Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government will “hit the ground running” when parliament resumes sitting tomorrow,in an address to the Labor caucus this afternoon.
He said the government will introduce “at least 18 pieces of legislation”.
This will include “legislation for our climate change target,legislation for 10 days paid domestic and family violence leave – something we’ve spoken about for a long period of time – legislation to respond to the aged care royal commission … and legislation to create Jobs and Skills Australia”,Albanese said.
“In addition to that,in coming weeks,we will have child care legislation. We will be acting on our urgent care clinics,putting them in place. We will,by the end of the year,have legislation on the anti-corruption commission. We will,as well,be advancing the Voice to Parliament enshrined in our Constitution,” he said.
Albanese said his government will also aim to address “$1 trillion of debt”,cost of living pressures and the previous government’s unprecedented publicity of an asylum seeker boat being intercepted on election day in May.
He also discussed the challenges of developing an energy policy and dealing with a new COVID-19 wave and natural disasters.
He outlined his government’s achievements in its first two months,including raising the minimum wage by $1 an hour,taking its climate change targets to the international stage and reopening discussions on a European trade agreement.
The meeting took place ahead of the first sitting of the 47th parliament tomorrow.
Here’s what else he had to say:
I think we have a great team and I welcome all of you here the day before Parliament begins. It will be a big deal tomorrow,particularly. There are many people who have been here for a while without having sat on a different side of the chamber. And,believe me,as somebody who has done both,one is much better than the other.
But it is also an enormous privilege and one that we should never take for granted and we should cherish each and every day.
We have an incredible responsibility is the political party in Australia that seeks positive change in the interest of working people,that seeks to change existing power relationships in society in favour of more equality and in favour of fairness,to make a difference in the way that we legislate on the way that the government acts each and every day.