I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we gather, the Wadjuk people of the Nyoongar nation, and pay my respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
Extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with us here today.
Thanks to Matt for the introduction.
And to Kate O’Hara and Charles Kobelke for bringing us all together.
Like the people in this room, those of us in the Albanese understand addressing poverty is a complex challenge.
Unfortunately, the task has been made more difficult by what the Morrison government left behind.
It includes a series of problematic policies.
More than $170 million was wasted on a Cashless Debit Card.
The risk of scams were ignored leaving Australians vulnerable with billions of dollars lost.
The Buy Now Pay Later economy was not adequately regulated, putting everyday consumers at risk of falling into financial disrepute.
The Morrison Government also oversaw significant failures in gender equality.
Australia slid in global rankings on gender equality from 18th in 2006 to 70th in 2021.
Our world-leading practice of gender responsive budgeting was ended.
There was even the suggestion that women in crisis drain their superannuation to fund their escape from domestic violence.
Addressing poverty amid these challenges will take practical policies.
And they must be diverse – because the causes of poverty are diverse.
Gender equality is a priority for the government and we have begun working towards it.
We are restoring gender responsive budgeting.
Implementing a gender lens on policy by completing Gender Impact Assessments.
Adding gender equity as an object of the fair work act.
And we recently released the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-32, providing a blueprint to end family, domestic and sexual violence.
We know that First Nation people endure poverty disproportionately, we are committed to addressing this.
We are restoring funding for the Homelands Project to improve living conditions in across the Northern Territory.
Committing to increasing economic and job opportunities for First Nations people.
And driving implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.
We are putting fairness and dignity back into unemployment benefits.
This month, 4.7 million Australians received a much-needed boost to their social security payments.
The largest indexation increase to payments in more than 30 years for allowances and 12 years for pensions.
We have guaranteed there will be no net further reduction in the number of Centrelink clinics across Australia.
And we are reviewing the RBA to ensure it remains strong and effective.
Charities and NPFs need more support and recognition for their dedicated work.
It is why we are working with charities to build the capacity of the sector.
Aiming to double philanthropic giving by 2030.
Addressing declines in volunteering and community engagement.
Harmonising fundraising laws to reduce the compliance burden.
Providing an additional $4 million to the ABS to better measure barriers and incentives to labour force participation.
We know Australians are under increased threat of scams, we will address this by protecting Australians from scams by establishing a national anti-scams centre to deliver national defences to combat scaming.
Delivering sensible regulation of the Buy Now Pay Later sector to ensure consumers are protected.
We have also acted quickly on workplace relations.
Everyone deserves the dignity of work and the Government is committed to expanding employment opportunities for all.
We convened the Jobs and Skills summit, to boost real wages and living standards.
We are providing 465,000 TAFE places, including 45,000 new places, with a focus on areas experiencing a skills shortage.
We are legislating for 10 days family and domestic violence leave.
Ensuring dignity in retirement by delivering 12% superannuation contribution rate by 2025.
Adding job security to the objects of the Fair Work Act.
And we have successfully advocated for a 5.2% increase in the minimum wage.
We are investing in our health care system so that Australians do not have to choose between being poor and being healthy:
We reduced the PBS co-payment to a maximum of $30 per script.
We are funding 50 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics that bulk bill.
And we are providing $47.7 million investment to restore bulk billed video telehealth psychiatry consultations.
As the Productivity Commission recently found, more Australians are seeking help for homelessness and more are being turned away. The number of people seeking support from specialist homelessness services has increased every year since 2012.
Last year 278,300 people were assisted by specialist homelessness services.
114,000 people were turned away. Up almost 20,000 from 5 years ago.
The Productivity Commission’s findings show Australians, particularly those on low incomes, are spending more on housing than they used to.
The demand for social housing is rising. As of 2021, 176,000 households are on social housing waiting lists.
The Albanese government’s agenda for housing reform demonstrates our commitment to taking a leadership role in increasing housing supply.
Access to safe and secure housing is critical to ending gender-based violence.
Family and domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness for women and children.
With insecure housing a barrier to recovery.
To help address this, we will make an initial investment of $10 billion to create the Housing Australia Future Fund.
Across its first five years it will deliver 30,000 social and affordable houses.
Of which 20,000 will be social housing properties.
Including 4,000 for women and children fleeing family and domestic violence and for older women.
A portion of the funds’ returns will be used to fund acute housing needs.
$200 million for repair and maintenance in remote communities.
$100 million for housing options for women and children.
$30 million for housing for veterans experiencing homelessness.
Last month’s report from the Productivity Commission noted that Australians are spending more than ever on housing.
The last decade of policy inaction by the former government has left us with serious housing challenges across the country.
It is clear this challenge requires government action.
Our Help to Buy program is a shared equity scheme and will allow 10,000 eligible home buyers a year to buy a new or existing home.
They will be provided with an equity contribution of up to a maximum of 40 per cent of the purchase price of a new home and up to a maximum of 30 per cent of the price for existing homes.
This will mean smaller deposits and smaller mortgages.
Thank you for attending today and I look forward to the discussion.