Doorstop interview - Parliament House, Canberra

PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: Happy National Skills Week. Skills Week is all about making sure that we hand down better opportunities to the next generation and give people the opportunity to fulfil their goals for their careers and the contribution they want to make to Australia. 

Already, we have seen some 650,000 Australians enrol in Labor's Free TAFE initiative across the states and territories. Making sure that we have the skills that people want and the skills that businesses need across this country, and we are backing young Australians to get those skills, just as we are backing them get into their first home.

It was the 13th of April that Prime Minister Albanese came to my electorate of Perth for the Federal launch of Labor's 2025 campaign. And at that launch, we announced that we would expand the 5% Home Deposit Scheme, making sure that more Australians can get into their first home with just a 5% deposit.

Now, for my electorate of Perth, that means now that from this year, people will be able to buy a home up to $850,000 with just a 5% deposit. That means they are only saving for three years, rather than having to save for a decade. That is serious help to get people into their first home.

I am really proud of what we are doing to make sure that Australians can get into their first home. I am equally proud of what we are doing here on the third sitting week of the 48th Parliament. We are continuing our legislation to protect penalty rates so that people who are working hard get to keep the money that they have earned for working long and unsociable hours.

Labor has always stood up for fair wage rises for working people, and to protect penalty rates for working Australians, and that is why we are putting through parliament - this fortnight - legislation to protect those penalty rates. To make sure they are there for the working people who rely upon them.

Equally, in the parliament we will be putting through our Cheaper Medicines plan. Now this is all about making sure that people who have to have those PBS medications can get them at a reasonable price. We are bringing the cost of PBS medications down to 25 dollars. PBS medications have not cost 25 dollars since 2004 - so this is a significant cost of living relief for millions of Australians. And it is very rare that you see something where the price goes back to 2004 prices. But on this - we are delivering.

Something else happened in 2004, and that was that Barnaby Joyce was first elected to the Federal Parliament. And this week, today, in fact, we will see the Liberal Party and National Party  members of parliament arguing to abandon Australia's action on climate change. What we have is the Repeal Net Zero Bill of 2025. This is Barnaby Joyce's bill to axe action on climate change. This is Barnaby Joyce's effort to lead the entire Liberal Party and National Party away from climate action, abolishing key legislation that is about delivering Australia's commitments to make sure that we protect the climate that we have here in Australia.

Now, Barnaby Joyce's bill will take Australia further backwards than we were under Scott Morrison, further backwards than we were under Malcolm Turnbull, and further backwards than we were under Tony Abbott. And the question really is, what we have seen over the last few weeks is you have had Liberal Party members and National Party members go to their state conferences arguing to abandon action on climate change, but not a single Liberal stood at any of those conferences and argued for Australia's climate. Not a single Liberal went and argued for action on climate change.

And so the test for the Liberal Party this week in Parliament - and they will be debating it in the chamber in just a few hours - are there any Liberals left in the federal parliament who will actually stand up for action on climate change? Because at the moment, it looks like the answer is no, and that is deeply disappointing for the Australian people who expect that sensible members of parliament vote for sensible legislation, and Barnaby Joyce's bill is anything but sensible, but they are cheering for it in the Liberal party room, and they are cheering for it in the National party room.

Someone who is sensible, someone who I am really pleased is now in the federal parliament is my friend, Trish Cook, I'll hand over to her to say a few words.

TRISH COOK, MEMBER FOR BULLWINKEL: Thanks, Patrick. Hello. My name's Patricia Cook. I'm the Labor member for Bullwinkel. I'm really excited to be back here in Canberra. And exciting news is that we're bringing forward the first home buyer scheme, which is 5% deposit. What this means is, if people are trying to buy a house but can't afford the deposit and can't go to 'the bank of mum and dad,' the government will have your back.

I grew up in state housing. I know what it's like for governments to support people. And a roof over your head is a basic necessity. The 5% scheme will be brought forward to the 1st of October to enable more people to get into their own home. With the 5% scheme and the 15% guarantee by the government, this means that people can get into their first home much sooner. For the people of Bullwinkel, especially young families, this is a game changer.

Another thing I'm really excited about, as a nurse, is, of course, our cheaper medicines policy. The cheaper medicines capped at $25 is a game changer. I know what it's like when times get tough and people put their own health on the back burner, and that's not what we want to see. So the government's helping buy cheaper medicines, and let's hope it gets through the Senate this week, because that's what people need; real cost of living relief measures.