Senator FARRELL (South Australia—Minister for Trade and Tourism, Special Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) (16:21): The Albanese government is delivering stronger foundations for a better future. We are dealing with the pressing challenges of here and now while never losing sight of the future by investing $2 billion in social housing and reintroducing the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund; strengthening Medicare and helping Australians to save $118 million on their prescriptions; making child care cheaper for 1.2 million Australian families; funding fee-free TAFE places for 480,000 Australians; working with the states to deliver $3 billion of electricity bill relief to help shield over five million households and one million small businesses from the worst of the global energy price shocks, without adding to inflation; and backing real pay increases so that 2.7 million workers on awards receive a 5.75 per cent pay rise and 250,000 aged-care workers benefit from a historic 15 per cent pay rise. Unemployment is now at a historic low of 3.5 per cent, with almost half a million more Australians in work compared to when we came to office. After a wasted decade under the Liberals, Labor is working for Australia every single day. Childcare subsidy increases are easing costs for 1.2 million families and reducing barriers to greater workforce participation. For a family earning $120,000 with one child in care, their childcare costs will be about $1,700 a year less than they would have otherwise been. On 1 July, the National Anti-Corruption Commission commenced. On the same day we strengthened paid parental leave, with parental leave pay and dad-and-partner pay combining into a single 20-week scheme, benefiting 180,000 families per year. Again, on 1 July the Home Guarantee Scheme eligibility expanded, with 50,000 new places available, helping more Australians into their own home. Again, on 1 July the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation's liability cap was increased by $2 billion to a total of $7.5 billion, supporting more lending to community housing providers for social and affordable housing projects. Again, on 1 July—there are so many things that start on this particular date—the interim 15 per cent pay rise for aged-care workers came into effect, with the Albanese government committing $11.3 billion to funding the rise. This means nurses can earn an extra $10,000 a year on the award wage, and some personal care workers can earn an extra $7,000 a year. From 1 July aged-care facilities will have a registered nurse on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week to improve care. Exemptions of up to 12 months will be provided for small facilities with 30 or fewer beds, particularly in rural and remote areas. Also, from 1 July eligible New Zealand citizens who have lived in Australia for four or more years will be able apply for Australian citizenship. As a matter of interest, Senator Cadell, I am meeting the New Zealand trade minister in Adelaide next week to have further discussions on our economic relations, and then he is coming to the beautiful Clare Valley for a couple of nights to experience the wonderful, wonderful opportunities to taste South Australian wine, which I'm sure— Senator Cadell interjecting— Senator FARRELL: No, no antihistamines needed, but of course he will be very pleased that New Zealand citizens can receive citizenship and therefore vote in Australia. Again, on 1 July—you seem remarkably intrigued, Acting Deputy President O'Sullivan! The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator O'Sullivan ): Always, whenever you speak! Senator Brockman: I'm trying not to go to sleep! The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I'm very alert, please continue. Senator FARRELL: That is a particularly obnoxious comment, Senator Brockman, and I think you should— Senator Brockman: I withdraw. Senator FARRELL: Good on you, there we go. We will have to give you some explanation about how trade works in this country, too, so that you can— The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Farrell, I draw your attention back to the motion before us. Senator FARRELL: Again, on 1 July the Net Zero Economy Agency commenced to help workers, regional communities and investors transition to, engage with and invest in the net zero economy. From 1 July 11 Medicare urgent care clinics will be opening across the country. Also from 1 July all community pharmacies will be paid more for dispensing PBS medicines, giving the average metropolitan pharmacy more than $41,000 extra income per year. I can go on because there are so many more things that this government has done from the start of the new financial year. New rules have taken effect, which means that manufacturers of more than 2,900 brands of common medicines are required to hold a minimum of four to six months worth of stock onshore in Australia. Anybody who has had trouble getting access to some of those common medicines, particularly as they relate to diabetes, will know how important that change is. Again, from 1 July there have been changes to the petroleum resources rent tax to deliver a fairer return to communities from our natural resources. These are very important changes to those rules. There will be safeguard mechanism reforms to help Australian industries move to net zero. Again, from 1 July there's the Small Business Energy Incentive so that small and medium-sized businesses with a turnover of less than $50 million will be able to claim an extra 20 per cent deduction on spending that supports electrification and more efficient use of energy. Obviously, this is a very important step in the progress towards decarbonising our economy. Again from 1 July, the temporary skilled migration income threshold has been increased from $53,900 to $70,000 to attract skilled migrants who can complement the skills of the Australian workforce. Anybody who visits particularly tourism places anywhere in the country knows just how important that will be to ensure that, for instance, chefs can come to Australia. There's now a higher threshold. The former government left us in a terrible situation with an inability to get a skilled workforce to try and recover from those terrible years under that government during COVID. We're doing something about it to encourage skilled migrants to come to Australia and earn more. Under the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement, UK passport holders will be able to apply for a working holiday-maker visa between the ages of 18 and 35, so that's a five-year increase from the current maximum to 30 years. Hopefully that will encourage young people from the United Kingdom who want to experience the wonderful lifestyle that Australia has, and it's a new opportunity for those of an older age and therefore a little bit more mature and perhaps with some extra skills that they can apply to the Australian economy. We welcome those people. You may recall the former government talked about getting the agreement, but, of course, it did nothing to actually implement it, so it was left to the incoming government, in particular the trade minister— Senator Sterle: The grown-ups. Senator FARRELL: Yes, the grown-ups. It was left to the grown-ups to finish the job that the now opposition failed to do. Of course, that's been a wonderful development. It's very much a part of the diversification strategy which this government has implemented to ensure that we're not solely dependent on one or two economies to keep our businesses thriving, which they are. Anybody who's been keeping an eye on the terms of trade will know that those terms of trade are higher and better for Australia than they have ever been at any time in my lifetime, and I've lived a lot longer than all of you. Those terms of trade are delivering. And, of course, that UK free trade agreement and all the associated benefits are adding to that contribution. In fact, I saw Gina Rinehart on the TV. Not only has she mineral interests; she also has cattle interests, and she was predicting at one stage that she might be able to deliver tens of thousands of tons of wonderful Australian beef into the UK market as a result of this new free trade agreement. Senator Duniam: All single-handedly delivered by you! Senator FARRELL: Let's be honest about it. I wouldn't mind you claiming some credit for it had you been able to get the agreement through the parliament. But the hard work— Senator Duniam: When did it start? Senator FARRELL: It started when the UK government completed their side of the arrangement. I have to say, that did take longer than they would have liked, and it certainly took longer than we would have liked. In fact, I can tell you this, Senator Duniam: on the first day I was appointed to this job, I was invited by the British High Commissioner to come around for a chat about it. I committed the Australian government to complete this process, which the former government had failed to do, in the shortest possible time available under our legislation and do all of the things that needed to be done, and we did it. We did it in that time frame. Ultimately, the delay in starting the agreement ended up being on the other side of the world. You might recall that there was quite a bit of opposition within the UK to the agreement, so it took them a little bit longer to massage it through their processes. But it started, and, of course, we're now getting the benefit of all the things that flow from that agreement. An opposition senator interjecting— Senator FARRELL: If you like, I can start talking about the India free trade agreement and your failure to get that through the processes that were required. We started both those processes—India and the UK—on the same day. We were fortunate that we were able to get the cooperation of the Indian government. I kept Minister Goyal briefed on where we were up to— (Time expired)