*** CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY ***

Thank you, Roger.

You are a great Labor Premier and a true friend.

You always stand up for Western Australia - and our Labor Government stands with you.

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging.

My fellow Australians.

Three years ago in this great state, my colleagues and I launched our election campaign.

We asked the people of Australia to honour us with the responsibility of serving as their government and to join us in the work of building a better future.

Three years ago, Australians chose Labor:

To end the decade of denial and delay on climate change and embrace the opportunities of renewable energy.

To reject the insult of wages being kept deliberately low and build an economy that rewards people for their hard work.

And to stop treating equality for women as an afterthought or a curiosity and make it an economic and social priority.

Australians chose Labor:

To deliver cheaper child care.

Save bulk-billing from free-fall.

Rescue aged care from crisis.

To rebuild our relationships in our region - and restore our place in the world.

Each and every day of the past three years, our Government has worked to deliver on these commitments.

To repay the trust that people placed in us.

To turn those promises into progress.

To build the stronger economy, fairer society and more secure future that all Australians deserve.

Three years later, there is still Liberal mess to clean up, still challenges to meet.

There is still uncertainty we must confront.

And we are determined to keep helping and keep delivering for people under financial pressure.

That is what drives us.

That is why we seek a second term.

Not because we think the job is done but because we know there is still so much work to do.

And because only Labor has the plan to do it.

My fellow Australians

At this election we are asking for the opportunity to keep building.

To reward your hard work.

To open the doors of opportunity for the next generation – and widen them.

And to give new life and meaning to our values of fairness, aspiration and opportunity for all.

To keep building on everything that makes this nation the best country in the world.

Friends

When we came to Government less than three years ago, inflation was going up and real wages were going down.

Together, we have turned that around.

Inflation was over 6 per cent and rising, today it’s down to 2.4 per cent and falling.

Real wages have grown, five quarters in a row.

Interest rates have started to fall.

And more than one million jobs have been created.

The story of our Government is how we got here, the way we came through a global storm.

Because we refused to sacrifice people’s jobs.

We refused to cut the services Australians rely on and the wages they earn.

We made responsible choices for the economy – and we did the right thing by families.

That’s what Labor does in times of global uncertainty - we choose the Australian way.

Helping people under pressure – and building for the future.

Navigating the rough seas, while always keeping our eyes on the horizon.  

That’s why we have backed real wage rises for millions of workers.

And cut taxes for every single taxpayer, not just some.

So Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn.

Today, in workplaces around our country, casual employees have new security.

Same Job, Same Pay is now law.

Under Labor, people have the flexibility to work from home.

And when people get home from work, they have the right to disconnect.

Women’s economic participation has reached record highs – and the gender pay gap is at historic lows.

We’ve expanded Paid Parental Leave and added superannuation to it.

And we have established 10 Days Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave.

Because no woman should ever have to risk her safety, to keep her job.  

Today, families are paying less for child care – and early educators are being paid more.

And under Labor, bulk-billing is on the way back.

87 new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are open right around Australia.

And more than 1.3 million Australians have visited them.

Mums and Dads able to take their child to see a doctor, close to home, with just their Medicare card.

And we will open another 50 clinics – including 6 more right here in WA.

Under Labor, aged care workers have secured an historic pay rise…

…and there is a registered nurse in aged care, 99 per cent of the time.

Like so much else, something the Liberals said could not be done.

And 14 years after my friend Julia Gillard commissioned the Gonski Review setting the national standard for every Australian child in every Australian school to get the best education - we have signed up every single state and territory to deliver the funding and reform to reach that goal.

Better and fairer funding for every school because we value every student.

Under Labor, public TAFE is back at the centre of vocational education – helping 600,000 Australians train and re-train, for free.

And Australia has resumed our place as a leader in our region, a neighbour the Pacific can count on and a nation engaged in the world.

My fellow Australians

These are the strong foundations we have laid together.

Now we have to keep building.

New homes, new infrastructure, new energy.

And more than bricks and mortar, the building blocks of a good life: for you and your family.

Labor’s plan for Building Australia’s Future is about your future.

Your job, your wages, your child’s education and your Medicare.

Making you better off over the next three years.  

Because we understand that prosperity and security for our country, begins with creating opportunities for our people. 

We know the best way to take our nation forward, is to help you get ahead.

By contrast – today, and every day - our opponents are urging Australia to go back.

Keep in mind this is not some new generation Liberal team, these are the same people from less than three years ago.

The same people, pushing the same policies that inflicted a wasted decade on our country.

They want to go back to that.

