Senator SHELDON (New South Wales) (15:07): We constantly come in here and hear this question put by the opposition on the cost of living. Yet here are the same people who wouldn't support a $1 increase for the lowest paid people in this country. Here are the same people who opposed childcare support for 1.26 million people. Here are the same people who didn't support and didn't act on gender pay inequity. And these are all things that we're doing—we're turning around and taking actions that have a real effect on cost of living for our community. Let's look at the jobs and skills in this community. Let's talk about the hundreds of thousands of skilled jobs that were lost under this opposition when they were in government. Over nine years, jobs were lost. Of course, when a consensus is being built in this country, they don't want to turn up. The Leader of the Opposition refused to turn up to the Jobs and Skills Summit. That's the reality. That's what they think. They just don't have a policy or an answer. But, then again, I should actually withdraw that comment, because they did have a policy; they had a clear policy to drive wages down in this country! This is a design feature of that government. When they were in government, they said it was a design feature. Of course, the consequence of that was having to see, for the first time in the history of this country, the middle class shrink under your watch—not with a solution, not with an answer, not with a plan to turn it around and make sure that working people and small businesses, and businesses generally, can compete in the markets that you've managed to do so much damage to. They went with trend; they had waste and rorts— Senator Henderson: I rise on a point of order. The senator has twice referred to 'you' in his contribution. I would ask that he direct his comments through the chair, please. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Sheldon, you heard the point of order. I give you the call. Senator SHELDON: Thank you, Deputy President. 'You' is them, the opposition and the previous government, who turned around and quite clearly destroyed the middle class and were undermining it through their entire term. It was part of their design feature to make sure working people in this country had less in their pockets. And guess what? You have succeeded. You did deliver on your policy and we are all paying. When you—the opposition—were in government, you delivered on that policy. That's exactly what you did. When those opposite were in government they turned around very clearly. When they were in government, this opposition turned around and said it was too hard to regulate the gig economy, where the average pay is $6.67 an hour. S enator Ciccone interjecting— Senator SHELDON: That is right, Senator Ciccone. They said there was nothing they could do to give those people minimum payments in this country. That is what was said when they were in government. Since we got into government, we have said quite clearly we have to make a number of serious changes to what's happened under their watch. As those opposite drove down the middle class and put more pressure on pensioners, we have come up with solutions about pensioners, making sure we have work bonuses so pensioners can get out there and do more hours. We have built a consensus on jobs and skills across this economy. We have said we will make sure the middle class in this country grows. We watched quite clearly the previous government allow companies like McDonald's to steal from the youngest people in our country. We saw companies like Qantas steal hundreds of millions of dollars to pay their shareholders, while, as a government, those opposite gave them $2 billion—good suggestion. Did they have any strings attached, like not misuse the money? No, they didn't. There were waste and rorts, and the consequence was that hardworking Australians have been paying the price. The previous government did not support a wage increase for aged-care workers. The opposition, when they were in government, would not support feminised industries getting wage increases. They would not fund the wage increases of the Fair Work Commission rulings. That's what those opposite did when they were in government. If their plan was for cost of living; they succeeded—wages down, middle class collapsing, feminised industries without wage increases, our lowest-paid not receiving wage improvements.