George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

In rising to speak on this matter of public importance it is absolutely clear to me that this government has failed to take decisive action to tackle the cost of living for Australian families. Wherever I go in my regional electorate of Dawson I hear the same stories, from workers, small business men and women, farmers and pensioners—that they are struggling with the rising costs of living. Earlier this year, the Mackay based Regional Social Development Centre came out on the attack on this issue in the local media. At that time, the headline of the local Mackay newspaper the Daily Mercury read ‘Mackay families struggle with rise’. The article read:

HOUSEHOLD bills are set to skyrocket - and our families will pay the price, with homelessness, domestic violence, gambling and drug use expected to rise as a result.

Some people, including long-time residents, will be forced out of the region as they struggle to meet unexpected costs, according to Mackay Regional Council for Social Development business development co-ordinator Deborah Rae.

Electricity bills are expected to rise 13 per cent next financial year, adding to already spiralling household costs; and increased operating expenses could force Mackay Regional Council to lift rates by double figures in coming months.

Ms Rae is quoted as saying:

“The number of families who are struggling is bigger than most people realise; it’s difficult to capture that number because many families who come to our region and who struggle leave because of the unexpectedly high cost of living.”

Ms Rae said the number of homeless people in Mackay had significantly risen in recent years, as had the number of people forced to move to other, more affordable, areas.

This is serious stuff. The rising cost of living is hurting families in the Mackay region and in the electorate of Dawson. And it is also hurting those who are trying to help those families. I refer to another article from the Daily Mercury, this one titled ‘Soaring costs hurt charity workers’. The article reads:

AFTER years of offering help to those who are struggling, the Mackay chapter of the Tribe of Judah—

a local charity—

has itself been hit hard.

With rental prices on the rise, the charity has become a victim, enduring a rent rise of more than double.

The article goes on:

“Our rent is going from about $23,000 to about $46,500,” Pastor Hayhoe said.

Pastor Hayhoe is from the Tribe of Judah. The problem of rental costs and housing costs is a massive one in the Mackay region. Last year the 6th annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey examined 272 markets in six countries, including Australia, the US, the UK, Canada and New Zealand. The study included Mackay, in my electorate of Dawson, and found that the housing market was severely unaffordable. That fact is not news to many first home buyers in the Mackay region who are trying to get into the housing market. The data released from the survey revealed that the cost of living in some regions throughout Queensland is comparable to the cost of living in New York or London, cities that are renowned as the most expensive in the world.

Last year, at a time when the then Prime Minister was the man who said he was going to ‘ease the squeeze’ for Australian families, the Daily Mercury reported, under the headline ‘Rent in Mackay set to skyrocket’:

MACKAY is heading into a rental property squeeze and prices are set to head skywards as houses become scarce.

So what is the government doing?

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