Dr GARLAND (Chisholm) (16:27): Once again, at the end of the year, we're here with another fairly ludicrous matter of public importance that highlights the poor track record of those opposite in government. Again, it makes us realise how deeply unserious those opposite are. There has been an interesting choice of words, I must say, in today's discussion. I certainly wouldn't want to remind people of the chaos of the previous 10 years, but they invite us to discuss chaos and they invite us to talk about leaders who are missing in action. I don't think Australians have forgiven the former Prime Minister, the member for Cook, for taking a holiday in Hawaii while Australia burned. I really don't think Australians have forgiven that. With every contribution that those opposite make in this place being to say no and to not offer anything of substance, we are once again subjected to an hour of discussion that is just not serious at all and is not in the interests of Australian people. But it's a great opportunity for me to contrast what we as a government are doing, and I really welcome the opportunity every day there's an MPI here in this place to talk about the achievements of the Albanese Labor government. I'm always happy to speak on the record of our government. Over the last 18 months we've delivered on a lot of key measures. We have delivered cheaper child care and cheaper medicines. We have delivered fee-free TAFE, and we've made it easier and cheaper for people to see a doctor. We've also delivered when it comes to the maximum cost of a prescription for PBS medicine, reducing the cost from $42.50 to $30. What's so significant about this is that it was the largest reduction in the 75-year history of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Australians have saved $200 million on almost 18 million cheaper prescriptions since January this year. That is quite remarkable. This Prime Minister and our government argued for a Fair Work Commission minimum wage increase in line with inflation, delivering pay rises to those worst off. The Prime Minister was in Box Hill, in my electorate, when he said, 'Absolutely,' to the suggestion that the lowest-paid workers in this country should have a pay rise that keeps up with their cost of living. We've delivered a 15 per cent pay increase to aged-care workers. And we've done all of this at the same time as we've delivered the first budget surplus in 15 years. We've seen wages grow at around the fastest rate in a decade, and over 624,000 jobs have been created since we came to office. That's a record for any new government. We're making investments in the capacity of our economy, laying the foundations for future growth, and our efforts to repair the budget are taking pressure off inflation when it is most acute. Opposition members interjecting— Dr GARLAND: We've maintained a primary focus on the cost of living, wages, jobs and building a stronger economy for all Australians, and all those opposite have are the negative interjections we're hearing now, no positive contributions whatsoever, and I do think that is a deep shame. Let's not forget what happened when those opposite were last in charge. We had economic mismanagement, with a trillion dollars in debt and not a cent of vision to show for it. Our economic plan is a deliberate and direct response to the economic circumstances that were left to us. We've turned a $78 billion deficit into a $22 billion surplus. That is a $100 billion turnaround. In contrast, those opposite promised a surplus every year since 2013 and didn't deliver a single one. We understand household budgets are tight and the impact that cost-of-living pressures and inflation have, which is being felt around kitchen tables across the country. That's why we've been taking action to reduce pressure on the cost of living. All we've heard from those opposite is their saying no to relief packages. I wish this was a parliament where those opposite came together with us in government to deliver in the best interests of all Australians, but instead, as today's MPI is a testament to, all those opposite are interested in are cheap tricks, fear and division.