with one of the highest rates of pensioners in Australia, that is no surprise. Pensioners on the South Coast are benefiting from their biggest pay rise in more than 12 years and the biggest increase to allowances in three decades. That is money already in local people's pockets because we wasted no time. We have also supported self-funded retirees by increasing the income threshold for the Commonwealth seniors health care card, meaning more people can now access cheaper medicines. If that's not enough, we have also brought down the price of prescriptions on the PBS by 29 per cent and added more to the list so that local people can afford the medicines they need.
The government is making cost-of-living improvements for people across the country. We are supporting families, because we know it is good for our country and good for the economy. In our six months in government, we have passed laws to deliver cheaper child care for around 4,800 local families in my electorate. We have increased paid parental leave to 26 weeks per year and delivered universal family and domestic violence leave—10 paid days leave. And we have delivered a historic rise in the minimum wage.
As a former TAFE teacher, I know how important a good education is. So I am so pleased we are delivering free TAFE places and more university places in areas of skills shortage.
The South Coast is experiencing an escalating housing crisis that the former government watched spiral out of control. Just last week, the Minister for Housing released $575 million in funding to allow the National Housing Infrastructure Facility to deliver social and affordable housing, getting us one step closer to building 40,000 new social and affordable homes. Our Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee is already open, giving first home buyers in regional areas a government guarantee of up to 15 per cent. One thousand first home buyers have already taken advantage of this. Turning our housing crisis around will be a long-term project, but we are wasting no time in getting started.
My electorate has a large defence and veteran population, so I am delighted that, just last week, we passed laws to help our Australian Defence Force members and veterans buy their own home. The $46.2 million expansion of the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme will see more veterans and ADF members become eligible for the scheme, helping more people in my electorate get into a home sooner. Not only that, but last week also saw laws passed to improve support for totally and permanently incapacitated veterans from 1 January 2023. These well-deserving veterans, who have put their lives on the line for our freedom, will receive a $1,000 annual increase to their rate of pension, benefiting 27,000 veterans and their families around Australia. We're also delivering a veterans employment strategy and responding to all the recommendations put forward by the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
The Albanese government promised we would help with the cost of living, take meaningful action on climate change and support our renewables transition. We promised to help communities impacted by disaster by investing in resilience and preparedness through the Disaster Ready Fund. And we promised to advance a Voice to Parliament. We have delivered on all of these commitments and more, in just six months. This is only a small snippet of the incredible nation-building reform this government has delivered so far. We are building a better future for all Australians, and I couldn't be prouder to be part of this amazing team.
