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‘Locked in or locked up’: Albo blasts budget in reply speech
Labor leader Anthony Albanese has used his budget reply speech to take aim at what he has termed "eight years of failure", accusing the government of being all talk and no action.
‘Locked in or locked up’: Albo blasts budget in reply speech
Labor leader Anthony Albanese has used his budget reply speech to take aim at what he has termed "eight years of failure", accusing the government of being all talk and no action.
In the traditional Opposition budget reply, two days after the budget announcement, Mr Albanese pointed to the government’s record on key issues while promising real action if he was elected Prime Minister.
“See, for this Prime Minister, the announcement is all about him. Always,” Mr Albanese said.
“When the black summer of bushfires raged, he said, ‘I don’t hold a hose, mate’.”
Mr Albanese also took aim at the botched vaccine rollout, with Australia’s vaccine rate falling behind the initial 3 million jabs by March target.
“Now, with our tourism and education industries still locked away from the world – and with more than 30,000 Australians stranded overseas…” Mr Albanese said.
“…he says quarantine is a matter for the states and getting the vaccine isn’t a race," he noted.
“Locked out or locked up – a message no Australian government should send to our own citizens.”
He went on to attack the government’s ‘show-bag budget’, accusing it of empty promises.
“Flashy enough to sell on Tuesday night, beginning to fall apart the very next day when the reality of falling real wages, vaccination confusion, infrastructure cuts and productivity inertia become apparent.”
What the opposition is promising
In the lead-up to a probable election next year, Mr Albanese said his budget would follow “three guiding principles”.
“One, an economy that delivers for working families. Two, investing in Australia’s future,” he said.
“And three, no one held back and no one left behind.”
He said his Labor government would strengthen job security, including writing it into the Fair Work Act and forging a partnership between trade unions and business.
“We will make wage theft a crime,” Mr Albanese said.
“Labor’s policy will not only deliver support to four times the number of families, it will boost the economy substantially and move towards the universal provision of affordable childcare for every family.”
Mr Albanese also used his budget reply to announce his plans to revitalise Australian industry and innovation, especially in technology development and renewable energy.
“If you get that action on climate change is an opportunity for us to emerge as a renewable energy superpower and create jobs, Labor is on your side,” he said.
“If you share our ambition for advanced manufacturing, high-value industries, a world-class services sector in a prosperous, outward looking, ambitious Australia, Labor is on your side.”
Mr Albanese said he will also establish a new $10 billion social housing fund to build 30,000 affordable homes for vulnerable Australians and frontline workers if Labor wins the next federal election.
“Our home gave us so much more than somewhere to sleep. It gave my mum and I pride and dignity and security, and it gave me a future… a future that led me here tonight,” Mr Albanese said.
“Our housing plan is good for jobs, too. This initiative will create over 21,500 jobs each year.”
“And one in 10 construction jobs created will be for apprentices.”
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Tuesday announced $1.6 billion towards universal preschool access and a $1.7 billion five-year spend on childcare, abolishing the annual childcare subsidy cap for families earning more than $189,390.
But Mr Albanese said the government’s “half-baked” policy did not go far enough, only impacting one in four families, promising to reduce the price of childcare if elected.
“The government dismissed our policy, declaring they had already fixed affordability and ridiculed the economic gain from investing in childcare.
“What the Treasurer hasn’t worked out is that if you perform half a backflip, you fall flat on your face,” he said.
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