If anything, they want a more extreme version of it.

Back to chaos and confusion, when this moment demands measured leadership and safe hands.

Back to people working longer for less.

Back to neglecting veterans and hounding the vulnerable.

Back to the phoney conflicts and borrowed culture wars that we did not want under Scott Morrison and we cannot risk under Peter Dutton.

And back to the cuts that pushed schools and aged care and Medicare and the NDIS to breaking point.

Amidst all the noise of the Liberals’ campaign, this much is clear: they have not learned and Peter Dutton will never change.

This is not a time to risk Australia’s future by going back to the failures of the past.

This is not a time for cutting and wrecking.

This is a time to keep building, with Labor.

Over the past three years the world has thrown a lot at Australia.

The worst global inflation since the 1980s.

The biggest global energy crisis since the 1970s.

Conflict overseas, strategic competition in our region, natural disasters here at home.

And – even in the course of this campaign – new global economic uncertainty.

Now, we cannot control or predict what challenges we will face.

But we can determine how we respond.

On the 3rd of May this choice belongs to every Australian.

Your vote may not change the world Australia has to deal with - but your vote will decide how Australia deals with the world.

Right now, the Liberal and Labor campaigns are on either side of this mighty continent.

And at this election: our ambitions, our agendas, our plans for the future are a world apart. 

The Liberals want to copy from overseas, Labor stands up for Australia.

They talk our country down, we build Australians up.

Under Labor, Australia decides the investments we make in our defence, our security and our international relationships - in our national interest.

We trust in our values and we back our people.  

Because we know a changing global economy demands better schools and TAFE and universities, not cuts to education.

Trade tensions mean we need to engage in our region and make more things here in Australia, not cut manufacturing.

And growing global demand for clean energy means building more renewables here and now – not waiting two decades for more expensive nuclear power.

Friends

When we look at everything going on around the world today, there is nowhere else you’d rather be than right here in Australia.

So why on earth would we try to mimic anywhere else?

We don’t want a wages system where people have to rely on tips to make ends meet.

We don’t want Australian students burdened by a lifetime of debt.

And we never, ever, ever want an American-style health system in this country.

Extraordinarily, the Liberals have been busy claiming they would have already done a deal with the United States on tariffs.

Labor stood up for Australian farmers and producers.

And we have made it clear that our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is not up for negotiation.  

Because Australia’s health system – every bit of it - is not some bargaining chip.

It is not a commodity – it is part of our identity.

This card is green and gold for a reason.

Medicare is a declaration of Australian values.

And a vote for Labor will mean this card carries even more value.

Labor is the party of Medicare.

We created it - and we will strengthen it.

With the biggest investment in bulk-billing in Australian history.

Better funding for every hospital.

New progress in women’s health.

31 new and upgraded Medicare Mental Health Centres.

50 more Medicare Urgent Care Clinics.

Thousands more GPs, nurses and midwives.

And millions of Australians – in every part of our country – who will be able to see a doctor for free.

Helping people find a bulk-billing doctor is just one of the ways we’re acting on the cost of living here and now.

Cheaper child care for over 1 million families.

More energy bill relief - $150 off the power bills of every household and for small business.

Taking 20 per cent off student debt for 3 million Australians - saving an average of $5,500.

Cracking down on supermarkets that rip people off.

Bringing the price of PBS medicines down to just $25 a script, the lowest it has been since 2004.

Back to back increases in rent assistance – and expanding the single parent payment.

And, of course, we had the courage and conviction to change the tax cuts that we inherited to make them better and fairer for low and middle income earners.

And this wasn’t a one off, it doesn’t just disappear.

It won’t be replaced a year later by higher taxes on everyone – which is what our opponents are offering.

We are cutting taxes, again and again - for all 14 million taxpayers, not just some.

Our top-up tax cuts put an average of $2,500 back in people’s pockets.

For every taxpayer, every year, forever.

We are taking immediate action – and we are building to last:

Making free TAFE permanent.

Locking-in our 3 day guarantee for early education, the next step to universal child care.

We will help people bring down their power bills once and for all, by cutting 30 per cent off the cost of a battery. 

And we will finish the NBN - with fibre, not copper - and keep it in public hands.

At this election, the Liberal and Nationals are actually promising to legislate a permanent increase in income tax for all 14 million taxpayers.  

We are always looking to make the tax system work better for working people.  

And today, we are doing precisely that.

Today I announce a re-elected Labor Government will create a new $1000 Instant Tax Deduction.  

This will guarantee everyone can opt for an automatic tax deduction of $1000 on their work expenses.

