JOSH WILSON is the Federal Member for Fremantle. After the distraction of his five-week ban from playing soccer after a bit of biffo, in this Thinking Allowed he tries to get back on track.
AT a time when families are feeling financial pressure, with global instability continuing to disrupt supply chains and drive uncertainty, Australians are looking for something much better than division and outrage.
They are looking for practical and principled action that makes a real difference in their daily lives.
That expectation is certainly present in communities across Fremantle, East Fremantle and Cockburn.
People understand that governments cannot wave a magic wand and solve every challenge overnight, but they do expect creative reform that eases pressure and helps build a fairer and more sustainable future.
That is why July 1 marked an important milestone.
From that moment, more than three million Australians received a pay rise.
Workers on awards benefited from a 4.75 per cent increase, while those on the national minimum wage received a 6 per cent increase.
After a decade in which wages went backwards against rising costs, real wage growth matters.
It means more money in people’s pockets and greater capacity to manage household expenses.
Australians will also receive another tax cut.
For many workers, this builds on previous relief already delivered, with the average taxpayer now benefiting annually by around $2,800 in tax cuts.
Paid parental leave
Families will receive further support through the extension of paid parental leave to six months and the inclusion of superannuation on paid parental leave.
These are important reforms that recognise modern family life and help improve long-term economic security, particularly for women.
There are also practical changes aimed at delivering greater fairness in the marketplace.
New laws will make supermarket price gouging illegal, helping to ensure consumers are treated fairly when buying essential goods.
Superannuation will now be paid on payday, making the system more transparent and helping workers get the investment return on their savings faster.
Each of these measures are important in their own right.
Together, they form part of a broader agenda focused on easing cost pressures while strengthening economic fairness and fighting intergenerational inequity.
They build on reforms already delivered, including the largest increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance in four decades, substantial reductions in the cost of medicines through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, major investments in bulk-billing and primary healthcare, and significant reductions in childcare costs.
Education and training have also been a focus.
Fee-free TAFE places have opened pathways for thousands of Australians seeking new skills.
Reforms to student debt arrangements, including lower indexation, a higher repayment threshold and a 20 per cent cut to student debt balances, have provided meaningful relief for millions of current and former students.
These initiatives reflect a simple principle: economic policy should deliver inclusive benefits and build shared wellbeing.
The same principle underpins recent housing tax reforms designed to address distortions that have contributed to soaring house prices and declining affordability.
In being prepared to take on difficult but necessary change we’re making sure that our tax system doesn’t put a heavier burden on the vast majority of Australians who earn their living from wages than on those who earn income from asset investment.
It’s a change in the direction of fairness.
It’s a real change that takes courage and makes a difference, which is what the people that we represent rightly expect from their government.
Because we need to keep making progress in a range of areas, July 1 also marked the commencement of the new independent Environmental Protection Authority.
Establishing an independent regulator is an important improvement to our national framework for protecting environmental condition and biodiversity.
The common thread running through all these changes is practical reform.
Australians are rightly impatient with hollow argument, self-serving complaints and the politics of division.
Communities want solutions.
Challenges
They want governments to tackle difficult challenges, make considered decisions, and deliver outcomes that improve people’s lives.
There is much more to do at a time of considerable global challenge but taken together, wage increases, tax relief, stronger consumer protections, investment in healthcare and education, housing reform and stronger environmental protections represent a significant turn of the dial towards fairness and sustainability.
In difficult times, real change matters.
As the measures that take effect from this week demonstrate, practical and positive reform can be achieved by stable, focused, responsive, and hard-working government.