No paperwork, no box of receipts, no scrolling through your online banking - just tick the box and your return is ready.

Every year, millions of people who work part time, or work from home, or don’t have an accountant to navigate the tax system for them miss out on claiming deductions they are entitled to and pay more tax than they should.

This reform fixes that – and it fixes it forever.

It takes away the hassle of tracking your expenses, especially if you work from home.  

And it gives you back more of your own money, faster.

Importantly, if you’re in a job where you spend more than $1000 each year on your uniform or equipment, you can still claim a higher deduction in the usual way.

No-one will be worse off under this reform - but I make this point: nearly 6 million taxpayers - overwhelmingly low and middle income earners and young Australians - will be better off.

Under Labor you earn more, keep more of what you earn – and get more back at tax time.

Friends

Labor stands up for Australian values – and we’re backing the great Australian dream.

Buying a first home has never been easy – but for this generation it’s never felt further out of reach.

And it doesn’t have to be that way.

Not here, not in Australia.

In Australia, home ownership should not be a privilege you inherit if you’re lucky.

It should be an aspiration that Australians everywhere can achieve.

Making this a reality, begins with recognising that things are fundamentally different for this generation.

In 2025, there are many Australians on incomes where any bank would offer them a typical home loan and they would be able to make the repayments but they just cannot save up the 20 per cent deposit.

These are young Australians who are stranded just below the first rung on the property ladder.

Working hard, making sacrifices but watching in frustration as house prices rise faster than they can save.

That saps your confidence – in yourself, but also in the system.

And at the moment, if you can’t get that 20 per cent deposit, the only other option is to pay $20,000 or more in mortgage insurance.

The only thing that buys you is higher repayments down the track.

That is no kind of choice at all.

Our Labor Government is going to fix it.

Today I announce that under a Labor government, you will be able to buy your first home with just a five per cent deposit.

Our Five Per Cent Deposit Plan will be open to every Australian looking to buy their first home.

It will be available for homes valued all the way up to the average price in every city and region.

And you won’t have to pay a single dollar in mortgage insurance, our government will cover it.

If you’re looking to buy your first home – Labor’s got your back.

And if you want to know the difference this will make, think about this:

The median price of a home in Australia today is $820,000.

Five per cent of that is $41,000.

The last time $41,000 was enough for a deposit, was more than two decades ago.

In 2002.  

This is a generational change that will empower a new generation of first home buyers.

In every city and region, this will make home ownership easier.

It will take years off the time it takes to get together a deposit.

So instead of trying to save while your rent pays someone else’s loan you’re paying off your own mortgage, in the security of your own home.

You have the strong foundation to start a family and build a good life in a community you love.

Friends

Labor supports renters, of course we do – but unlike the Greens Political Party we don’t think people should have to rent forever.

And unlike the Liberals, we don’t think young Australians should have to sacrifice their superannuation to buy their first home.

This generation of Australians should not be forced to choose between the opportunity of home ownership and security in retirement.

Australians deserve both – and Labor is building both.

Australia’s housing crisis has been a generation in the making.

Compounded by a decade of Liberal neglect.

For half their time in government, can you believe they didn’t even bother to have a Housing Minister?

The Liberals dug Australia into a hole on housing. 

Under Labor we are building our way out. 

Because we know supply is the key.

Unless you have policies that boost supply - all you are doing is increasing costs.

It’s that simple.

In order to reach our goal of 1.2 million new homes by the end of the decade:

We are training more tradies and apprentices - with free TAFE and incentives to go into construction.                                                         

We are building more public housing.

We are building more affordable housing.

We are building more homes in remote communities.

And through our Build to Rent scheme – we are building more private rentals.

Today, we keep building.

Today I announce that Labor will invest $10 billion to build 100,000 new homes reserved for first home buyers only.

No competition from property investors - just a fair crack for young Australians.

We’ve seen this work in South Australia - we will bring it to the national level, with national leadership.

Because we want Australians to be able to afford a home where they want to live - close to their family, friends, work and community.   

Through a decade in Government, the Liberals invested less than $5 billion in housing.

Over an entire decade.

Labor is now delivering our $43 billion Homes for Australia Plan.

Eight times bigger – and 100 times better.

The biggest home-building program since the post-war housing boom.

Back then, Ben Chifley’s Labor Government said that housing was: “not only the need but the right of every citizen”.

That was Labor’s mission then – and it is Labor’s mission now.

Because the right to a roof over your head and the aspiration to own your own home, does not belong in the pages of history, it is fundamental to Australia’s future.

Friends

What drives Labor’s campaign, is what drives our Government:

Delivering for people, making a positive difference in the life of every Australian.

Meanwhile, the Liberals have spent this campaign talking about everything from abolishing the Department of Education and the Department of Health to sacking public servants and banning work from home.

My opponent is happy to talk about measuring up the curtains at Kirribilli House.

But there is something he never talks about.

The cost of his nuclear scheme – and the cuts he will make to pay for it.

In Collie, here in WA, just like their other nuclear reactor sites the Liberals talk about but don’t want to visit their scheme will mean shutting down renewable energy projects that are already under construction.

I’ve been there. I’ve seen it.

If the Liberals and Nationals had bothered to listen to these communities, they would know that.

Instead, after a chaotic decade of pushing 23 different energy policies without landing one they are now trying to sell a nuclear scheme that will:

Close manufacturing centres.  

Derail new investment in the regions.

Drive up power bills for everyone.

And they will charge the lot of it – the whole $600 billion - to the taxpayer.

Because the private sector doesn’t want to touch their nuclear scheme with a barge pole.

Our Government has a 43 per cent emissions reduction target for 2030.

We have legislated Net Zero by 2050.

We have one energy policy and we are delivering it.

Driving record private sector investment in renewables, backed by gas, hydro and batteries.

Our plan means energy security, environmental responsibility – and economic sovereignty.

It will power a Future Made in Australia - so we can make more things here.

So we can secure the jobs of workers in energy and mining and manufacturing.

And bring the next generation of good jobs to people and communities in every part of our country.

The Liberals want us to turn our backs on all of that.

To forfeit our nation’s unique advantages, a combination that nowhere else in the world can match: our sunlight, our space, our natural resources, our skills and technology and risk it all on nuclear reactors that won’t be ready until sometime in the 2040s.

The private sector can already see that nuclear doesn’t stack up here.

Which is why the Liberals will send the bill – all $600 billion of it – to the people of Australia.  

We know they will sack 41,000 people.

We know they will increase income tax for 14 million taxpayers.

But even those two measures combined is a drop in the ocean.

$600 billion represents more than 18 years of Medicare.

Or 20 years of schools funding.

That money has to come from somewhere.

And never forget, the last time a Liberal Opposition Leader promised no cuts to education and no cuts to health…

They ripped $30 billion out of schools.

And Peter Dutton himself ripped $50 billion out of hospitals and tried to abolish bulk-billing altogether.

My message to every Australian is this:

If Peter Dutton won’t tell you what cuts he will make before you vote...

If he refuses to say where the $600 billion for his nuclear reactors will come from…

…then every other promise he makes is worthless. 

There is only one way to protect schools and TAFE, hospitals and Medicare from the Liberals’ cuts.

Vote for a majority Labor Government on the 3rd of May.

Friends

For hundreds of years, in England and across Europe, when people needed to describe something impossible, something that simply could not exist they would say it was like ‘a black swan’. 

The rest of the world was certain that there was no such thing as a black swan until Europeans sailed up that river out there and saw them by the thousand.

Today, the black swan is the proud symbol of Western Australia.

And that is the story of Australia.

We are not shackled by old thinking.

We are not captive to the habits and fears of the past.

We are enriched by every faith and tradition on earth - including the world’s oldest continuous culture – but Australia’s character has always been our own.

We have the courage and the strength to choose our own way.

To build the future we want, based on the values we cherish.

Because Australia didn’t copy the idea of a decent minimum wage from anywhere else in the world – we created it here.

We didn’t steal the idea of universal superannuation from somewhere else – we made it here.

We didn’t wait on other countries to strengthen our democracy by ensuring women could vote in elections and stand for Parliament – we led the world.

And we didn’t settle for a second-hand or second-rate health system – we built the best.

We built Medicare.

That’s the Australian way.

That is the Labor way.

And that is the choice I am asking the Australian people to make on the 3rd of May.

Labor’s vision for this country, our plan to build Australia’s future, is not about borrowing ideologies or copying policies from anywhere else, or anyone else.

It’s about building on what has always been our nation’s greatest strength: the Australian people.

Their effort and talent, their creativity and genius, their love of this country, their faith in the fair go.

Everything that brings us together as Australians – and sets us apart from the world.

That’s why I’m asking you to vote Labor on the 3rd of May.

So we can keep building a future that is true to our values and worthy of our people.

Where no-one is denied the chance to be their best.

No-one left to face uncertainty alone.

No-one cut-off from the opportunities that lie ahead.

No-one held back, no-one left behind.

Every one of us, Building Australia’s Future, together.

ENDS